Soldier's Pass and Doe Mountain

We drove up to Oak Creek Canyon yesterday which is about 20 miles north of Sedona and on the way to Flagstaff.  We hiked a short way in only to discover that the streams are so swolen from all of the recent rains and snow melt that we could not cross and had to turn back. Bummer.

However, Icky did some quick homework and found another hike on a trail called Soldier's Pass.  Turned out to be a great hike; a loop of about 6.5 miles with some climbing that provided great views.  Along the way we saw some very large sinkholes in the stone (100 feet across and 50 feet deep) and interesting rock formations.  One was named the seven pools because of seven indentions that collect rainwater in a stairstep formation.

6.5 miles is not nearly enough for Icky so we ended the day with a 1 mile hike that climbed 500 feet to a plateau with great views in every direction.  Doe Mountain.  The promise was that there was much wildlife, but we saw very little.  We did manage to get back down from the mountain just before the sun went down.

Today we are taking a hike with an hebalist named Feather.  Stay tuned for a report on this one.

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