May 10, 2003
Day 8: Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon
I woke up shortly after 7 AM and got on the road at 8:34 AM. That's a faster getaway than I have been doing lately. The weather was sunny with light wind. I peeled off the tights shortly after getting on the road. I backtracked 3.5 miles to old Hwy 89A and stopped in sleepy downtown Cottonwood (3314 feet elevation) to eat a chocolate croissant and use the toilet (no toilet at my free campsites the previous 2 nights!).
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Then onward through the newer suburban parts of Cottonwood, turning left to stay on 89A, gradually climbing to Sedona (4280 feet elevation). The road from Cottonwood to Sedona is four lanes with a very wide paved shoulder and moderate traffic. Near Sedona I took a detour to ride the 'Red Rocks Loop'.
A few years ago I drove this road in a car shortly before sunset and was very impressed with the red rock formations. Today the color is less vivid at mid-day. The loop is mostly paved but has a 1.5 mile section of gravel in the middle. The loop returns to highway 89A on the edge of Sedona. Then I rode a few blocks and stopped at a Pizza Hut for lunch, bought groceries, and continued riding through town.
I intended to turn on Jordan Road to get to the Brins Mesa trailhead and do a 3 mile hike to a mesa that offers great views of the red rock formations. But I never saw Jordan road and just continued through town and into Oak Creek Canyon.
Once in Oak Creek Canyon the road narrows to two winding lanes with no shoulder. It was a Saturday afternoon with heavy tourist traffic. This is a VERY popular tourist area. On roads like this I'm glad to have 80 square inches of fluorescent yellow reflective material on the back of my panniers. I stopped several times to take pictures in places where it was impossible to park a car. That's one advantage of traveling by bike.
The red rock formations are very impressive for the first few miles in the canyon until the floor of the canyon rises above the level where the red rock occurs. Several places had sunny rock outcroppings along Oak Creek. People were sunning along the creek in swimsuits but the water was so cold that very few people got in the water.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I stopped at one creek access for 45 minutes and watched the creek, the people, and boulder-hopped along the creek. Then I continued biking north, steadily climbing upstream. For the last few miles I was well past the red rock formations and the canyon walls are less steep and more forested. I passed several National Forest campgrounds and picnic areas.
I stopped for a few minutes to look down on all the people at Slide Rock State Park.
I stopped to camp at Pine Flat Campground (5500 feet elevation). It's the farthest-upstream campground in the canyon. The vegetation had changed to mostly Ponderosa pines. $16 camping fee. Expensive for a campsite with just a picnic table and access to a pit toilet and an outdoor cold water faucet. But the campground was almost full and the campgrounds closer to Sedona were full. The temperature dropped rapidly after the sun disappeared behind the canyon wall at 5:45 PM. I put the rain fly on my tent for the first time in several days so it would be warmer inside the tent. Overall it was a nice day, with many views of red rocks and Oak Creek. And once again the weather was perfect-sunny with a high in the low 70's. The canyon would be more pleasant on a weekday but throngs of visitors were good for people-watching and were a big contrast to yesterday's solitude.
Distance: 46.2 miles (73.9 km) 1.5 miles on gravel
Climbing: 3550 feet (1083 m)
Average Speed: 8.8 mph (14.1 km/h)
Maximum Speed: 41 mph (65.6 km/h)
Hiking: none
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 337 miles (542 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |