Due to the parking lot (it has parking for only three cars), we meet at Basha’s and carpool to the trailhead. Li and Tom drive to the trailhead and park along the street.

After taking pictures, I give a map and instruction about the hike.

We take the Ridge Trail and hike up and down through some rocky sections, through the ponderosa pine forest to the Crescent Moon Ranch.

The view of the mountain surrounding and fall color from cottonwoods, big foot maple, is breathtaking. From the top we look down the Crescent Moon Ranch, blending in fall color.

At Red Rock Crossing, seven hikers take their shoes off and walk cross Oak Creek. I hike with them to the Templeton Trail, and show the long hike group the way to Catheral Rock.

I cross Oak Creek at Buddha Beach and join Lin and Terry K to hike back to the trailhead. On the way back, we make some stops to enjoy what nature giving us and take some more pictures.

We come at the right time, so we get the peak color of the season.

The entire group enjoyed the three mile Ridge Trail leading to Crescent Moon Ranch Park.

The long hike group of Tom, Li, David, Mohammed, Roberta and Chris, along with Quy left Lin and Terry when we waded across Oak Creek and hiked along the creek against the red rock walls on the Red Rock Crossing Trail.

After turning onto the Baldwin Trail we walked a short distance and picked up the Templeton Trail along the base of Cathedral Rock. Quy left us, successfully crossing over the creek on a wobbly log and some rocks. The trail got busier as we climbed out of valley and towards the east side of Cathedral Rock, eventually reaching the junction with the Cathedral Rock Trail. That trail leads up the side of the rock to a saddle, but that day we only looked up at the hikers above us.

We had hiked 5.3 miles, so after a lunch break, we turned around and headed back to Crescent Moon, this time crossing Oak Creek where Quy had crossed. We hiked through the trees and along the creek, but I thought the other side of the creek was more interesting. However, if you like the park meadow and very big trees, you’ll enjoy the park. After leaving the park, we started up the Ridge Trail and returned to the trailhead.

We hiked 10.1 miles in six hours, with an accumulated elevation of 1400 feet. This was my first time in this part of Sedona and it is pretty, with nice scenic views. David showed us a track he has hiked looping around Cathedral Rock. That would be a good club hike, including the half mile trail up the Rock.