I put some miles on my hiking shoes today! A hike that included a climb up into a not-so-secret cave, an afternoon libation and snack, and evening pictures at Red Rock Crossing were the highlights of the day today.
I started my day with breakfast at the Secret Garden Cafe in Tlaquepaque where I had a ham and cheese croissant and iced mocha. So far, I have not been wowed by any of my meals here. For $35 (with a tip and 3% surcharge for using a credit card, which seems to be the norm here), you’d think I would be talking about this breakfast sandwich for days. It was fine, but I doubt you’ll hear me talk about it again.
Then it was time to hit the trails! I tackled the 6.5-mile Soldier Pass/Brins Mesa loop trail this morning. I started at the Jim Thompson trailhead, and the hike took me 3 hours and 15 minutes. Included in that is a side trip to the Soldier Pass Cave. I started on the Cibola Pass Trail, followed by the Jordan trail, before joining up with the Soldier Pass trail. I was oohing and aahing my way for the first couple of miles before the sunlight got too harsh to enjoy my surroundings as much. I passed the Devil’s Kitchen sinkhole and the Seven Sacred Pools on my way to the Soldier Pass Cave.
There are actually three arched openings in the rocks by Soldier Pass Cave; only one of them is a cave that you can climb into. The rocky scramble to the opening of the cave was nothing compared to the precarious climb up into it. I watched a couple of other people tackle it first, then somehow climbed and pulled myself up. Once inside, the cave has a narrow ledge to walk along. It was similar to a slot canyon, with barely any light making it in that early in the day. I was nervous about falling and didn’t really appreciate it all that much. Truthfully, I enjoyed the Fay Canyon Arch that I went to yesterday way more than the cave. Getting down nearly caused me a panic attack in that I started down and then couldn’t figure out how to go the rest of the way. I had to let someone go in front of me and watch her first before I dared attempt it.
Once I was safely back down on the main trail, I continued the upward hike to Soldier Pass and then on to Brins Mesa. Brins Mesa is a relatively level hike along the top of the mesa followed by a very steep hike down. I thought once I got to the bottom I would be done, but it was about another mile back to the trailhead from there.
This afternoon found me relaxing. First I settled in by the outdoor pool for a while with my book in the shadow of the red rocks. Then I headed to Vino di Sedona for a fig, prosciutto, and blue cheese bruschetta and a glass of Austin Eastciders. The cider was good, but the bruschetta was underwhelming (and messy!).
I knew one stop I had to make on this trip was Red Rock Crossing for sunset. I went there on my previous trip to Sedona and my sunset photo from that location continues to be one of my favorites of all time. Red Rock Crossing is the name of the spot where you can photograph Cathedral Rock with Oak Creek in the foreground. There are several vantage points to walk around and take pictures from. The location is in Crescent Moon Picnic Area and requires a fee to park. I spent about 45 minutes there taking pictures and walking around. Sadly, the iconic shot of Cathedral Rock now has a tree bending over the creek and obstructing the view.
The rest of my night was spent having sea salt caramel cheesecake ice cream (severely lacking in sea salt caramel), watching YouTube videos and planning my day tomorrow. It will be an early start for a “grand” adventure!
Traveling with Laura 