Ten energetic hikers travelled up I-17 and then down Schnebly Hill Road about 5 miles. Unfortunately Bill had an ugly tire problem but quickly changed tires and off we went. From the topo maps, hike leader Dave had spotted a trail that cut off a little hiking distance and about 3 miles of Schnebly Hill Road. He hiked it the day before and found it to have more trees and better views than the originally planned trailhead. According to his GPS, this trail is called Jacks Canyon.

The trailhead is marked as FR 153A (Schnebly Hill Road is FR 153) and entrance to Woods Wildlife Area. There is limited parking just off Schnebly Hill Road.

We trekked down a rough jeep trail about 1.2 miles to join the Schnebly Hill Trail. Munds Mountain loomed before us and we saw several century plants in bloom.

Immediately we entered a heavily forested area and spotted the remains of an old ranch house with the chimney still prominent. We had to carefully step over a couple of fallen trees.

Soon we came to a major overlook of Sedona area, where Bill took the official group picture.

Drops of blood on rocks led away from the trail. Bill and Anikó followed the drops for a ways but did not find the source. We suspect it was a wounded deer, perhaps shot by a hunter last fall.

At about mile 2.5 we dropped down to the ridge saddle where Jack’s Canyon trail heads south and downhill towards the Village of Oak Creek. The Schnebly Hill Trail ends here and the Munds Mountain Trail starts and so does the huff and puff up a steep trail.

We reached the top of the mountain in about a half mile and got a good view of the San Francisco Peaks, site of the hike the following Saturday.

The top of Munds Mountain is relatively flat and forested with oak and juniper. We reached the highest point (6840 ft) after about a half mile of hiking on top.

We proceeded across the top of the mountain for about a mile and then stopped in an oak grove for lunch.

After lunch six hikers proceeded for another mile or so and then turned around. The other four started back down the trail.

We spotted an abandoned camp site that still had full gear in it. We suspect that some winter hunters or campers got caught in a storm and bailed out. Why they never returned to retrieve their considerable gear is a mystery.

The round trip was 7.8 to 9.8 miles for those that went on after lunch. The beginning elevation is 6120 and except for the half mile climb up the mountain, the trail is generally rolling and very pretty.

Afterwards the group went to the Pinewood Country Club in Munds Park, met trip leader’s wife Barbara and had a light supper and drinks.