50 Year Trail to Baby Jesus Ridgeline

Who could resist walking trails with such fascinating names - 50 Year Trail...Baby Jesus Trail? I based this hike on this description on Hike Arizona. I modified it by beginning at the Equestrian Center trailhead at Catalina State Park. I didn't follow the 50 Year Trail to the end, but I did go somewhat beyond the intersection with the Baby Jesus Trail. Not sure how far. So, I ended up walking the 50 Year Trail to Baby Jesus Trail, then a very rocky walk down the Sutherland Trail. A right down the Link Trail brought me through acacia stands that resembled orchards. I met back up with the 50 Year Trail and retraced a couple miles back to my truck. I calculated the trip around 19 miles or so. Not bad for one day.

I bought a new pair of shoes at The Hike House in Sedona. They're Roclite 315's by Inov-8. My long-suffering hiking partners have heard me bemoan the long-suffering in my feet. A uniquely bad combination of foot ailments - mostly terrible blisters - has plagued me through many, many hikes. I quit wearing hiking boots about a year ago, but running shoes lack badly needed grip. The Inov-8's have really helped out. A nearly twenty mile hike in one day, over  rocky terrain, without a foot injury was unthinkable for me, but I made it all the way unscathed. Inov-8 claims these shoes are engineered for long-distance trail travel and, though I haven't logged too many miles on them yet, I think they live up to that. They're actually really comfortable and I like to wear them around.

This trough full of goldfish is the second one I've encountered, the other being in Saguaro National Park.

Sedona Psychic Vortexes

Tourists flock to Sedona, AZ all seasons of the year and we're no different. We recently headed up to Sedona and Flagstaff for a little rest, relaxation, and cross-country skiing.

Though most people visit Sedona for the beautiful and iconic red rock formations that rise from all horizons, the small city also attracts many who adhere to or are curious about the New Age movement. Shops advertising healing crystals, faery and angel stuff, and other New Age and spiritual things line all major roads.

Probably the most iconic metaphysical attractions are several sites around town believed to be vortexes (though the plural of vortex is vortices, in Sedona, they say vortexes). Different people say that vortexes are different things - giant magnets or sites of spiritual energy for example. Some believe they heal, offer mental clarity, or give other-worldly visions. You can even take tours to the vortexes (all of which are pretty easily accessible without a tour; take one of the off-road Jeep tours instead ). Here's a description of the vortexes from the website for one tour group.

To say we're profoundly skeptical of all this would be an understatement, but Erin and I have visited Sedona many times and we've never checked out any of the vortex sites, so we swung by the Kachina Woman Vortex along Boyton Canyon. We found beautiful views, friendly people, and interesting geology, but no angels or faeries or supercharged-spirit-magnet-enlightenment-healing. We did meet a lady who claimed the vortex healed her knee, though, and she recommended the book pictured below. To each her own.




People built small cairns around the vortex site.

Kachina Woman Vortex overlooks Boyton Canyon. Not sure how a developer got the permit to drop this shitty resort in the middle the canyon...

Here's a Sedona vortex map. Go get healed (or just enjoy the views).

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to our friends, especially our families in chilly New England.

I might add this is my 300th post to Making Owls Cool.