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Munds Wagon and Cow Pies Trails Sedona April 2, 2011 by Wendy Rennert |
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 Group [photo by Michael] |
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Possibly a new Trailblazers record – 24 hikers! Eager to explore the wonders of Sedona before the summer heat sinks in, we gathered our rather large caravan and headed north, intending to hike the Huckaby Trail down to Oak Creek. But just before our vehicle gets to the trailhead, Michael’s voice from the first vehicle comes over the walkie-talkie “Uh, the trail is closed for the day.” Our first thought was perhaps this was an April Fools joke, but as we enter the usually crowded parking lot and find plenty of parking available, we realize this was no joke – temporarily closed for maintenance! Neither the ranger nor the website mentioned this, but no problem – we are glad the trails are still being maintained, and luckily, there are plenty of other hikes to choose from, including 2 others from this same parking lot. Wendy announces “Change of plans – I now welcome you to the Exploratory hike on the Munds Wagon Trail!” A quick peek at the trail map revealed that it’s just about the same mileage to the Cow Pies formation as to our original destination of Oak Creek, so the new goal for the hike was lunch at the Cow Pies – oh, yummy...but because we didn’t want to spoil our appetite, we went with the alternate name of Muffins (thanks to Sedona Hikes authors Richard and Sherry Magnum for that idea!). |
 Thumb Butte on Mitten Ridge |
 Moo!!! Déjà vu, being herded like the cattle used to be herded along the trail. |
 Ahh, water! |
Since we had originally been looking forward to the cool waters of Oak Creek, one of the reasons Munds Wagon was selected as the alternate was because the map showed the trail crossing a thin blue line, albeit a dashed one (meaning it’s only an intermittent stream). |
 The interesting patterns of sandstone. |
Ok, a girl can dream, can’t she?! I still wanted to deliver some kind of resemblance to the hike that was advertised, so you can imagine my delight (and the delight of the 23 other hikers) when we came across small amounts of water! |
 Each traverses the slickrock in his/her own way. Some take the high road, some take the low road. |
 Curves shaped by water and wind. |
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At roughly the 2.8 mile mark, the Merry-Go-Round formation came into view, so we knew we were not far from the lunch destination – the Muffins. |
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 Want to go for a spin on the Merry-Go-Round? |
 Springtime in Sedona! |
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| Tiny spots of cheery floral color. | |
 Views from the Cow Pies [Muffins]. Some chose to walk all the way to one of the edges, some found a tree branch or some sort of higher mound to sit on, some couldn’t resist exploring the area a bit more. |
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The Cow Pies are supposedly a Vortex spot – looks like the Vortex’s
magic may have made some of the hikers very sleepy! Or maybe it was the Juniper berries ; ) |
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 Sneaky Rudy tries to scare the daylights out of an unsuspecting passerby (Eileen). |
After lunch, we headed back the same way we came. We were pleased with the amount of shade available on the trail, and combined with the pleasant afternoon breezes, it made for a comfortable hike back to the trailhead. |
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| Relaxing after a tasty BBQ meal at the Hogs ’N Heat event at Rock Spring Café. Don’t forget the pie! | |
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We headed back towards Phoenix and stopped off at the Hogs ’N Heat BBQ – a monthly event held by the Rock Springs Café. They have a tasty BBQ meal, beverages, pie, and a live band. Some of the group participated in the line dancing...I think Debbie and Rudy might possibly still be there...If you happen to go to Hogs ’N Heat next month, please check on them for us! |
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updated August 29, 2016