MRT Day 3: Red Rock Country

ByPurple Haze Posted on

Daily Miles: 17.6, Total Miles: 47.8

The wind howled all night long – and most of the day too. I started rummaging around for my earplugs this morning but looked at my watch. Time to get an early start.

A bit of cross-country this morning – I now expect this from the MRT route creator! Tighter GPS control and keen observation (if I don’t say so myself) prevented me from having to climb any fences.

I carefully nursed the last liter of water from yesterday all morning. I was expecting to stock up at Robinson Tank, an earthen dam stock pond. Disappointingly, it was bone dry. I trudged on and soon heard voices nearby which turned out to be free campers setting up their tent. The young couple generously offered up three mostly frozen pint water bottles, a camp chair to rest and lunch. I gratefully accepted the water.

I then entered a popular mountain biking/hiking trail system near Sedona, maybe the last chance to get water before reaching Sedona tomorrow. A new “exclusive” trophy home development a short distance off trail was reported to have a duck pond, possibly chlorinated. Being a bit desperate and trying to ignore the private property postings and road barriers, I quickly made my way to the pond. Sure enough, the water was being aerated and had a slightly bluish Tidy Bowl tinge. I was now thinking a treated sewage water lagoon and I didn’t see any ducks. But then I saw a few fish. Good enough for me – I quickly retrieved three liters and got back on the trail to filter.

The trails near Sedona were fun and scenic amongst the red rock beauty but obviously very popular with the biking community. One trail, aptly named Canyon of Fools, was particularly narrow, curvy and steep. While winding my way uphill, I encountered a mountain biker hurtling down at me at the narrowest point. My reaction was one of self-preservation – I extended my hiking poles to futilely break the impact. This may have provided the incentive for him to lay on the brakes especially hard. He skidded to a stop with the pole tips almost touching his chest.

The sign is more for bikers than hikers – of course I took the extreme

I hiked on to a beautiful camp spot on the edge of Brin Mesa overlooking Sedona. Only a short hike into town tomorrow.