@polebird: ✨Dreamy slot canyons and streams - Hiking in Sedona ✨

Some trails are truly just so picturesque, and the West Fork Trail in Sedona, Arizona is one of them! My friends and I decided to hike this particular trail due to all the positivite ratings.

The salmon pink and gray color of the rocks and cliffs on this trail were different than the fiery red rocks of the Bell Rock trail. The cliffs here reminded me of those in Zion National Park.

We got there a bit late in the day at 3pm and headed out on the hike. Not a lot of research on the details of the hike was done, so we thought that the trail was 3 miles round trip. We found out later that it was 3 miles each way! But more about that below.

This trail involves 13 stream crossings! I was happy to discover that my hiking boots were still relatively waterproof. The rocks were slick, but everyone made it through the hike without falling in the water.

We took our sweet time the first half of the trail. There was even an original little cabin.

Eventually we decided to ask a fellow hiker heading towards the parking lot, how much longer until the end of the trail and whether it was worth it to make it to the end. To our surprise, it was still quite a bit a ways until the end AND it was highly recommended by the hiker.

At this point, we only had a few hours of daylight left. So we added a few bits of jogging/trail running through the forest stopping for some photo ops in a few cool areas.

When we finally made it to the “trail end,” it was a good feeling and a beautiful sight.

Lo and behold, a slot canyon! We trekked through a little bit of water to check out the view.

My friends and I knew we had to hustle on the way back. This was a race against the light! I’m glad to say that with our motivation to beat the light, I hiked the fastest I have ever hiked. Again, there were some points we had to run to make good time, and we had to hike the same trail back (13 stream crossings). We made it back to the parking lot after the sun had already gone down, and with the last bit of light -. Our car was basically the last car in left in the parking lot.

Thanks for reading my friends! Have you ever hiked past dark?

Love,
Jess