Hiking in the White Mountains: Enter the Vortex . . . Sedona

Wilson Mountain 10/13/21

Wilson Mountain Trail: 9.1 miles (2,664' elevation gained)

Boynton Canyon 10/18/21

Boynton Canyon Trail / Herd Path / Boynton Vista Trail: 9.3 miles (1,490' elevation gained)

Trip Report:

- On Wednesday the 13th we got up early and headed south to Sedona for a hike of Wilson Mountain, The drive to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon on 89A is picturesque and we made it to the small trailhead at Midgley Bridge just after 7AM and were on trail for 7:15AM.

- Wilson Mountain Trail is very gradual with decent footing as it meanders above a ravine to a wide open plateau to the junction where the North Wilson Trail joins in for the final push to the summit. The plateau is an exposed section of trail, which was perfect for this day as it was a chilly start so the sun warmed us up pretty quickly.

- Sarge was along for this hike and he was leashed up for the ascent making sure not to let him step off trail as there were cacti and other sharp edge desert plants immediately off the trail.

- There are two viewpoints on Wilson Mountain, the south and north. We headed to the south one, the Sedona Overlook, as it has superior views and is a much quicker hike. The north outlook has a good view too but most of it is obstructed or it was in 2017 when I was there and IMO is not worth the hassle.

- We made decent time up to the summit of Wilson Mountain, the highest point in Sedona at 7,122 feet, and relaxed and took of the expansive views before jogging back down. On the descent I let Sarge off leash commanding him to stay behind me with Whitney and Todd in tow. He was a good dog an behaved for the whole run down.

- We made it back to the now full trailhead just after 10AM, it was still early so we drove to do an easy short hike to Submarine Rock. Good views are to be had at Submarine Rock and it's a perfect spot to watch the Sedona Pink Jeep tours drive off road which was a pretty cool site to see considering I classify my Jeep as a "Mall Jeep" as it hardly does any off roading, is an automatic, and I wash it and clean the inside once a week May through October!

Early morning on the Wilson Mountain Trail

Looking up to the summit plateau of Wilson Mountain

Sedona, beautiful views in all directions

Out in the sun looking back at where we came up from

Heading to the summit, some lingering snow from Tuesday's storm

Wilson Mountain's Sedona Overlook

All smiles on the summit for Sarge and Whitney

Todd gets a great long range photo of Humphrey's Peak

Myself, Sarge, and Whitney trail running back down

Heading to Submarine Rock

Sarge on Submarine Rock

Pano from Submarine Rock

Sarge enjoying the views

Sarge with mommy!

Pink Jeep tours!

Boynton Canyon 10/18/21

Boynton Canyon Trail / Herd Path / Boynton Vista Trail: 9.3 miles (1,490' elevation gained)

Trip Report:

- On Monday the 18th we headed back to Sedona early to beat the crowds that flock Boynton Canyon's vista outlook where a vortex is located. Our hike would be to the actually canyon itself, an off trail trek to the Subway Cave, and then to the vista for the vortex.

- The Boynton Canyon Vortex is said to have a "balance of masculine and feminine energy," whatever the hell that means, all I know is that it's good people watching.

- The trail to all three spots is very easy, we started off with the Subway as that area is pretty small and is best experienced with no crowds, luckily there were only two others in the subway when we got there. The Subway Cave is a cliff with high rounded walls that resemble a subway tunnel. Close by are old cliff dwellings and petroglyphs from the Sinagua people "Without Water" from as far back as 1,500 years ago I believe.

- After exploring the Subway we backtracked to the trail and hiked to its endpoint where there is a nice view as canyon walls rise high above. We took a snack break here before heading almost all the way back to the trailhead before branching off on the short side trail to the vista where the vortex is located.

- We ran into a local eccentric, Robert Sechrengost, on our way to the vista. He is known as the Flute Man, Heart Shape Rock Guy, Unconditional Lover, etc. He introduced himself and gave a speech about love and handed us each a heart shaped rock. Click here for an article about him and here for a video of him playing flute in the vortex.

- We finally made it to the vista where there are two towering rock formations, one is referred to as Kachina Woman and the other is Warrior Man. The vista is a pretty spot but I didn't feel any energy flowing through me but I'm pretty sure Sarge did as he had a vacant look on his face, more so than usual. We let Sarge meditate for a few minutes before heading back to the Jeep and driving into town for a pretty stellar lunch with one of Whitney's AZT thru hiker friends at the Sedona Beer Company.