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Wilson Mountain Barrelhouse
Sedona
April 16, 2005
by Ted Tenny
Pleasant weather and two enthusiastic young hikers livened our
trip to Sedona's red rock country. Zoe Beauer, age 7, made it to
Angel Falls and back with her mother Terri Beauer and grandfather
Doug East. Damian Beauer, age 1 1/2, was carried by his mother most
of the way. Michelle East, Joe Michalides, Brian Cross, Rudy Arredondo,
Michael Humphrey, Barry Altschuler, and hike leader Ted Tenny
rounded out the troop.
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You can’t see the Barrelhouse from the road. We started from Jim
Thompson Trailhead on the Brins Mesa Trail. It follows an abandoned
Jeep road by the site of an old shooting range, then turns west
toward Coffee Pot Rock to a junction where three trails come
together. Turn right at the junction to stay on the Brins Mesa Trail
going north.
The fin, elevation 5667', makes an excellent landmark for finding
your way to the Barrelhouse. You see the fin from the south side at
the beginning of the hike, then after turning north you see it edge on.
“Don’t leave the Brins Mesa Trail until you see the fin from
the back side,” Ted advised the hikers. We left the Brins Mesa
Trail, on the right, just before it started up the staircase toward
Brins Mesa.
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An unmarked trail took us northeast and then east into Mormon Canyon.
The trail goes through a wooded area, mostly manzanita, crossing
several gullies before it drops steeply into the canyon. Ted set up
a cairn of red, white, and blue rocks to make sure we could find our
way out.
Water was flowing freely in the canyon. We rock-hopped 1/4 mile
upstream, to a place where a tributary with a smooth slickrock bottom
flows in from the right. There is a red rock pinnacle straight ahead.
This is the only place where you can see the Barrelhouse from the
canyon. Look above you to the right, which is the west side of Wilson
Mountain.
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The climb up the barrels definitely makes this a "B" hike.
It is quite steep, with plenty of loose rocks and soil between the
slickrock formations. Start up the side canyon, then climb out of it
on either the left or the right and continue climbing eastward. Part
way up is a turret-shaped slickrock formation with a row of rocks on
top of it. The best route to the barrels is to go around the turret
on either the left or the right. Everyone but Rudy climbed a ledge on
the turret instead.
Rudy made it up to the barrels. The rest of us enjoyed the view from
the ledge. There are fantastic rock formations in all directions,
and a sweeping view of Brins Mesa and beyond.
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Zoe, Damian, and Terri were waiting for us down in the canyon. We
stopped there for lunch before hiking upstream to Angel Falls.
After seeing all the water in the canyon, it was kind of surprising
to find Angel Falls dry. The falls are actually in a tributary of
Mormon Canyon. Desert varnish marks the places where water pours off
the side of Wilson Mountain and down into the spectacular rock formations.
Our return trip was slow but very scenic. It turns out that you can
see the barrels from one place on the Brins Mesa Trail, but you have
to know just where to look. Near the barrels are several other
formations of stacked rocks, each of them on a slickrock ledge. There
are many possibilities for exploratory hikes in this area!
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Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club, Phoenix, Arizona
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updated December 14, 2005
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