Sedona and Flagstaff 7-15-06 (18 images)
Headed up north this weekend for some wheeling and biking. Met up with Aaron, Brian, and Mark Saturday
morning for a caravan up to Sedona. We went in a "back way" through Cornville, stopped at the
Safeway for some Red Rock passes, then hit up Broken Arrow. After Broken Arrow Mark and I stopped at
Maria's Cantina in Oak Creek Village for some lunch. While we were eating, a nasty storm blew in and
dumped a bunch of rain (and gave my truck a much needed bath). It didn't last long. The rain had stopped
by the time we were done eating.
Mark shoved off to fight his way back down I-17, while I headed over to
Buddha Beach (Oak Creek) for a little swim. There were a couple washes along Verde Valley School Road
that were flowing pretty good from the rain. Unfortunately, the storm did a number on Oak Creek as well.
The water was the consistency of mud with a bunch of debris floating around. I decided to skip the swim
and head up to Schnebly Hill to set up camp for the night. I woke up Sunday morning, ate some cereal,
then went up to Flagstaff for a little MTB action. The trail of choice was Schultz Creek (part of the Dry
Lake Hills trail system). I rode up the 4 mile, 750 ft. incline, then ran a loop that comes back to the
top of Schultz Creek (don't know the name), topping it off with the sweet 4 miles of downhill back to
the bottom of Schultz Creek. Instead of coming back down I-17 to Phoenix, I decided to take Lake Mary Road
(Coconino 3) instead, which spits you out about 30 miles northeast of Payson (Clints Well). It takes a
little bit longer than I-17, but it's a very pretty drive through pines at 7000 ft. Plus, you don't run
the risk of sitting in the gnarly traffic jams that I-17 can produce.
Click a picture to see a larger view.