Since May, I’ve been staying in Phoenix, Arizona, for about four weeks due to certain circumstances. I have no plans on weekends, so I’d like to venture out to various places.
The first destination I chose was Sedona. Sedona, located about two hours north of Phoenix by car, has over 100 trails. While Phoenix experiences extreme heat with daytime temperatures quickly exceeding 35°C, Sedona is relatively higher in elevation, so the temperatures don’t rise as much, which is a plus.
Among the many trails, I decided on the Soldier Pass Trail, which seemed to be of moderate length, diverse, and promising in terms of sights.The trail is a loop course of about 9 km that circles around the mountain from the trailhead.There’s hardly any parking at the trailhead itself, so I parked at Posse Grounds Park, which is a bit further away, and took a shuttle bus.The shuttle bus is free and runs quite frequently. The first bus leaves at 7 a.m., so ideally, I’d like to start even earlier.I’m surrounded by dynamic terrain.Since it’s a loop course, you can go westward or eastward from the trailhead. Considering the lighting and the fact that it would get hotter later, I chose to start with the sunlit eastward route.Cacti are growing everywhere. There are occasionally cyclists too.
