Lazarow World-Hike-About

From a tower in the cathedral. Sunset at Cathedral peak, with shadows, too This trip, we have managed to find new opportunities for hiking and exploration. However, we also found that approaching a previous hike in a novel way is extremely satisfying. The mountains and rock formations are so distinctive and vast that one could, for example, spend months around Cathedral Rock and still not see it all. Such is Sedona. An assault from the side—guess who gets assaulted Jenni ascending with Court House Butte 'smiling' Jenni descending down a new route Today, we decided to approach the hike from the side rather than the usual frontal attack—let’s surprise the old cathedral, we thought, instead of following the climbing trail. (We are also preserving energy for a tough pre-Shabbos hike.) We scrambled up the rocks, on loose stones and sand, around cactus plants, mostly, and through some very tricky places. We had no intention of making it a tough climb but one thing led ...

Looking down to canyon floor from peak When we look at the title, we wonder if we might have chosen better. It’s the truth and so it remains. The area is very dry, being a semi-desert without rainfall since we arrived. However, there is a nice flow of water in Oak Creek, the stream we crossed to commence a hike to Casner Mountain peak. This is one of the toughest in Sedona, in our opinion. We set out well before the trailhead, crossed the stream, and climbed 2100 feet over about two miles although the hike was seven miles. The views all the way up were spectacular, the peak wasn’t. Jenni passes water (at last), a rather strong flow for this time of the year, before walking the plank...er...the log Editor struggles through rain, snow and sun...maybe just sun Sedona seems very busy , the town, but the trails except for a few, are quiet. In fact, today, we had it to ourselves. As we climbed, surrounded by mountains and red rocks close by with blue hazy ranges in the distance, w...