Day 4 of 2022 Arizona Trip, Sedona

by admin

Fourth day of my 2021 Arizona trip. Like the previous day, my friend and I would spend the day hiking near Sedona. For the day, we visited Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon and Cathedral Rock.

Fields from Bell Rock

The areas surrounding the town of Sedona offered so much to explore. On our second day around town, we picked more trails to hike.

Bell Rock

After a teleconference in the morning, we reached the trailhead of Bell Rock just before 10am. Bell Rock was a rather recognizable rock formation right next to a busy highway (actually visible from our hotel in Village of Oak Creek), and for vertex believers a source of spiritual power. (A pass or fee was required to park at the trailhead.)

Bell Rock

As seen near the parking lot. A sole climber in white was at the platform where we finally reached. Beyond that, two climbers were at a higher platform after that.
Bell Rock

As seen along the trail. With these photos taken against the sun, I used the best of my post-processing to recreate the texture of the rocks.

After leaving the trailhead, we followed a designated trail halfway up Bell Rock, with views of open fields and distant buttes towards the north. That’s when I started to appreciate the popularity of this trail. It’s short, so far not technical, and offered great and open views with most of the buttes in the light.

Fields to the North
Taken roughly halfway along the climb towards Bell Rock, approximately where the trail markings ended and the slope started to become technically steep.

Before our visit, my friend and I knew Bell Rock could be summitted, but we didn’t know how technical that would be and weren’t planning on climbing Bell Rock. However, it always seemed to us that the views would be better if we stepped on the higher platform in front of us, so we ended up with some climbing nonetheless.
There were no trail markings along the climbing route. A very vague suggestion was that, when the path straightforward became seemingly too steep, try turning east (left) for a detour where there was a less steep path upwards. http://www.sedonahikingtrails.com/bell-rock_trail_3.htm had a few pictures with rough sketches of the path.

Bell Rock
Captured during our descent. The green arrow marked the platform which we were about to reach.
Climbing Route to Bell Rock

Taken at roughly the same place as the two climbers in the previous photo. It’s easy to see one giant “bell” in front and two smaller “bells” at the side from this location (see previous photo). After some scouting, we determined that the “bell” to our left could be safely accessed.
Platform

The “bell” to our left, taken at similar place as previous photo. A trail on the right of this photo would lead to the top of this platform.
Looking Back
Two other climbers behind us.
Tree on Platform

The other side “bell” that we didn’t reach. This tree seemed to be sprouting out of nowhere from the cracks of the rocks.

In the end, we reached the top of a platform/spire (p1 above). I carried a full-frame camera during the climb, so I would rate it as YDS class 2 tops. Sections of the path did require good balancing abilities though. It seemed possible to continue higher beyond where we stopped (we saw a few people did that during our descent), but we weren’t in climbing gear and we ended up pretty content with where we reached.

Twisted Tree

Sedona was known for its vortices, which was said to exert strong and unfathomable powers on creatures. Trees with twisted barks were often seen as a sign of the vortices. Except in my biologist friend’s opinion, this was simply due to chirality of plant cells.
Platform
The other side “bell” that’s less accessible.
Crack on Bells Rock

This crack was large enough to be an accessible climbing path onto Bell Rock to my friend, if he had the proper equipment.
Bell Rock
The crack from previous photo viewed at a different angle.
Side Bell
Looking from below.

Fields to the North
Taken at the end of our climb.

We had the entire platform/spire to us while we were enjoying the breeze and sceneries, and it’s truly a bliss.

Distant Chapel of the Holy Cross
Twin Buttes
Fields to the North
Capitol Butte, Airport Mesa and Twin Buttes.
Courthouse Butte
Mountains to the Northeast
Distant Hills
Part of Broken Arrow Trail. Impressive variety of shapes of rocks.
Mountains to the West
Distant Fields
Airport Mesa, Capitol Butte.
Distant Fields
Airport Mesa, Capitol Butte.
Fields to the North
From the mini summit that we reached.

With this unexpected climb, we only got back to the parking lot after more than an hour at Bell Rock. It’s a pity that sights of Cathedral Rock, another iconic rock in the Sedona region, were blocked by some other mountains. Partly to make that up and partly spellbound by the scenery, I launched my drone for an aerial tour.

Bell Rock
The south side in the sun with better light conditions.

Bell Rock and Surrounding Buttes

And here’s a brief video of portions of the flight:

Boynton Canyon

After Bell Rock, we drove across the town of Sedona towards our next stop of the day, Boynton Canyon, another popular place for hiking near Sedona.
In fact, it’s so popular that by the time we arrived at the parking lot, it’s completely full. (A pass or fee was required to park at the trailhead.) Instead, we joined a group of other cars that used the shoulders of Boynton Pass Road as overflow parking. This added about 600m to our roundtrip distance.
Here’s GPS tracking:

Boynton Knoll

Not far from the trailhead, a short spur trail was leading towards a knoll. It’s also said to be home to the Boynton Canyon Vortex. We saw a few people on top of that knoll, and since unexpected climbing was the theme of our day, we climbed on top of it for panoramic views.

Knoll
Lost Wilson Mountain
Distant Mountain
Red Rock
Red Rock
Distant Mountains
Deep in the canyon.
Red Rocks
Doe Mountain
Red Rock
Kachina Woman in the left of this photo.

View from Boynton Knoll

Knoll
Southwestern side as seen from the trail.
Knoll

As seen from the east. The small rock balanced perfectly on the right, providing a way for people to climb onto the top of the knoll.
Knoll

Seen from the north where it only took a few steps to climb on top of it. I found it easiest to start from the western (right of this photo) side.
Knoll
Seen from the north where it only took a few steps to climb on top of it.
View to the North
I was on top of the knoll. “Kachina Woman” was a spire-shaped rock in front.
Kachina Woman
Another nearby spire that’s obviously harder to climb on top of.
Kachina Woman
Another nearby spire that’s obviously harder to climb on top of.

After that, we continued to follow the trail deeper into Boynton Canyon. The first (and last) 2km of the trail was along the perimeter of Enchantment Resort, a gated private property, otherwise the trailhead would be set at the end of that property and shaved 4km of roundtrip distance.
But while the trail was passing Enchantment Resort, it’s at higher elevation than the canyon floor, offering great views of distant rugged mountains deep inside the canyon.

Distant Mountains

The imposing sight of these distant rugged rocks in distinctive layers was certainly a highlight of the hike.
Distant Mountains
This was taken later in the day where most of the rocks were in shadows.
Distant Rocks
Distant Hill

Apart from the distant hills, the rock formations near Boynton Canyon were also a sight to behold.

Mountain
Rock Tower
Mountain
Mountain
Alcove
Alcove
Mountain
Mountain
Boulder
Mountain
Mountain
Boulder
Mountain
Hill
Hill
Mountain
Mountain

Trail

After leaving Enchantment Resort the trail was following Boynton Canyon, and was relatively flat and easy to tackle.
Trail

After leaving Enchantment Resort the trail was following Boynton Canyon, and was relatively flat and easy to tackle.
Trail

After leaving Enchantment Resort the trail was following Boynton Canyon, and was relatively flat and easy to tackle.
Trail

Deeper in the canyon in shaded areas, there were patches of snow along the trail. My friend and I definitely felt the coldness when walking past them.
Riverbed
The trail was following a dried creek for the most part after Enchantment Resort.
Riverbed
Father west and shaded by Bear Mountain, there was more snow along the trail.
Twisted Branches
Some twisted branches near the entrance of Boynton Subway, maybe due to the vortexes power?

About 3.9km from trailhead (including the detour towards Boynton Knoll), the trail forked into two branches, one continuing towards End of Trail Vista, the other towards Boynton Subway. We were hoping to visit the more interesting Subway first, but the intersection wasn’t marked (and we were overconfident about the trail’s popularity that we didn’t prepare offline maps), so we ended up missing that intersection, and headed towards End of Trail Vista first.
The section of Boynton Canyon past that intersection was shaded by the soaring Bear Mountain towards the south, and thus very cold with patches of snow on the ground. My friend and I were wearing single layer, and we sure regret not bringing extra clothes with us.

Trail

As the trail headed deeper into canyon, pine trees that were used to harsher environments took the place of more leafy plants and bushes earlier.
Trail

As the trail headed deeper into canyon, pine trees that were used to harsher environments took the place of more leafy plants and bushes earlier.
Trail

As the trail headed deeper into canyon, pine trees that were used to harsher environments took the place of more leafy plants and bushes earlier.
Trail

As the trail headed deeper into canyon, pine trees that were used to harsher environments took the place of more leafy plants and bushes earlier.
Trail

Then farther west, snow began to decorate the landscape that’s shaded by Bear Mountain to the south.
Trail

Then farther west, snow began to decorate the landscape that’s shaded by Bear Mountain to the south.
Trail

Then farther west, snow began to decorate the landscape that’s shaded by Bear Mountain to the south.
Trail

Then farther west, snow began to decorate the landscape that’s shaded by Bear Mountain to the south.
Trail

Approaching the end, the trail started to pick up elevation gain and became rockier. To my friend and I, we had to give ourselves a rush, as a means to stay warm.
Trail

Approaching the end, the trail started to pick up elevation gain and became rockier. To my friend and I, we had to give ourselves a rush, as a means to stay warm.
Trail

Approaching the end, the trail started to pick up elevation gain and became rockier. To my friend and I, we had to give ourselves a rush, as a means to stay warm.

As we approached End of Trail Vista, my friend (with some hunting experience!) spotted a family of deer not far from the trail. They sure weren’t afraid of the bitterness.

Deer

End of Trail Vista

Finally, we reached the end of Boynton Canyon Trail, which was higher in elevation than the canyon floor. That provided reprieve from the bitter temperature lower down the canyon, together with an opportunity to appreciate the majestic towering canyon walls in front of us.

Canyon Wall
Boynton Canyon
Canyon Wall
Canyon Wall
Canyon Wall
Boynton Canyon
Crack in Canyon
With a small waterfall in the middle.

Boynton Canyon

I had hoped that the “End of Trail Vista” would be on the brink of the canyon with better views, unfortunately that’s not the case. In addition, while stationary our bodies quickly cooled down. So after spending only about 10 minutes at End of Trail Vista and with the arrival of another group of hikers, we started our descent.

Bifurcating Tree
My friend suggested this could be the creation of Tom the cat.

Luckily, my friend got some cellular coverage (Verizon) in the canyon, so we were able to pinpoint an exact location of the spur towards Boynton Subway. It turned out to be marked by a rather uniquely looking tree.

Mosaic Tree

When I first passed this tree, I was rather intrigued by its bark in mosaic shapes. Only later I found out that this tree served as the most obvious mark of the spur trail towards Boynton Subway, which would otherwise be unmarked.

Trail

The spur trail to Boynton Subway. Coming from west Boynton Canyon, we were so glad that parts of this spur trail were in the sun, bringing us some much-needed warmth.
Twisted Tree next to Trail
Power of vortexes!
Tree
Four trunks sharing one base. And it had got the mosaic bark.
Trail
Heading back to trailhead.
Trail
Heading back to trailhead.

Entrance to Boynton Subway

A steep slope that turned out to be an obstacle for some visitors. It’s recommended to keep to the south (left of these photos) side of the slope where the surface of rocks would form some sort of stairs.

Boynton Subway

About 10 minutes on the spur trail we reached the entrance of Boynton Subway. It would take some scrambling (YDS class 2 tops) to reach the top of it, after which one would find a giant slit in the rocks with two ledges on its sides, in a shape that resembled a subway platform (photo below).

Boynton Subway

The 35-150mm lens that I had was too long for the Boynton Subway, so I captured this with my cell phone at 26mm equivalent.

Furthermore, it seemed that one of the ledges would lead to more areas for exploration (slideshow below). It involved some exposure, but that’s easily manageable by us.

Boynton Subway Entrance

Looking back at the end of this entrance slope, the shape of the cave resembled a subway tunnel, and the ledges on both sides resembled subway platforms. The south side of the ledge (blue arrow) would lead to more areas of exploration.
Boynton Subway

The ledge on the south side continued around the mountain (blue arrow). The lower-right hand side of this photo was a small incline that shouldn’t post dangers if treated properly.
Ledge
How the ledge continued after wrapping around the mountain.
Alcove

Rocks of Sedona seen from an alcove along the way. The ledge continued from left to right since the previous photo.
Ledge

The ledge continued from the alcove in the previous photo and wrapped around the mountains. My friend and I weren’t sure what the pile of bricks in the left foreground was for.
Alcove with Brick Wall

Same alcove as the one in the previous photo. Its interior didn’t seem spacious enough for residential use.
Alcove
Another smaller one.

Narrow Gap

At the end of the previous slideshow, my friend found this narrow gap of rocks and was feeling adventurous. The previous climb up Boynton Subway probably didn’t satisfy him, anyways, unexpected climbing was the theme of the day. It’s rather steep, and since I wasn’t in full climbing gear (like earlier today at Bell Rocks) and the views on top weren’t that much better, I wasn’t having a great time.

And here were the views beyond the end of subway platform, but not necessarily up the narrow slit.

Valley
Mountains
Mountains
Mountains
Creek
Captured at the entrance of Boynton Subway.

After this climbing excursion, we headed back towards the trailhead. It’s about 4:30pm by the time we reached our car, an hour from sunset. Just like yesterday, we wanted to watch the sunset somewhere scenic, and my friend and I decided on Cathedral Rock for that.

Cathedral Rock

Cathedral Rock shared many similarities with the Bell Rock that we visited this morning. It’s a short trail or climb that offered spectacular views, and thus popular with visitors. (Both required a pass or fee for parking.) Due to its rock formation, the trail to Cathedral Rock actually ended up at a saddle point. So unlike Bell Rock, the views varied along the trail and it felt like a new world with refreshing sights emerging beyond the horizon as one reached the end of its trail.

We only reached the trailhead at 5pm, about half an hour before the official sunset. With mountains towards the west at higher elevation, the sun would set earlier than that. Since I didn’t want to miss the sunset, once off the car I raced all the way up the rock. The steep 1km one-way trail involved some scrambling sections for most people, but didn’t present any technical difficulties to me. Despite I carried a full frame camera, I managed the trail with minimal use of hands (so I would rate that as YDS class 2 tops). And in a mere 20 minutes, I arrived at the end of the trail with heavy panting and a golden horizon in front of me.

But the highlight of sunset from Cathedral Rock should be the mountains to the west, bathing in the warm and soft colors at sunset.

Mountains to the East
Glowing under the setting sun.
Mountains to the East

10 minutes later the sun had set below the opposite mountains, so these rocks took on a milder appearance.
Twin Buttes
Chapel of Holy Cross visible below the mountains.
East Twin Butte
Courthouse Butte
Mountains to the East
Mountains to the East
6 more minutes later things started to get dark.
Mountains to the East
8 more minutes later, the remaining of the rocks’ colors were beginning to fade to darkness.
Spire
Weirdly that I couldn’t find its name online.

In comparison, the views towards the west weren’t as broad, and didn’t come with enough iconic red rocks as the eastern side of Cathedral Rock.

Setting Sun
Setting Sun
Landscape after Sunset
Landscape after Sunset

Between posing for photos and watching the sun set below the distant horizon, and the transition of colors on the rocks towards the east, my friend and I spent about 25 minutes at Cathedral Rock. Due to the rock formation funneling the wind through, wind was strong at Cathedral Rock, and after sunset it was getting cold pretty quickly. So at around 7:45pm, we started our descent.
That’s when we found that halfway up Cathedral Rock, the views were actually broader, with Airport Mesa and Capitol Butte also in sight. Heading downhill, we watched these mountains rested in tranquility under the dark blue sky as night fell.

Mountain to the South
Mountains to the South
Cathedral Rock
The southern part.
Cathedral Rock
The northern part.
Red Rocks after Sunset
Fields to the Northeast
Fields to the North
Villages before Airport Mesa. Capitol Butte and Brins Butte in the background.
Trail to Cathedral Rock
Taken during our descent when it’s almost dark. A sign of its steepness.