Sedona, Arizona - Cathedral Rock
Cathedral Rock is a classic hike in Sedona. It's kind of on the 'must do' list because of the views it offers. It's also very easy and its one of the more popular hikes in Sedona. If we didn't have a limited three days to hike, we would of maybe done something else. But let's face it. The name 'Cathedral Rock' sounds pretty awesome!
We had just completed the Devil's Bridge hike about an hour before and went to lunch afterwards. On the way there, you drove right pass Cathedral Rock and got to see it just from the road.
On the other side of Cathedral Rock is Bell Rock. Another popular hike in Sedona. Once again, amazing sculptures made by the impacts of mother nature.
Below is Wilson Mountain, tallest in Sedona!!
Since it was late in the day, the parking lot was jam packed, but luckily we had our red rock pass and got a spot in the lot and not a mile down the street. I heard that the police were handing out tickets left and right. If we couldn't find a spot in the parking lot, I would of chose a different place to hike. Getting a $200 ticket is not worth it!
You could see Cathedral Rock from almost any angle. This is from the beginning of the trail.
It's amazing, because people actually climb to the top of those pillars! Maybe someday I'll hire someone to guide me the way up and get a view from the top!
A panoramic view from the start of the hike.
It's a really easy trail, but there are some places where you have to use your hands to climb up. In the beginning there is a place where you have to balance yourself between a crevice in the rock. Once again, there were a lot of people on this hike and it was a pain in the ass to negotiate who was coming up and coming down.
The area where people were crammed and no one was being courteous and letting other people go.
This is what the view looked like just before the crevice. In the middle of the picture, the big circular pile of rocks is the navigation cairns for the trails. This is how they mark the trails out west so you don't damage the wildlife. People say that there isn't much to damage out there because its all desert and rock. That's false. There's a lot of critters that rely on certain rocks and plants out there. You kill the plants, you kill the animals and bugs that rely on them.
Jessica was uncomfortable with this area, the people climbing up and down, the possibility of slipping on the rock and the stupidity of some of the other hikers. Little kids were just sitting in the middle, talking to their parents and blocking the flow of traffic. She just wasn't up to it. So I decided I would climb a little further to see what it looked like above. Man I'm glad I made that choice. The view was stunning!!
The view looking over western Sedona. Some of those houses are worth millions of dollars. It's all about location out here. A beautiful view bumps up the price of the property.
The pillars of Cathedral Rock towering above me.
Looking north with Capitol Butte to the left and Coffee Pot rock in the middle. The small, bald area just below the mountains is Sugarloaf Mountain where we hiked the previous day!
Looking east with the Munds Mountain Wilderness in the middle and part of Bell Rock to the right.
Above is a picture of The Chapel of the Holy Cross. A famous Roman Catholic church built on the side of the mountain. They designed it to make it look like it was naturally put there.
Picture of a woman on one of the higher spots above me. I was going to go to the top, but I didn't want to leave Jessica alone and waiting any longer. There was still another quarter of a mile left and maybe only a couple of hundred feet of elevation gain, but I didn't know how long it was going to take me and I didn't want her to be worried.
After Cathedral Rock, we headed back to the campsite to freshen up and head out to dinner. What do you think we did this night? Yup. You got it. Mexican. We got a beautiful spot on the patio and watched the sunset while having dinner. What a great end to another great day!!
