Podcast: Hiking Etiquette

ARIZONA STATE PARKS & TRAILS (AWESOME) PODCAST

Listen to Season 3 Episode 6 where I chat about hiking etiquette and cool AZ trails.

Hiking Etiquette with Mare Czinar

https://azstateparks.com/podcast

How can you care for the trails when you pull on your boots and go for a hike? Arizona hiking aficionado Mare Czinar joins us on this episode of the episode to discuss!

Mare has been hiking all over the state for more than 30 years and has reviewed 1000+ trails. She shares her favorite places to hike, and the ways you can mindful of the trails, nature, and other hikers.

Check out the projects where Mare contributes, and read her interview in Phoenix Home & Garden magazine where she discusses her guide "The Hike Book" (volumes 1 and 2). 

• Director of Production & Outdoor Writer at Cities West Media: PHOENIX  and Phoenix Home & Garden magazines

• Contributing writer to "Hike of the Week" in USA Today/Arizona Republic, and dog hikes in Pets & People magazine

• Author of ArizonaHiking.blogspot.com and PHOENIX magazine, "The Hike Book" volumes 1 and 2

• Founder of Arizona Hiking, a 30,000-member Facebook group  

• Member of Arizona State Committee on Trails (ASCOT)

NEW Trail Ambassador Opportunity

BECOME A TRAIL AMBASSADOR FOR MARICOPA COUNTY PARKS

Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area

 

Maricopa County Parks has just created a new volunteer position– “Trail Ambassador”.  The Trail Ambassador will observe trail conditions and report needed repairs to staff, provide guidance to trail users, and reinforce proper trail etiquette and  Leave No Trace principles.  Hikers, bikers, and equestrians can serve as Trail Ambassadors.

Maricopa County Parks are located across the Valley, so there’s one near you!

• Cave Creek Regional Park, Cave Creek

• Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, Cave Creek

• White Tank Regional Park, Waddell

• Estrella Mountain Regional Park, Goodyear

• Lake Pleasant Regional Park,

• McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills

• San Tan Regional Park, Queen Creek

• Usery Mountain Regional Park, Mesa

• plus, the Maricopa Trail connects them all!

 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS NEW OPPORTUNITY

CONTACT:

Bill Klewer

Volunteer Coordinator

602-506-9512

Bill.klewer@maricopa.gov

 

 

Little Horse Trail to Chicken Point

LITTLE HORSE TRAIL to CHICKEN POINT

View of Cathedral Rock from Little Horse Trail

There are myriad reasons why the Little Horse Trail No. 61 is one of the most popular hiking routes in Sedona.  

Cliff-rose emit a pungent fragrance April- Sept.

Epic vistas, connectivity with the Bell Rock Pathway system of trails, iconic rock formations and rich botanical diversity combine for a classic Red Rock Country trek.

Featherplume bloom March - June

 

Little Horse Trail culminates at Chicken Point

The well-known and heavily-travelled path in Coconino National Forest really draws the crowds and finding parking at the trailhead can be a challenge, especially on weekends. 

Fragrant cliff fendlerbush bloom March - June

The recently introduced Sedona Shuttle service offers a convenient solution to parking quagmires at many of Sedona’s most beloved trails, including this one. So, grab a seat and avoid the headaches as well as the trailhead parking fee.

Smell Gregg's ceanothus March - May

Springtime is the optimal window to experience Little Horse in its full-blown wildflower color storm.

Situated just outside of Munds Mountain Wilderness Area, the hike begins with a 0.3-mile walk on the wide Bell Rock Pathway where views of Cathedral Rock tower above vivid russet cliffs to the west. This sunny segment is fringed with globemallow, antelope horns, blackfoot daisies, sego lilies, evening primroses and fuzzy fleatherplume shrubs.  Head left at the signed Little Horse junction and follow the trail as is descends into a steep-walled drainage.

Evening primrose bloom April - September

 

Scenic point over a gorge on Little Horse Trail

Once through the stony corridor, the trail begins a steady uphill climb on staircase-like sandstone slabs, twisting among blooming cliff-rose shrubs that emit a pungent fragrance that most folks either love or hate. This polarizing aroma competes with the softer lilac notes of the Gregg’s ceanothus bush and the subtle orange bouquet of cliff fendlerbush. 

Antelope horns bloom April - August

Waxy yucca flowers blooms April - July

The desert blooms provide olfactory distractions worthy of taking a moment to breath in.   Ducking among pockets of cypress, pinon and fir, breaks in the tree cover frame views of Chapel of the Holy Cross plus the iconic Madonna and the Nuns, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte rock formations before meeting the turnoff for an optional side trip up to Chicken Point.  The not to be missed spur path flanked by yucca and gangly agave stalks culminates on a rounded sandstone mound bolstered by striated, weather-worn spires and views that extend to the distant Bradshaw Mountains.

Sandstone spires surround Chicken Point

A stream of visitors doing handstands and yoga poses on a stone outcropping is the closing act at trail’s end. 

Globemallow color the trail April - September

Sego lilies can be white or pink and bloomApril - July

LENGTH: 3.6 miles roundtrip

RATING:  moderate

ELEVATION: 4,240 – 4,400 feet

GETTING THERE:

From Interstate 17 north of Camp Verde, take the Sedona-Oak Creek exit 298 for State Route 179. Continue on SR 179 to milepost 308.9 (3.6 miles south of the SR 179/89A traffic circle in Sedona)  and turn right into the Little Horse trailhead parking lot. There is a restroom at the trailhead. You can park either at the trailhead or at the North SR 179 Park & Ride and take the Sedona Shuttle for free.

FEE: A Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass is required to park.

There is a self-serve permit kiosk at the trailhead.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/recarea/?recid=54892

INFO & MAPS:

COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55336

SEDONA SHUTTLE

https://sedonashuttle.com/