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LONG CANYON TRAIL #122
Sedona
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| Oak woodlands in Long Canyon |
There's something magical
about the way hiking in a canyon can make the stresses of everyday
life melt away. After a long week of juggling priorities, chores,
shuttling kids and trying to maintain a semblance of work life
balance, who couldn't use a good squeeze? In terms of sheer quantity
of canyon trails, Sedona offers a pulsating super nova of choices.
Boynton, West Fork, and Fay canyons are easy access crowd favorites
while Secret and Loy attract those looking for more challenge and
solitude. In between, there's Long Canyon. Located near a hub of
newer routes, this oldie but goodie is mostly overlooked by hikers
seeking fresh dirt. But, to shrug this trail off would be to miss a
journey through four types of forests pressed between converging
sandstone bluffs weathered into bizarre, russet pinnacles. Stepping
out from the trailhead, the path is wide and well worn, passing an
upscale resort (golf course, eyes right) before dissolving into the Red
Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness. The massive profiles of Steamboat
Rock and Maroon Mountain act as sentries at the canyon's entrance.
For the first mile, the trail passes through typical high desert
scrub dominated by manzanita and yucca. As the canyon walls begin to
close in, the trail transitions into a forest of juniper and Arizona
cypress trees with their characteristic shaggy bark. Several drainage
crossing and a tighter pinch of canyon walls precede the entry into
a deciduous woodland of Emory oaks and alders. Here, the trees are
so thick they nearly block out views of the soaring stone walls that rise
hundreds of feet over head. After a short climb, the first Ponderosa
pines and Douglas firs appear, sharing the ever narrowing gorge with
an understory of jostled washes and low-growing brambles. Although
the official trail is 3 miles long, it's difficult to tell just where
it ends and rudimentary footpaths take over. I had hiked to a point
where the path became overgrown. When I checked my GPS, I had hiked 4
miles. At this point, a fortress of canyon walls surround a damp,
earthy cloister devoid of all the hassles of civilization. Ponder the
calming effects of bird calls bouncing off stone escarpments and
breezes exhaled from the head of the canyon. It feels like nature
hugging you closer.
RATING: moderate
ELEVATION: 4,200' - 5,600'
FEE: None. A Red Rock Pass is not required.
FEE: None. A Red Rock Pass is not required.
GETTING THERE:
From
the State Route 89A/179 traffic circle in Sedona, go 3 miles west on 89A
(left, toward Cottonwood) to Dry Creek Road (Forest Road 152C), turn right and
continue 2.9 miles to Long Canyon Road (Forest Road 152D), turn right and go
0.5 mile to the trailhead on the left.
INFO: Red Rock Ranger District, Coconino National Forest
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55340
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55340
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