Eight adventurous Trailblazers started their day in beautiful Sedona for a challenging and rewarding Hangover Trail hike. I hiked this trail in 2018, and remembered the scarily steep vertical climbing on the Mitten Ridge, but also how beautiful the trail was. So I decided to do it again, and even went a little further to see the Merry-Go-Round, making it a 10-11 miles hike.

The weather was a little warm yet comfortable, with overcast and cool breezes. We started at Munds Wagon Trail, hiking up to Hangover Trail junction. After a 1.6 mile hike, we reached the junction point.

The Hangover Trail is nature’s masterpiece. The scenery was beautiful in every direction. It was like a gem lying in the center of red rock country. The red-colored sandstone cliffs featured unique rock formations carved and sculpted in different shapes and forms, making a majestic fairy tale land. Standing among these spectacular mountains made everything surreal. For a moment I felt like I was lost in heaven.

Following the trail at the 2 mile mark, we reached the Mitten Ridge. A few people were sitting on the large flat rock slab and enjoying the surroundings. On the left-hand side, there was the delicately carved Elephant Mountain. In the center, it was an unobstructed view of Sedona. On the right side far away you could see the Midgley Bridge. Standing on this large sandstone slope offered us close-up magnificent views of the scenic canyon. No wonder everyone loves this trail.

We took a snack break and had a second group picture before moving onward. The next part of the trail was on a narrow and slickrock surface, running along a sheer cliff. One had to stay calm, since any wrong move could send you flying down a few hundred of feet to the ground below. Passing this part of the trial needed courage. A few of us had some trouble finding good spots. Eventually, we all made it up to the base of Mitten Ridge. I was sure some of us were happy to move on to the next part of the hike after our nerve-racking experience. I was speechless while watching Les, our 84 years old companion, maneuver gracefully on this part of the mountain. I admired his courage and determination. In the end I was just happy the hardest part was over.

As we continued on the Mitten Ridge, we encountered a few hikers, mountain bikers, and trail runners. We took a second well-deserved break on a large and wide cliff saddle after conquering our frightening ridge.

Next, we had to hike down from Hangover to Cow Pies Trail. This part was tricky; we followed the white dot trail but ended up going up instead of down the mountain. So we had to bushwhack down about one hundred feet to meet the trail again. The rest of the hike was easy. After passing some lower vegetation, we spotted a couple of beautiful lizards on the side of the trail. We all stopped, and Les told us that the black and white tailed one was a male. Its tail’s unique color and patterns were used to attract females’ attention. On the trail I also saw a glorious beetle hidden among the rocks. Some people thought it was an endangered species, but they were incorrect.

After more than 5 miles of hiking, we got to the junction of Cow Pies and Schnebly Hill Road. A few Pink Jeeps took tourists here, one of which Les used to hitchhike from here back to where we started without difficulty. The rest of the four members made a loop back to the trailhead, since the temperature began to rise in the afternoon.

Ken, Tom, and I decided to stick with our original plan, moving forward to the Merry-Go-Round. We went up Mund’s Wagon Trail about a mile to get to the top of Merry-Go-Round. This extra mile proved to be worthwhile. The views were incredibly beautiful and breathtaking. We took a break while enjoying the splendid views before leaving the summit. We met many tourists on the way down. Going back to the trailhead was uneventful, although it was a little noisy as the trail was parallel with the Pink Jeep road.

We made it to the trailhead at around 2:30 PM. We hiked 11.3 miles in 6 hours 9 minutes with +-1700'. We had a wonderful day in the red rock country.