SEDONA, AZ
Saturday morning, I was up and out the door at 4:45 am. That is one extra benefit of working east coast hours out here - the clock says it's early, but my body says, hey, it's already 8:00 am!
Devil's Bridge Trailhead
Drove to the Devil's Bridge trailhead, off Long Canyon Road, where there was plenty of parking at 6:00 am. It was a cold morning - just 32 degrees when I started, with all the leaves sparkling with frost as the sun came up. The hike was pretty easy - just 2 miles to the summit, mostly flat. There was a small group of people at the top. We took turns taking pictures of one another on the bridge.
It is a pretty epic view! Glad I got there early because when I left the park later that day, cars lined both sides of the road for at least half a mile on either side of the main road, where they still had to walk another half mile to the actual trailhead. Crazy!
Ancient Ruins
After hiking Devil's Bridge, I scouted out a trail that I discovered on AllTrails with just 3 reviews and 3.5 stars. I decided to check it out because it's an unmarked trail where you follow a dry creek bed to some well-preserved Native American ruins, built into the side of a cliff.
From the Devil's Bridge trailhead, you take a road reserved for high clearance 4x4 vehicles. <Insert regret for buying a Highlander and not a 4Runner.>
Here's a picture of that road -- see the frost on the trees and how the water in the tracks is partially frozen?
Once you get to the dry creek bed, you turn right and follow the creek to, well, the end. Here is said creek bed:
I didn't see any people on this trail which made it all the more awesome! And I finally came to the ruins I was looking for, built into the side of a cliff. How cool is this?
I am doing a separate post called Did You Know There Are Ancient Ruins in Arizona? that has more info on this trail, as well as other sites I visited that are actively maintained and promoted to the public. And if your answer is "no," don't feel bad. I didn't know we had old ruins like these either. I clearly need to repeat my American history classes ...
Birthing Cave
After seeing the ruins, I trekked over to the Birthing Cave. Again, a pretty easy trail with a little climb at the end. Here's a view from inside the cave looking out:
I have no idea why it's called birthing cave - if you look online, you'll read everything from the cave being shaped like the inside of a belly complete with a naval, to Native American women climbing to this spot to give birth. (The latter seems crazy, but then, I've never given birth...)
It was a great hiking day, with the weather warming up to 61 degrees. Total of 9.25 miles, with just a 1,400 foot elevation gain.