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Angel Falls Day Hike
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Sedona
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September 16, 2000
by Ted Tenny
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We’re hiking west of Wilson Mountain.
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14 intrepid hikers braved the heat to bushwhack and rock-hop their way
to the colorful box canyon north of Sedona.
They were Peter Ng, Stephen Trombitas, Darleen Lindquist, Doris Madueno,
Angela Lin, Mary Singleton, J.C. Pinney, Loyd Cook, Himanshu Rawell,
Vince Chiego, Cara Ludwick, Amanda Dabney, Clara Tenny, and hike leader
Ted Tenny.
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The hike begins on a closed but well-maintained gravel road which soon
becomes an abandoned Jeep trail which becomes the Brins Mesa Trail.
But the route to Angel Falls is through Mormon Canyon.
To get there from the Brins Mesa Trail is an unmarked bushwhack of 200
yards through thick manzanita forest. As soon as you can see the back
side of the Fin, a high, thin rock formation northwest of Steamboat Rock,
it’s time to leave the Brins Mesa Trail and start bushwhacking
eastward.
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The fin is your navigation landmark.
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Angel Falls tops a box canyon.
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Ted put up a cairn to mark the place where we entered the canyon, then
removed it when we left.
Once in Mormon Canyon we rock-hopped our way up to the falls, enjoying
shade, an occasional breeze, and red slickrock on the way.
In several places there are tributaries which flow into Mormon Canyon.
At each junction we stayed in the largest streambed, which is the route
to the falls.
At one point where there is slickrock, after the first tributary from
the right (east), we looked east and saw some red rocks above us,
halfway up Wilson Mountain, that look like a row of barrels.
A formation below them and to the right looks like a rock wall.
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Everything is dry but there is evidence of past flooding in the canyon,
as some trees have had the soil washed away from their roots.
We pass many fallen tree trunks which we have to go over, under, or around.
The canyon turns to slickrock as we approach the falls.
There are fantastic red rock sculptures formed by erosion.
The box canyon itself is a series of smooth red and yellow basins with
increasingly steep rises between them. Desert varnish marks the places
where water occasionally flows.
J.C. and Ted found some lizards and a puddle of water with bugs in it (the
only water we saw on today’s hike!) as they explored the bottom two
basins.
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towering rocks near the falls
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Several times, the hikers got separated into two or more parties.
Motorola 2-way radios and a sports whistle were effective at getting
everyone back together.
When we bushwhacked from the canyon back to the Jeep trail, the main
party went up ahead while Ted took himself and the last three hikers
back to Brins Mesa Trailhead on an alternate route.
Lessons Learned:
- On the abandoned Jeep trail, there is a place where three roads
come together. Turn right as you are heading toward Angel Falls.
Turn left as you are coming back from Angel Falls. If you turn right
as you are coming back from Angel Falls, however, the road becomes a trail
which takes you back to the well-maintained gravel road and the trailhead.
- As soon as you can see the back side of the Fin, it’s time
to leave the Brins Mesa Trail and start bushwhacking eastward.
Don’t go up the staircase to Brins Mesa.
- Leave a cairn at the place where you enter Mormon Canyon.
When you leave the canyon, you can remove it.
- When the hikers get separated into two or more parties, radios
and a sports referee’s whistle are effective at getting
everyone back together. Make sure that the fastest hiker, the leader,
and the slowest hiker have radios. Turn the radio transmit button
off when you blow your whistle.
- This hike is described in
Mangum, Richard and Sherry, Sedona Hikes, Hexagon Press,
Flagstaff, AZ, 1992, pp.16-17. However the map, elevation change,
and elevation profile in the book are inaccurate.
- Take a big drink of water before starting a hike on a hot day.
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