Vultee Arch Near Sedona

HIKE OF THE MONTH VULTEE ARCH NEAR SEDONA

In the summer of 1939, when I was nine, my dad and I had finished a morning of trout fishing in sparkling Oak Creek. He had his limit; I had a few. After we cleaned our fish at streamside, he suggested a hike, pointing vaguely toward the rugged red rock country north of Sedona. "There's a crashed airplane up there on the side of East Pocket Mesa," he said. "Let's see if we can find it."

I was accustomed to following my dad into Arizona's rugged backcountry for reasons of little or no importance. He had an almost compulsive desire to "see what's there." So we went, our vehicle bouncing over an incredibly bad road until it ran out. Then we started walking. When my father told me two people had perished in the crash a year previous, a new and sobering dimension was added to the trek.

We never did locate the wreckage of the plane, but in a narrow canyon we came upon a large natural arch of red sandstone. "Wind and water carved that out," my father told me. "It took maybe a million years."

Now, more than half a century later, I have an afternoon to kill in Sedona. I'm thinking of that sandstone arch and the long-ago hike. The forest ranger at the Sedona office listens to my description and nods his head.

"Vultee Arch."

"I didn't know it had a name," I say.

"Didn't back when you first went in there, but it does now."

He tells me the story. On the morning of January 29, 1938, clouds had moved in across northern Arizona and snow had started falling in Oak Creek Canyon. A rancher in the Dry Creek area heard the whine of an aircraft engine. A burning plane emerged momentarily from the clouds and then disappeared toward the crags of East Pocket Mesa. The rancher heard the sound of impact then silence. The bodies, located in rugged country, were carried out the next day.

The plane had been piloted by Gerard F. Vultee, one of the most acclaimed aircraft designers and builders of that era. The passenger was his wife. In 1969 a bronze plaque was placed on a red sandstone cliff face near the arch, naming the creation of Nature in their memory.

Today, the road to the Dry Creek area is paved. But the turnoff is not. It is narrow and bumpy but navigable by passenger car if you drive slowly and with care. After 4.3 miles, the road ends at a parking area. A sign marks the trail.

With the slamming of my car door, the sounds of civilization cease. Now I am surrounded by the soft, incessant chatter of birds and the whisper of a breeze through the pines. On all sides are upward thrusting sandstone cliffs, some rising more than 2,000 feet from the canyon bed. Red, salmon pink, and ochre. Pines march up the narrow clefts, and shrubbery fills the crannies along the mas-sive walls.

The trail, well defined and shaded by the boughs of towering pines, rises gently with the land, crossing and recross-ing a rocky creek bed. This is an easy pleasure hike, an opportunity to drink in the magnificence of some of the most spectacular scenery in all of the red rock region. It is about a four-mile round-trip, perfect for families with chil-dren and ideal for senior citi-zens in good health.

I come up and out of the creek bed, ascending gradual tiers of pottery-red ledges. Something tells me to look over to my left, and there it is on the north side of the canyon: an impressive 40-foot arch of sandstone, spanning a narrow gulley.

A few steps to my right is the plaque. It tells of the Vultees' tragic experience and propels me back to that distant day when I, as a boy, trudged through the dense foliage of the canyon seeking the remains of their plane. In the intervening half-century, I have changed. The world I live in has changed. But the stunning beauty of the land around Vultee Arch has remained the same. When You Go: In Sedona, from the traffic light at the intersection of State Route 179 and U.S. 89A, proceed west for 3.0 miles to Dry Creek Road. Turn right and continue on for 2.0 miles to a directional sign to Vultee Arch Trail in the Coconino National Forest. Again turn right. If in a passenger car, drive slowly and carefully to avoid banging the underframe. After 4.3 miles, leave your car in the parking area. A sign will direct you to the Vultee Arch Trailhead in Sterling Canyon. Elevation is 4,800 to 5,200 feet. Trail condition is good all year.

There are a number of other hikes of varying lengths and difficulty in the Sedona area. For more information, contact: Coconino National Forest, Sedona Ranger District, Box 300, Sedona, AZ 86336. Telephone: (602) 282-4119.

Hiking Guide: For a detailed guide to hiking in Arizona, we recommend Outdoors in Arizona: A Guide to Hiking and Backpacking, a collection of 48 great hikes through desert, mountain, and canyon environments, including easy-to-get-to trails in urban areas. For information or to order, call 1 (800) 543-5432. In the Phoenix area, telephone 258-1000.