Skyliner Hikes for February 2018:

February 3: Dead Horse Loop

Distance: 7.7 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Description: This hike is entirely within the boundaries of Dead Horse State Park and there may be a small shared fee for entry to the park. Hike from Lime Kiln trailhead to Thumper trail to Lower Raptor Hill trail and back to parking lot.

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from Office Max.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

February 10: Twin Peaks/Turkey Creek

Distance: 4.9 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Description: Drive to VOC and take Verde Valley School road for 4 miles, turn left on dirt road and drive 0.6 miles to trailhead 92 (Turkey Creek).

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from OfficeMax.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

February 17: Hike Doe Mountain and Cockscomb Trails

Distance: 6 miles

Difficulty: Moderate (short sections of steep trail)

Description: Hike to the top of Doe Mountain and around the periphery of the mesa; hike up to the Cockscomb.

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from Office Max.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

February 24: House Mountain via Turkey Creek

Distance: 9 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Description: Drive to VOC and take Verde Valley School road for 4 miles, turn left on dirt road and drive 0.6 miles to trailhead 92 (Turkey Creek). Hike Turkey Creek trail to saddle and then across to House Mtn.

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from Office Max.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

Trekabout Walks for January 2018

TREKABOUT WALKING CLUB-Jan 2018

Walks are graded on a 1-4 scale (with 4 being the most difficult)

Meet Every Tuesday - hikes starting at 9am (subject to change)

HIKING SHOES RECOMMENDED/CARRY WATER/DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH

To join TrekAbout Walking Club, please email at jen.mabery@yavapai.us

Or call: 928-634-6877.

Get up and get moving! And it’s free 

Tuesday January 2^nd: HAPPY 2018 PEOPLE! Do your own thing.

Tuesday, January 9th

“Red Rock Park” – Let’s explore the trail systems! I am thinking we do the Eagles Nest trail (1.9 miles with a 300-foot elevation gain) and maybe tack on a side trail? Thinking we may walk a total of 2.0-3.0 miles.

Level 2.0

Directions: From Cottonwood, drive towards Sedona on 89A then turn right onto Lower Red Rock Loop Road. Follow Along and turn right into Red Rock State Park.

Note: You will need to either pay at entrance or if people have passes let’s find a meet up area just before entrance.

Tuesday, January 16th

Get together with each other! We have a mandatory meeting so we can’t join you 

Tuesday, January 23th

Hike With Jens Parents!! See where all the silly comes from! Haha.

“The Owl Trail” – A really nice stroll along the verde river in combination with some of the jail trail. We call this the Owl trail because of often sightings!

Level 1.5

Directions: From Cottonwood, drive to old town. Turn right into parking lot across from Bocce. Same lot as jailtrail.

Tuesday, January 30^th

“Airport Mesa Loop Trail” – What a beautiful 3.5 mile loop trail! There are views all the way around the loop. There is a short slick rock ledge at the start of the trail. NOTE: Red Rock Pass

Level 2.5-3

Directions: From Cottonwood, Enter Sedona and turn right when get to Airport Rd Traffic light. About half way up road (.2 tenths of a mile) pull out parking on the left.

Remember: Choose the best hike for you! (Call 928-634-6877 or email: jen.mabery@yavapai.us with any questions), Carry plenty of water, Bring a snack, use sun protection, consider walking stick(s), leave what you find, and most importantly...HAVE A GOOD TIME!

Ellis Health Update - 171218

Saturday, 2 December 2017. I finished a day-and-a-half legal deposition this morning and then managed to get in a very slow walk this afternoon. The walk left me completely exhausted and I slept for an hour and a half afterward. This was the first walk I have managed for several days. Thursday was taken up by a visit to the dentist and an attorney's meeting, and Friday and Saturday were consumed by the deposition. I did finally resume walking on Sunday.

It is now Monday, 18 December and we are preparing for the kids arrival for a Christmas visit later this week. I had a few bad days recently but am now back to my regular one-mile walk most days. The weather has been cooperating and it has been sunny most of the time. We haven't actually had any rain for several months now, but sometimes it is cloudy and rather dreary. I do like the sun.

For my regular mile-long walks, I choose between two separate routes. One is a straightforward route to the end of a street, returning the same way. The other utilizes several different streets in a sort of loop and is a bit more interesting. Each route has a resting spot at about the mid-point of the walk, a very welcome fixture. The out-and-back walk resting spot is a conveniently-parked trailer (right) that I have seen moved only once in all the months I have walked this way; it is usually bathed by the sun when I arrive and is thus a nice place to stop on a winter day. 

The loop walk resting spot is an upended rock (left) in the edge of Bill the Boatman's yard. (the owner's name is Bill and I call him the Boatman because he has several boats parked on his property and does repairs for others).

January 2018 Skyliner Hikes

Meet at 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking lot, outer perimeter, across from OfficeMax for all hikes.

January 06: Oak Creek/Verde River Confluence from Cornville Road

Distance: About 8 miles round trip

Difficulty: No significant climbing.  No real bushwhacking

Description: Essentially level hiking along old roads and trails

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from OfficeMax.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

January 13:  Snoopy Rock in Sedona

Distance: About 6 miles round trip

Difficulty: Maximum elevation: 4869 feet; elevation gain: 785 feet.

Description: Start at Sombart Lane parking lot and hike to Snoopy Rock, return to Marg's Draw Trail, hike to Schnebly Hill Trailhead and return to the parking lot at Sombart Lane

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from OfficeMax.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

January 20: Lo Lo Mai Indian Ruins off Page Springs Road

Distance: About 5 miles total

Difficulty: Moderate (some climbing in a few spots; trail is indistinct)

Description: Drive north on Hwy 89A, turn on Page Springs Road and park at the intersection with Hidden Valley Road.  Hike up the ridge that runs parallel to Page Springs Road and follow along the crest for about 2.3 miles.

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from Office Max.

Information: Call Jim Manning at 219-508-4158

January 27: Blodgett Basin Trail/loop

Distance: About 5 miles or 14 miles

Difficulty: Moderate (climb 1700 feet) Some will hike the Blodgett Basin trail for about 5 miles and return. The other group will hike the entire loop of 14 miles.

Description: We will drive east on Hwy 260 to Clear Creek, take FR 618 and FR 215 to Bull Pen and park there.

Meet: 0800 in Cottonwood Safeway Parking Lot, outer perimeter, across from Office Max.

Information: Call Dave Beach at 928-593-9466

Trekabout Walks for December 2017

TREKABOUT WALKING CLUB-Dec2017

Walks are graded on a 1-4 scale (with 4 being the most difficult)

Meet Every Tuesday - hikes starting at 9:00am at trail head (subject to change)

HIKING SHOES RECOMMENDED/CARRY WATER/DOGS MUST BE ON LEASH

To join TrekAbout Walking Club, please email at jen.mabery@yavapai.us

Or call: 928-634-6877/928-301-6143

Get up and get moving! And it’s free 

Tuesday December 5^th

“Bell Trail Loop Hike” - The Hike around Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte is an enjoyable easy to moderate 4.5 mile hike with some rock stair stepping.  Great views!

Level 2.5-3.0

Directions: From Cottonwood- Take 89A towards Sedona, turn right at Cornville road. Then follow to Beaver Head Flats Road and turn left. Follow to HWY 179 and turn left. Follow into the Village of Oak Creek and turn right into the Bell Trail parking lot area (shortly after the circle K). Display a red rock pass.

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Tuesday December 12th

“Sycamore Canyon” – Descend into the beautiful Sycamore Canyon! And hike along the creek to a beautiful pool of water at the end! This is a great about 5 mile hike, on the way in is a steep but maintained trail, so remember we will have to hike back up that.

Level 3.0

Directions: From Cottonwood- head through Old town Cottonwood like going to Clarkdale. Turn right at Tuzigoot road. Then turn left on Sycamore Canyon road (right after bridge). NOTE: Let’s all meet at the sycamore canyon road pull out at 8:30 am to do any carpooling and follow each other in. From Sycamore canyon road we will drive another 8-10 miles to trail head at end of road.

Tuesday December 19^th

“Baldwin Trail” –

Another great loop hike about 3 miles long, this hike provides wonderful views of Cathedral Rock. It will take us down towards red rock crossing to enjoy some sounds of the creek.

Level 2.5

Directions: From Cottonwood: Go through Cornville to beaver head flat road to village of Oak creek. Then turn left at the Verde Valley School Rd round about. Follow all the way out till road turns to dirt, then about a mile in look for trail head lot on the left.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! No hike on the 26th

Ellis Health Update - 171127

I Did a one-mile walk on 18 Nov, about 0.75 plus a visit with Angel on 19 Nov and a mile again on 20 Nov.

I am still getting by almost pain free with three Tylenols per day, bedtime, around mid-morning (when needed) and about 1600. I usually only feel pain when I put significant pressure on my rib cage. I have no pain when I breath deeply and I can raise my arms above my head without any significant amount of pain.

On the 21^st, I worked on the truck, trying to charge the battery with a new charger until I tired myself out and did not walk at all. The next day I walked in the morning and then worked on the truck with George Everman in the afternoon, cleaning a corroded terminal and attempting to jump-start it. We finally called AARP Motoring for assistance. They showed up about 40 minutes later, started the truck and told us part of the problem was a loose gear shift mechanism that interrupted the circuit. While the truck was running we delivered it to the dealer and left it to be serviced next week.

It is now Monday, the 27^th of November and I have walked a mile each day since the 21^st, varying my route part of the time to climb a slightly more difficult hill. The walks leave me exhausted and I always take a long nap afterward. Oh, for the days only last year when I could hike 10 to 15 miles and then rough out my report before retiring.

At least the days have been sunny for my walks and I have paused along the way to enjoy the fall colors, or at least what passes for fall colors in our neighborhood. The below photograph shows local color at about its best.

 Fall colors in the neighborhood

At times the scrub oaks and the maples, nestled in the folds of Mingus Mountain, shown in the background of the above photograph, display some delightful colors. The photograph shown below, taken from the top of Mingus during an October 2013 hike, is an example.

Taken while hiking South Mingus Tadpole Loop (9 miles;2493 foot ascent)

Shortly after today's post-walk nap the repair shop called to tell me that my truck would be ready tomorrow. They had to replace the battery and do some work on the brakes. Since I am still not allowed to drive, they will deliver the truck when it is ready.

Ellis Health Update - 171116

It is Tuesday, 14 November and I am beginning to think I was too sanguine about the speed of recovery from surgery. I basically stopped taking my pain medications on a regular basis about three weeks ago and for several days I did just fine. However, I am now having trouble sleeping at night. Although I have no significant pain while sitting still, my right rib cage is very tender and it is quite painful when I turn the wrong way in bed, I cannot find a comfortable sleeping position and have slept little for the last several nights. I haven't been for a walk since last Saturday and don't feel up to doing one today.

It is now Thursday 16 November and I am feeling better. I restarted taking Gabapentin for nerve pain and, for the last two nights, Rosemary has rubbed my back and chest with Aspercreme at bedtime. I am also taking a Tylenol before going to bed. I saw Doctor Howland today and she said that I am still recovering nicely. I don't know whether it was because of the changes in medication or the encouraging words from the doctor, but I am now feeling much better; I even went for a one-mile walk this afternoon.