Untamed Luxury: Slip-sliding Through Sedona

Untamed Luxury Scrambling Park to Park Through Sedona by Roger Naylor

UP THE CREEK

Author Roger Naylor treks along Oak Creek (left) en route from Slide Rock to Red Rock for a two-day, 30-mile-long Sedona hiking adventure. The waters near Grasshopper Point (far left) and Red Rock Crossing, in view of Cathedral Rock (above and right) wend their way quietly through the boulders.

They say your entire life flashes before your eyes during near-death experiences.

Yet when confronting a near-disabling experience, only a single image unfurls across my peepers... the face of my wife. Unfortunately, she's not wearing the loving, supportive expression I normally see, but instead the look triggered whenever I start describing my plans for some half-baked adventure. Like the one I'm on now.

I'm slipping off a sandstone shelf about to plunge several feet into the frigid waters of Oak Creek, and all I have for comfort is a vision of my wife's I-can't-believe-I-marriedan-idiot eye roll.

The scheme seems simple enough. I'm walking from Slide Rock State Park to Red Rock State Park. Separated by a dozen or so miles as the raven flies, these Arizonaowned parcels bracket Sedona geographically. More importantly, they represent the yin and yang of the Sedona experience.

Seven miles north of Sedona, nestled in Oak Creek Canyon, Slide Rock is the glamour spot. Stone banks throttle the creek into a narrow frothy chute, a natural water ride that encourages thrill junkies to self-administer high-velocity wedgies amid a chorus of joyous shrieks, while the slightly less daring splash about in shaded pools.

Red Rock offers a more nuanced but equally satisfying encounter, without having to dislodge a wet bathing suit. Southwest of town, the park protects a bit of wilderness snatched from the feverish teeth of development. Now it serves as a natural laboratory where staff and volunteers conduct daily bird-watching tours, wildflower hikes, moonlight hikes and geology discussions.

Which explains why I'm about to do a backward half gainer off a sandstone ledge. But before I fall, my boot snags a rock and I lurch forward and grab a fistful of beargrass. I lie sprawled for several minutes, my heart flopping like a trout on a dancehall floor. Sitting up, I brush the confetti of rabbit pellets and dead bugs from my hair.

"So," I ask the lingering vision of my eye-rolling spouse, “who’s the idiot now?”

Stone banks throttle the creek into a narrow frothy chute...

Many hiking trails in Oak Creek Canyon lead to refreshing creeks and pools (left) where hikers can swim or dip their feet. Oak Creek Canyon is located in the Coconino National Forest, one of six national forests in Arizona. BOB CLEMENZ

Then back to the quest. I’m working downstream from Slide Rock as the butter-soft sun seeps over the canyon rim at the Sterling Pass trailhead just off State Route 89A.

I have planned to walk from park to park along the creek in a jitterbug of wading, swimming, rock-hopping and tearing through bank-side bramble patches as snarled as Medusa’s stylishly fanged perm. But early research revealed that Oak Creek passes repeatedly through private property, making extended passage impossible.

So instead I have mapped out a meandering, 30-mile route over trails, jeep roads and through town, while repeatedly crossing the creek. I will spend tonight in Sedona and finish tomorrow afternoon. A lengthy hike, but legal-which is crucial. I can't begin to describe the facial expression my wife wears when she's raising bail.

Sterling Pass Trail scrambles up the western wall of Oak Creek Canyon through shaggily elegant timber. I'm huffing might-ily as I hit a final spitcurl of switchbacks before the forest canopy opens, revealing an array of sharply rising cliffs.

Descending into Sterling Canyon, I hit the Vultee Arch Trail and detour up a side fork to the arch. “Never pass up a chance to view a natural arch” is my motto. It's like seeing the Earth raise an eyebrow.

Popping out on Vultee Arch Road, a rut-ted jeep track, I chew up a couple of quick miles to Brins Mesa Trail. I climb through a grove of Arizona cypress onto juniper-bedecked grasslands, ringed by dramatic formations, my leg muscles now warm and stretched like boardwalk taffy.

Fatigue falls away as I roll on up Jim Thompson Trail, knife past the prow of Steamboat Rock and enter a shaded glade in Wilson Canyon, near Midgely Bridge. That familiar giddiness takes hold. If there's such a thing as runner's high, I'm experiencing the slow-mo equivalent. Call it hiker's glee.

I can walk forever! I sneer at the saps climbing out of their fuming iron beasts to savor views from the bridge. Bipeds rock! I will print the slogan on T-shirts. I'll make a fortune. I also vow to walk to Ohio to visit my folks.

I dip under the highway and zigzag down to the creek on Huckaby Trail. With sure-footed grace, I scramble through under-brush, vault debris snags and leap from boulder to boulder with ease. I am a creature utterly at home. My ego-fest is interrupted only when I fall, assurance over teakettle, into the stream.

Later this evening I am less endorphin-crazed. A long spa soak and heaps of appetizers have whisked me into a gooey custard of contentment. I sprawl on my streamside balcony watching ducks drift past while twilight bruises the sky. People flock to Sedona for the red rocks, but it is the opera of the creek that sings these canyons to life.

I have picked the Inn on Oak Creek because it's an easy walk from Marg's Draw Trail, but approached my first-ever stay in a bed and breakfast with trepidation. I pictured strangers sitting around a long plank table making awkward small talk and eating from a communal bowl. Kind of Oliver Twist on holiday.

Imagine my surprise as I stumble into the lobby, dirt-streaked and bedraggled, receiving an effusive welcome. The fire-place crackles and sunshine pours through a wall of windows, illuminating cheese spreads and bacon-swaddled morsels that I promptly windmill into my ravenous maw. Ignoring my rough trail manners, Letty Cummings shows me around.

“This is a former art gallery converted to an 11-room inn. Each room features a gas fireplace, a spa tub and is individually designed and decorated with its own theme.” I give a nod. “Those garlic stuffed dates wrapped in bacon? Please, ma'am, I want some more.” On this night I saw enough logs to build my own inn. Maybe my wife's whirling orbs nailed it. I have been an idiot, with

These canyons are half-wilderness and half-resort... when you go

Red Rock State Park: 4050 Red Rock Loop Road. A 286-acre park opened to educate visitors about ecology and environment. Park opens at 8 A.M. Closing hours vary seasonally. No camping is permitted. Entry fee is $6 per vehicle (up to four people), $2 per person for walk-ups; under 14, free. Self-guided and ranger-led tours are available, as are field trips and video and slide programs. Six miles of interconnected trails are well-maintained. Swimming/wading in the creek is not permitted. (928) 282-6907.

The Inn on Oak Creek: 556 State Route 179, (800) 499-7896, www.InnOnOakCreek.com.

Additional Information: Red Rock Ranger District, (928) 282-4119; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.

My ratty sleeping bag and rolled up T-shirt for a pillow. This is my new favorite way to camp.

At breakfast I plow through a lavish spread of granola and maple yogurt, sun-dried-tomato-and-fresh-mozzarella crois-sants, gingerbread teacakes with lemon sauce, eggs over medium with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions, buttery toast and pistachio-crusted trout. You know . . . same ol', same ol'.

Waddling to Marg's Draw, I catch a seductive aroma and realize it's me. Normally, when overnighting in wild country, I don't smell this good. Must be the chamomile-and-nettle conditioner the inn provided. That's the gist of the Sedona experience, the overlap of scenery and comfort, of danger and luxury. These canyons are half-wilderness and half-resort, accessible to not just the grizzled but the pampered as well. I'm considering switching teams.

The final day of my journey swings first through the Munds Mountain Wilderness, over Broken Arrow Trail (named for a movie) and across Little Horse Trail. A short connector trail, H.T., slips under State Route 179 through a tunnel and puts me on Templeton Trail beelining toward Cathedral Rock. I curl around the base of Cathedral then switchback down toward the creek. Just above the water I step off-trail to let two mountain bikers pass.

The second biker slams into a rock and flies over his handlebars. The crack of hishelmet on a boulder echoes like a pistol shot. I assume he's severely mangled. His buddy rushes to his side to administer the universal medicine of guys: merciless ribbing.

Turns out, Ed Norton and Neil Ross regularly travel from Flagstaff to bike Sedona trails.

"It's great to undertake a rewarding physical activity in a place where spiritual forces gather," says the bruised Norton. He points out the location of a vortex at the creek's edge marked by stacks of prayer rocks. We part friendly, though no one comments on how nice my hair smells.

I follow the creek to Baldwin Trail, which curves away from the water. An unmarked sand path leads me through the cotton-woods for a winding quarter-mile. I step from the trees into a postcard. I'm stand-ing at Red Rock Crossing, a crystal stream reflecting nearby Cathedral Rock, one of the most photographed spots in the world.

My journey is nearly finished. At Baldwin trailhead I'll follow forest roads to Red Rock State Park's East Gate. I crouch at water's edge, mulling the last two days, when I'm struck by a revelation.

I should have asked Norton if, before he sets out on some crazy skull-splitting bike ride, his wife rolls her eyes a lot.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

The Munds Mountain Wilderness stretches across 18,150 acres of the Coconino National Forest, offering stunning views of rustred rock formations, including Snoopy Rock (on his back in center) and Camelhead Formation (to the immediate right of Snoopy). Sections of the wilderness border the villages of Oak Creek and Sedona, granting easy access to hiking trails, picnic spots and horseback-riding.

KEEP IT LEGAL — OAK CREEK ACCESS

To splash or not to splash, that is the question. More importantly, where? Determining where public land ends and private land begins along Oak Creek can be difficult. Here are a few rules to follow to allow you to get wet, legally. A Red Rock Pass is required for vehicles parking on national forest land in Red Rock Country.

VISIT FEE AREAS. Grasshopper Point and Red Rock Crossing/Crescent Moon Ranch offer loads of natural beauty and stream access, plus the comfort of picnic tables, grills and bathrooms. Red Rock Passes do not apply. Information: Red Rock Ranger District, (928) 282-4119.

LODGE ON THE CREEK. By choosing an inn, cabin or resort located on the creek, you'll have guest-only access to a private section of the stream.

TAKE A TRAIL. A few national forest service trails such as Allens Bend, Huckaby and Templeton lead to the creek.

WHEN IN DOUBT, STAY OUT. If you see houses on the bank, chances are you're trespassing. While each property is site-specific, most boundaries extend to the middle or other side of the creek.