Sedona: Oak Creek Canyon, West Fork Oak Creek, & Bell Rock

The Sedona area is a very special place to me. When I was little we went on vacation in the Southwestern United States and one of the most memorable places was Sedona. I was amazed at the red rocks and the unique scenery. Once I started grad school Sedona became a favorite spot to hike and fish. I wanted to spend one more weekend in the area before moving back to Illinois and knock something off my bucketlist - camping in Oak Creek Canyon. As I pulled into Cave Springs campground early on Saturday morning the attendant told me that I was in luck because they would be closing for the season the very next day. 

After picking out my site I changed into my waders, grabbed my gear, and waded into the creek. Oak Creek is the reason I started fly fishing. One of the first few times I drove along Highway 89A I saw fly fishermen walking along the road and it instantly became something I wanted to do. Catching trout, some of the most beautiful fish, in one of the most beautiful streams I'd ever seen seemed like a dream come true. The creek is open to fishermen provided they catch and release and use only single barbless hooks with artificial flies or lures. Oak Creek is home to Page Springs Fish Hatchery, which stocks rainbow trout and brown trout in Oak Creek and around the State of Arizona.  Unfortunately the dream of catching trout in Oak Creek has remained just that. Since I started fly fishing I've made 3 trips up to Oak Creek and been unsuccessful each time, hooking a few but unable to land any. While I've been more successful in other waters around the state, Oak Creek remains my favorite place to fish because of the beautiful scenery. I've never come home disappointed because the scenery more than makes up for the joy of catching anything. This trip in particular wound up turning into a bit of a photo trip instead of actual fishing because of the beautiful fall colors. After nearly 5 hours in the creek near Bootlegger Day Use Area, only a few trout spotted, and a dozen snags, I packed up my gear and hiked back to camp to drop off my fishing gear and start hiking. As I become a better fisherman I can't wait to return to Oak Creek to finally make a catch.

Cave Springs Campground was amazing. The entire campground sits among tall trees with the red walls of the canyon in the distance. The campground was mainly empty due to the cold weather (nothing scares Arizonans away quicker) and the fact that it was Halloween. For $20 per night the campground features drive in sites with picnic tables and fire pits, showers available, and pit toilets (pretty clean too!). Littered among the pines were some deciduous trees at the peak of their leaf colors making the campsite extra pretty. I drove over to Indian Gardens Oak Creek Market for a sandwich, my favorite lunch spot in the area. Sitting among the trees on the back patio is something everyone should do on a visit to Sedona.

The campground is located a short distance from the Call of the Canyon Day Use Area, famous for its West Fork Oak Creek (#108) Trailhead. I hiked along Highway 89A down to the trailhead, which required a $2 walk in entrance fee. Driving in is an option as well but at $10 per car with long lines backing up onto Highway 89A making the hike a bit longer by walking in was well worth it.

The West Fork Oak Creek Trail #108 is a 6 mile round trip out and back. The canyon continues past the official end of the trail, although wading and even swimming is required. With around 200 ft. of elevation change on the trail, it isn't too strenuous although it requires several creek crossings that can get your feet wet. The trail is famous for its winding canyon which features beautiful red rocks carved by the west fork of Oak Creek, towering cliffs overhead, and in the fall beautiful colors from maples, sycamores, and other deciduous trees. The trail begins by crossing through a field that features an old apple orchard that originated in the late 1800s. It also passes the ruins of an old cabin, Mayhew Lodge. The first cabin was built in the 1870s by Bear Howard, a man who eradicated Grizzly Bears from the canyon after a friend was killed by one. The last Arizona Grizzlies were killed in the 1930s. 

The trail continues along the west fork, and the views were unbelievable. I was able to make it nearly to the end of the trail before darkness began to set in. As a midwestern who took the changing of leaves every autumn for granted, this hike was just what I had been missing. Paired with the aspens of Flagstaff, I was able to really enjoy the fall colors this year.

As I got back into the parking lot it was nearly dark and I was one of the last few people coming back in off the trail. I hiked my way along Highway 89A in the dark with the aid of a headlamp, something I don't recommend doing. I arrived back to camp for dinner, Zataran's Jambalaya and some Trader Joe's Andouille sausage. After a beer and a cup of hot tea under the stars I went to bed. The stars were spectacular. Despite it being 35 degrees I slept really well and woke up the next morning at dawn. I tore down camp and made my way back through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona en route to Bell Rock. Along the way I stopped to grab a picture of Cathedral Rock, which was glowing in morning sun.

Bell Rock is one of the most iconic places in Sedona, greeting visitors as they enter the area from Highway 179 off of I-17. It's also a special place because it is one of Sedona's vortex sites, a place where, according to New Age "gurus", the earth's energy converges creating some sort of mystical something or other (If you can't tell I haven't explored my spirituality very thoroughly). In 1987 5,000 people gathered at Bell Rock for the Worldwide Harmonic Convergence. Bell Rock was one of 12 sites around the world that featured global meditation for peace, and rumors spread that the rock would open up to reveal a spaceship (I'm serious). Although the spaceship/world peace hasn't happened yet, I can imagine that the beautiful views made attendance well worth it, kind of like how I keep unsuccessfully fishing in Oak Creek without feeling disappointed. The area is absolutely beautiful and if NPS had gotten to it before the real estate developers, there isn't a doubt in my mind that we could have had a national park here.

The trail to Bell Rock begins at the Bell Rock Vista, which connects to several trails including the Courthouse Butte Loop. I hiked 1.2 miles to the northwest face of Bell Rock, where I began my scramble up to the top.

I wasn't exactly sure how to get to the top of Bell Rock and I didn't want to miss a chance to enjoy coffee on the rock in the sunrise so I made my way around the face of the rock to a ledge about halfway up. I watched the sunrise enjoying one of the most unique early morning cups of coffee I've ever had. After a quick visit from a small wren who was disappointed to find that I didn't have any food to share, I built a small cairn and went on my way.

After finishing my coffee I began to feel the energy of the vortex, or perhaps just the caffeine, and decided to climb to the top of the rock. The hike became very steep, leading up a draw on the northwest face of the rock that turned into borderline rock climbing in some sections. I'm not sure if I got to the top the easiest way but it was extremely fun nonetheless.

The views from the top were pretty awesome. I could see Sedona to the north, Courthouse Butte to the east, Highway 179 to the West, and the Verde Valley to the south. I soaked up my last views of red rock country for the immediate future, promising myself that I would be back one day soon to visit, next time as a tourist from Illinois.

As I descended Bell Rock and made my way back to the car I passed moutainbikers, hikers, and dogs all with a big smile on their faces enjoying the beautiful morning. As I left I reflected on how much I love Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon and how many wonderful memories I have made in the area and I felt a great sense of inner peace. Maybe there is something to these vortexes (vortices?) after all...

The Hikes:

West Fork Oak Creek Trail #108: 6 miles round trip, ~200 ft. elevation gain
Bell Rock: 3 miles round trip, ~500 ft. elevation gain

Leave No Trace!

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park: Twin Lakes Trail to Ranger Lake and Tokopah Falls Trail

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to backpack in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park with my sister and some friends. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are a pair of National Parks located in the western Sierra Nevadas of California, a few hours’ drive south of Yosemite. Sequoia National Park receives only a quarter of Yosemite’s 4 million annual visitors and Kings Canyon only half of that. However, the parks have a combined 865,000 acres of land compared to Yosemite’s 748,000 making them much less crowded, especially in Kings Canyon. This made a visit to the parks the ideal choice for my sister when her permit application to hike Half Dome was unfortunately denied due to the popularity of the hike. Instead she set her sights on the Twin Lakes Trail, a trek up to alpine lakes along the border between Sequoia and Kings Canyon. This alternate trip also moved the adventure further south, making it a bit more accessible for me to drive in from Phoenix. I not so subtly hinted that it would be something I’d like to do and was quickly invited to fill a spot on the backcountry permit.

Formed in 1890 to preserve the groves of Giant Sequoias from loggers, Sequoia National Park is the second oldest in the parks system behind Yellowstone. Kings Canyon came along 50 years later in 1940, absorbing the General Grant National Park (created alongside Sequoia to preserve another grove of Sequoias). This year was a year of celebration as the 125^th anniversary of Sequoia and 75^th anniversary of Kings Canyon. The parks essentially function together, creating an awesome experience traversing several ecosystems ranging from the hot dry foothills region of the park to the groves of massive Giant Sequoias and alpine lakes. The parks are a land of superlatives, boasting the highest peak in the contiguous United States (Mount Whitney – 14,505 ft.) and the largest tree in the world by volume (General Sherman – 52,500 cubic ft.). The parks contain 97 miles of the John Muir Trail (75 in Kings Canyon and 22 in Sequoia) and over 800 miles of trails. Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen Mile, Mile and a Half yet do yourself a favor and watch it.

http://themuirproject.com/mmah/film/

After a few months of anxiously awaiting our hike and watching Mile, Mile and a Half on repeat to get myself psyched for the Sierras, the weekend finally came. I loaded up the car and began the 600 mile drive to Sequoia. I split the drive up over two days, stopping for the night at Mojave National Preserve (an extremely underrated park that I’ll be posting about later). After barely sleeping with excitement I packed up camp at 4 AM and cruised through the Mojave Desert and into the San Joaquin Valley. I passed through Bakersfield and the miles after miles of orange groves and fruit farms until I saw the peaks of the Sierras cresting in the distance. Coming from the south, the entrance to the park takes you through the golden hills of Three Rivers, CA and past Lake Kaweah, a reservoir built by the Army Corps of Engineers as a means of controlling flooding from the snowmelt of the mountains behind it. Highway 198 continues along the Kaweah River and enters Sequoia National Park in the Foothills, a section of the park characterized by low elevation, hot, dry air and chaparral. The Generals Highway carries you up a winding road nearly 5,000 feet to the Giant Forest where you gain your first glimpse of the incredible Giant Sequoia Trees.

Lake Kaweah from Highway 198

Driving through The Giant Forest on Generals Highway

We would be camping the first night at Lodgepole Campground, located just past the Giant Forest on Generals Highway. Arriving early on Friday afternoon, I had time to squeeze in a day hike while I waited for everyone else to arrive. The rest of my fellow backpackers would be coming from San Francisco a few hours after me. Lodgepole is home to the trailhead of the Twin Lakes trail, which we would be hiking in the morning, and the Tokopah Falls Trail, a short 3.4 mile out and back trail along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River. The trail ends at Tokopah Falls, which cascades 1,200 feet down into Tokopah Canyon. With only 530 feet of elevation gain along the trail, it was a super quick hike out to the falls. However, I brought a fly rod and spent the afternoon attempting to catch Brook Trout as I hiked back. The trout were present in pretty good numbers and I found a nice pocket of water where I had managed to hook 3 of them on elk hair caddis but lost them before I could put them in the net. After about 20 minutes of laser focus on the water and no bites, I turned around to see a mama Black Bear and her cub crossing the river  about 150 ft. behind me. I was extremely nervous at first because I had never encountered bears in the wild besides seeing them from the safety of a car and this was waaay too close for comfort. Standing barefoot in the river with only a fly rod, net, and a camera, I did the first logical thing I could think of which was to start snapping pictures before climbing out of the water and backing away slowly. However, besides being a bit curious as I backed away from her, she seemed not to notice my presence. I watched her and the cub from across the river and used my zoom lens to its full potential. I watched her tear the bark off of a tree, most likely searching for food. I also watched as her cub proved that yes, bears do in fact shit in the woods. As other hikers began to notice the bears and began approaching to take pictures (from a respectful distance) I gathered my daypack and shoes and headed back into the campsite. I didn’t catch a single fish but I had one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had on the water.

Kaweah River along Tokopah Falls Trail

Tokopah Canyon

Tokopah Falls

Black Bear and cub, Tokopah Falls Trail

Black Bear

Kaweah River along Tokopah Falls Trail

Coneflower

Mountain Quail

The campsite itself is located along the Kaweah River and is very calming until you see the constant reminders that there are big furry creatures that want to eat all your food everywhere around you. There were bear bins at each site and signs everywhere warning to put everything and anything a bear might find tasty into the bins overnight and anytime you stepped away from the campsite. A ranger told us that there had been 3 car break-ins that week! The sites were slightly crowded together but everyone around us was really cool. The rest of the group arrived and after a dinner of slightly burned Dutch oven deep dish pizzas we fell asleep wondering if we might be visited by my friends from the river, waking the next morning to the sounds of Stellar’s Jays and the smell of pine.

We got started at the Twin Lakes Trailhead around 10 AM. The Twin Lakes trail takes hikers 7 miles and 2600 ft. up to Twin Lakes, two alpine lakes that sit at 9400 feet. Being 14 miles roundtrip it can either be done as a long day hike or an overnight backpacking trip, and our company along the trail seemed to be a pretty even split between the two ways to hike the trail. We would be continuing past Twin Lakes an extra 3 miles to Ranger Lake, which many hikers use as a way to connect to even more remote trails in the Sierra backcountry. The trail started off with a decent climb up through the pine forest surrounding Tokopah Canyon and we were treated to beautiful views of the valley as we ascended. After about 2.5 miles of hiking and approximately a 1000 ft. elevation gain we arrived at Cahoon Meadow, a beautiful open meadow and perfect point to take a break.

Twin Lakes Trailhead

Twin Lakes Trail outside of Lodgepole

Cahoon Meadow

 The next mile and a half featured another 1000 foot climb through the forest up to Cahoon Gap, which featured a nice view back down onto the meadow below. We continued past the trail to J.O. pass and were treated to patches of Lupines, Leopard Lily, and Indian Paintbrush along the wooded trail. We stopped for another break along the East Fork of Clover Creek, a stream that flows from Twin Lakes steeply down the mountainside. The cold water felt amazing after nearly 6 miles of hiking.

Cahoon Meadow seen from Twin Lakes Trail

Cooling off in Clover Creek

We arrived at Twin Lakes around 2 PM and spent a relaxing two hours enjoying the cool water. The water temperature was somewhere in the low 70s or high 60s so it was definitely a bit cold at first but it was so enjoyable to be cooling off in the alpine lake. I spent most of our break fly fishing and had no luck despite seeing at least a dozen trout rising to feed on insects at the surface of the lake. Talking to other fishermen I found out that the few that had success were using small spinner baits while all the fly fishermen were coming up empty handed. After a bit more swimming and enjoying a lunch of oranges, tuna, and of course cold Sierra Nevada Pale Ales we began our ascent up the looming Silliman Pass to cross into Kings Canyon.

Twin Lakes

When in Rome...

Twin Lakes viewed from trail up Silliman Pass

Silliman pass sits at 10,479 feet, approximately an additional mile hike and 1000 ft. above Twin Lakes below. At Silliman pass you officially cross into Kings Canyon National Park and are treated to a dramatic panoramic view of the Sierras rising to the east and Mt. Silliman, which stands 11,188 ft. After a pretty difficult climb and the effects of the thin air slowing us down, we stopped to enjoy some photos of the beautiful Kings Canyon scenery. We began our 2 mile, 1000 ft. descent down to Ranger Lake and enjoyed scenic overlooks of Beville Lake on the way down.

View from Silliman Pass towards Mt. Silliman

Beville Lake viewed descending from Silliman Pass

Descending towards Ranger Lake

We arrived at Ranger Lake just as it began to get dark and spent a good half hour hunting for the bear boxes to stash our gear (which we eventually found no thanks to me). Ranger Lake was much more remote than Twin Lakes sitting only 3 miles away on the other side of Silliman Pass. Our group was the only one spending that night at Ranger Lake, besides the family of mosquitos that I was definitely not used to after spending the past year and a half in the desert. Ranger Lake also allows campfires, whereas Twin Lakes does not. However, after a full day of hiking we were so tired that we immediately went to bed following some rehydrated Mountain House Meals. My favorite was the Cuban Coconut Blackbean and Rice. After a few hours sleep we got up to catch the sunrise at Ranger Lake and another beautiful view of the Sierras illuminated by the eastern light. It’s pretty amazing how much different lighting can change a view so much. We returned back to Lodgepole uneventfully back the way we came, this time being able to encourage oncoming hikers of how close they were to their destination.

Ranger Lake 

Trail back up Silliman Pass

Trail back up Silliman Pass

Beville Lake

My sister is awesome

Our friends and fellow backpackers

Leopard Lily

Upon returning back to Lodgepole and finding that none of our extra food or beer was stolen out of the unlocked bear box (I truly believe that you see the best of humanity when you visit the National Parks) we packed up and made our last stop in the park before heading home, The Giant Forest and General Sherman Tree. The Big Trees Trail through the Giant Forest is the complete opposite of the quiet backcountry trails that we had traversed over the past two days. Crowds of people and families with small children roam along the half mile trail to the General Sherman Tree, admiring the incredible size of the Giant Sequoias around them. The centerpiece of the whole forest is the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world by volume. In 1879 the tree was named after General William Tecumseh Sherman, the famous Civil War General, by a naturalist named James Wolverton who had served under Sherman in the military. General Sherman stands 275 feet tall and measures 36.5 ft. in diameter at its base. I had seen General Sherman once before in 2012 on a brief day trip to the park with some friends from Los Angeles, so seeing the tree again brought back some great memories and cemented some awesome new ones.

General Sherman Tree

Giant Sequoias in The Giant Forest

After a walking back to the car we split our separate ways and began our respective drives back to San Francisco and Phoenix. I stopped again for the night in Mojave National Preserve and made my way back home in time to get to school late on Monday afternoon. What an incredible trip!

If you’d like more information on obtaining a permit to backpack the Twin Lakes Trail you can find it here: http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/permits.htm just be sure to leave no trace!

Trails we hiked:

Tokopah Falls Trail to Tokopah Falls, 3.4 miles round trip, 530 ft. elevation gain/loss

Twin Lakes Trail to Ranger Lake, 20.2 miles round trip, 3700 ft. elevation gain up to Silliman Pass

Big Trees Trail to General Sherman Tree, 1 mile round trip, 200 ft. elevation gain/loss