bjregan

Sedona Sights

We have many awesome hikes in New Mexico, but one of the most spectacular hiking destinations we have come to appreciate is in our neighboring state of Arizona. It’s pretty hard to beat the beautiful red rock formations in Sedona, Arizona. Fortunately for us, it’s only a 6-hour drive from Albuquerque, making it doable as a short vacation getaway.

Arriving here yesterday in the early afternoon we had time to hike the Doe Mountain Trail, which gives a nice birds-eye view of Sedona.

Today started with a hike up Cathedral Rock, a relatively short trail. But there are some challenges involving rock scrambles. At one point I looked up a steep, narrow slot that had to be navigated and was ready to call it quits. But a woman behind me gave me a little pep talk, which was just enough to give me the confidence that I could do it.

Looking back down the trail from partway up Cathedral Rock.

An extra rock ledge you can get to after the trail ends at the saddle.

The second hike of the day was longer, but much easier. It meandered through pinon and juniper forests with enough open views to make the climb worthwhile.

Rock formation at the left is known as the Coffee Pot.

We had hoped to see some cacti in bloom, but, like northern New Mexico, it’s a bit too early. There were many wildflowers, though.

One of many Agave plants beginning to bloom.

We will have time for another hike tomorrow before driving back to Albuquerque. It won’t be a problem finding one, because there are literally hundreds to choose from. And, for sure, we will be back here again because even if it is a hike we’ve done, the beauty of this place doesn’t get old.

Monte Largo Canyon

We still manage to find new hikes within 60 miles of Albuquerque that surprise us with their remote beauty. It wasn’t just that we failed to see another soul on the trail, but after we left the paved road and drove across 10 miles of desolate, flat rangeland to reach the trailhead in the foothills we never even saw another vehicle, either going in or coming back out.

Monte Largo Canyon is on the west side of the Manzano Mountains, which we’ve hiked in before, but usually our hikes start on trails that are on the east side of the mountains. The west side of the mountains are reached by driving south of Albuquerque to Belen and then east. Below is a picture of our track on Google Maps.

We found it quite amusing to see all of the street names on the map. It must be someone’s dream of future development because driving out there you see nothing but flat rangeland, rough dirt roads and, once in awhile, an isolated ranch. There are no street signs anywhere.

For our friends who are familiar with the Manzano Mountains, notice that the hike is climbing up towards the crest, about halfway between Manzano Peak and Gallo Peak. We’ve been up there on the crest before, but always by hiking in from the other side. Forest Service Maps do show a trailhead for Monte Largo Canyon, but not a trail. That seems strange because it was a trail that was fairly easy to follow, basically up the drainage of the canyon.

We got some nice views from an overlook about 2.5 miles in from the trailhead, at which point we turned around and came back down. If we were real ambitious, of course, it would have been possible to get all the way to the crest. But maybe another time.