South side of Bell Rock (as viewed from the parking lot) before the sun hits it
This morning Bruce and I jumped out of bed at 4 am, through on our clothes and headed off to Bell Rock for an early morning hike.
There are numerous crisscrossing and over-lapping trails in this area. We chose Bell Rock because the weather report is calling for temperatures that are hotter than Hades all week long, so we wanted to get an early morning start before the sun and the temperatures rose to high in the sky. Bell Rock is one of the shorter hikes. According to the description in the guide books " The Bell Rock Pathway is a 3½ mile trail linking the Village of Oak Creek and Sedona. Along this pathway you'll enjoy fantastic views of Bell Rock,
Courthouse Butte" ( from parking lot and trail)
"and other landmarks." ( like Castle Rock)
Castle Rock viewed from Bell Rock Trail
Most of the Bell Rock pathway has a wide, hard surface, but there are some steep hills too. Some places around Bell Rock are rocky and rough. (We also saw mountain bike on this trail).It's length is 3.7 miles; with ah easy/moderate rating ; season-all year; & average hiking time-2.5 hour. We thought the trail would give us a chance to judge how fit we are for hiking in extreme heat at elevation.
Decisions,decision s.. should we hike 3.5 miles or 1 mile?
We decided on continuing on the Bell Rock trail
As it turns out, we were not alone in that assumption that before sunrise was better. The canyons and mountains around Sedona have more maintained trails than anywhere else in Arizona. The popularity of the region, and the ease of access to most of the paths means that true solitude may be hard to find. By the time we had walked a quarter of a mile down the trail we encountered a large group of Chinese visitors who, believing they had located the Bell Rock vortex, were welcoming the rising sun with open arms. We decided to be grateful that if one or the other of us had a problem there would be other hikers around to report it and seek aid. (As an additional benefit, we had help in locating the Bell Rock Vortex. Check one more item off our wish list.)
Morning meditation at Bell Rock Vortex.
Pressing on we continued on around the west side of the base
Trail turns the west side of Bell Rock
where we found ourselves once again in the shadow of the rock formation. The shade provided some very welcome relief, from the sun which was already beginning to feel hot on our necks and face.
As the path continued to climb, we noticed we weren't the only ones who seemed to appreciate the shade. All along the trail wildflowers bloomed in great profusion.
West side of Bell Rock from the trail
he vegetation on this side of the rock was lush and full giving some interesting views of Both Bell Rock and the east side of Castle Rock..
East side of Castle Rock
Pressing on, we hiked up to the base of the north side of Bell Rock. The trail is a bit narrower and more slippery on this side.
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Northwest portion of trail is steeper and looser. |
Eventually the path ends atop a broad rock which slope. At this point one can attempt to climb the North face of Bell Rock, OR turn around and return to the south side parking lot, OR
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Looking North toward Sedona |
( as we belatedly found out) continue north on a path that leads to another parking lot (which is only one quarter mile away from the climbing base). ( Good option to know about if you have small children or people who are not hikers in your party.)
For our part we were glad, we took the longer way around, The views were magnificent, and the trail well within our capabilities. It was a good confidence booster for two senior citizens who hadn't left sea level for ten year.
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