180. Sedona (7): Lost, Almost!

Like I said, the good thing about Sedona is there are so many trails; the bad part is there are too many trails! 🙂 By that, I meant, since there are so many trails, sometimes it is confusing. Especially, when it comes to “social trails” which are unofficial trails—they are probably made by people started go off trail to explore and after awhile, a non-so-clear path formed. Those trails are tricky; they are not marked and can disappear in anywhere.

The first time I went on social trail, I got lost!

I didn’t intent to take this off the beaten path by myself. Normally, I would prefer to stay on trail so that if I run into trouble, I might be able to get help. Even those less popular trails, there will be someone using it, once in a while. However, if I am completely off trail, and run into trouble there, I might get stuck there, forever!

This is another reason I like about local hiking groups. We do go off trail sometimes. It is fun, and safe, to do it with a group of people. There are so many places to explore in Sedona!

When I first hiked the Munds Wagon trail, I went to one of those social trails, unintentionally. It winds through dense forest up to a ridge.

The view was great. However, after I explore the ridge area, I had trouble finding the original path. Pretty soon, I was completely off any trail! Although I knew the general direction, getting there was a different question. Passing dense, prickly forest down a mountain side wasn’t easy! Especially when it was in the late afternoon. I could hear my heavy breathing; I could feel my heart pounding. Adrenaline pumped through me! After a few scratches and an hour bushwhacking, I finally found the social trail I was on before! It was such a relief!

Hiking is fun. But being able to do it safely is foremost important. I kept on learning my lessons. 🙂

 

Can you see a “face” here?

PS. my photo website: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/qing-yang.html