Rocking Ancient Art ~ V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Sedona AZ

Southern Sinagua Rock Art in Sedona AZ                                                                         @Marcia Mauskopf

My GF Pat Bullock Williams always has the best ideas :) Recently she wanted to go check out these petraglyphs just outside of Sedona...now, I had been out this way before, even on the road out to the site, but never quite made the last half mile to the parking lot.

V-Bar-V Heritage site is both an easy drive and easy hike that can be done by almost anyone. Note that you do need a Red Rock pass to park, but admission is free beyond that. Once parking your car, the petroglyphs are only about a half mile away on a wide trail that runs through shady forest. Start your visit by taking the main trail to the Visitor Center and make sure to bring water as there is none on the property. While the hike is short you will want to spend quite some time viewing the rock art.

So what will you see when you get to the site? Only the largest and most well preserved petroglyphs in the Verde Valley. Created by the Southern Sinaugua Tribe, the glyphs were drawn between A.D. 1150 and 1400. It's awe inspiring to know that they have survived so many centuries of wind and rain as well as the hand of man and I highly recommend visiting this site at least once, I know I'll be back very soon.

For more information go to Verde Valley Archeology Center.

Challenging Life's Challenges

Sometimes the shortest distance is the greatest challenge. Whether it is scaling a steep rock by fingers and toes or limping down a gentle slope with a grievous injury, circumstances often provide greater challenges than Mother Nature herself. And it's with overcoming these obstacles that we often find our greatest source of healing and release.

How many times have you looked at a challenge and taken it to find empowerment on the other side? Crossing the Grand Canyon, hiking alone into the desert for an over nighter, vision quest, or maybe just pushing a temporary condition past it's limit to prove to yourself that everything was going to be ok? We need our obstacles to have something to master, to prove to ourselves that yes.we.can.

Earlier this month on vacation I had a mis-hap that left me unable to even step up a curb without help. A scant week later I stared up the little mountain on Airport Mesa, wanting so much to feel the air on my face and gaze at the valley below. A gentle upward slope, trail cut with stair steps, only maybe 50 steps between the parking lot and where I wanted to be. 50 steps bigger than the curb of a week before. Walking stick in hand, leaning heavily, pain coating each movement, I slowly made my way to the top. And standing there, a desert breeze rustling my hair, I knew that somehow, eventually I would be ok.

Rahelio, Your Guide for Sedona Nature Excursions [Mystic Tours]

I laid on the mountaintop feeling the warmth of the sandstone rise through my back to meet the vibration of the drumbeat pounding through my mid-section above. Listening to the Indian prayer chant, the knot in my lower back that had bothered me for 30 years suddenly relaxed and I somehow knew that it would trouble me no more. I opened my eyes to the views of Airport Mesa, the other participants in our group and Rahelio quietly standing beside.

Rahelio is a Toltec Wisdom Teacher making his home in Sedona, AZ. He takes people on tours of a very special nature, enjoying the beauty of Red Rock Country while exploring the spiritual vistas within themselves. Rahelio came to Sedona to live in 1987 after being a guide on Maui, Hawaii. His desire to help people connect with the land was the impetus for working as a guide here.

Toltec Wisdom Teacher, Rahelio                                       ©Marcia Mauskopf 2011

Anyone can hike on the land on their own, but a guided outing by Rahelio brings in the spiritual aspect  that so many miss. Rahelio helps you to experience the magic of ancient sacred land. You will hike, you will learn about the land and a quieter life but more than anything you will experience a quietness of spirit that is unlike anything in your daily life. This is not your Mother's off - road tour, this is a journey into your own connection with Mother Earth. There are many things that have to be experienced...not analyzed or lectured about. While some of the other tours in the valley will give you an education in Spirit, Rahelio helps you experience it in a way that will transform your life.

My experience with Rahelio taught me that when one is open to Spirit there is no need for mood altering chemicals, there is a natural high that comes from a connection to the Earth. He helps bridge the gap from external to internal offering an experience that is as unique as the red land he helps you explore.


For Excursion Information contact Rahelio at:  
Phone: (928) 282-6735 
Email: rahelio@msn.com 
Website: www.rahelio.com

Secret Wildflowers - North Wilson Trail #123 Sedona, AZ

Sometimes the greater the push the bigger the reward. I certainly am not quite ready for this hike rated strenuous by the NFS, but J. and the dog were game so I agreed to see how far I could go.

North Wilson Trail #123 is a 2.8 mile in and out with a 1450 elevation gain. The trailhead is at the Encinoso Picnic Area about five miles north of Sedona on 89A north.  The first .2 miles or so is like climbing Chase Field...from the Diamond to the nosebleed seats....or at least that's the way it felt. But the views are spectacular even from the lower parts of the trail and the narrow trail winding through tall grass is a delight to the senses.

Boundary of Secret Mountain Wilderness                          ©2011 Marcia Mauskopf

At about 500 feet elevation the trail levels off a bit. It winds around tree trunks split and blackened by lightning strikes and quickly enters into the Secret Mountain Wilderness, which has over 43,950 acres of forest held within the high canyon walls.

Wildflowers overflowed in the middle of the forest.                                                                                     ©2011 Jeff Felske

This part of the trail is so different from what we are used to in Phoenix. The lushness that my memories of California's Central Coast are made of and wildflowers personal to the region. I could have stayed forever but a fast look to the cliff tops told us that the time had melted away and a lack of flashlights made our decision to leave that part of the canyon and head back to the parking lot.


As we broke through the shadows back into the sunshine of the crest of the trail we watched the hikers ahead enjoying the view of Oak Creek and vowed to tackle this trail again and again and again.

Hikers making their way back down the trail.                                    ©2011 Marcia Mauskopf

HOW TO GET THERE:
Take 89A north through Oak Creek Canyon to the Encinoso Picnic area which will be on your left. This will be about five miles north of Sedona. There is a small parking lot here with restrooms and water fountains and ramadas shading picnic tables and charcoal grills. The trailhead itself is directly at the entrance of the park and starts elevating immediately.

Deadman's Pass Trail, Sedona

Why a name like Deadman's Pass? Just Red Rock romance or is there a back story? Turns out there is. According to Jean Matthews Kindig, author of Sedona Area Names & Place, a Native American grave was found in the area....I don't know if that is enough to scare anyone off, but the morning we slipped and slid over this trail there was no one else in sight.

This is a short and easy trail, just right for me at three miles round trip. The morning we went out was after a recent snow, making the trail slick with ice and mud, surrounded by mini snowfields and trickling melt.

Agave and Snow ©Jeff Felske 2011

On this particular morning it was about 40º and so still you could hear the sounds of the occasional bird moving from branch to branch. We set out to where the Boynton Canyon trail intersects with Deadman's and almost immediately started crossing snow. Once on Deadman's Pass we had incredible Red Rock views and the feeling of solitude.

Snow, ice and mud on the trail. ©Jeff Felske 2011

The trail intersects with Long Canyon Trail giving the option of going another six miles round trip. On this day we turned around and headed back to get to the next part of my Birthday adventure, a Mystic Tour....



How To Get There
Take 89A out to Dry Creek Road and go North. Turn left at Long Canyon Rd. then right on FR152C. The trailhead and parking area (with restrooms) are on your right. You will need a Red Rock Pass to park here. If you are going to go to Sedona more than 3 times in a year you'll save by purchasing the $20 Annual Pass.

Diary Of A Hiking Virgin

Why is it that the first time you do ANYTHING it's the hardest? I've been blogging for years and years about my photography and can do it in my sleep but writing about hiking???? Well, here goes:

I guess the place to start is by introducing myself and my place in the hiking world. I didn't have one. I was the girl that when everyone else said "let's see what's on the other side of that hill..." I said, " uh, yeahhhhhhh, you go on ahead and I'll just, hmmm, sit in the car and read. I mean, I used to like to go up in the hills a bit back home in Santa Barbara, but breaking a sweat???? Then I moved here...To North Scottsdale and only an hour and a half from magical Sedona, and I got intrigued by the landscape. It started with little walks around Airport Mesa and then one day last year we parked at Bell Rock, I stared at the opening to the trail and took a deep breath....and did it.

...and I never felt more alive.

Deadman's Pass, Sedona AZ

So this is the place that my journey began and my journal begins...I'll be posting about different hikes and camping trips future and past. My experiences with trails, trail foods and equipment. I invite your comments, conversations and tips as I chronicle my little life with bigger and littler hikes.