Bear Country?
It had been more than a year since we ventured to the back of Fay Canyon in Sedona. The weather was absolutely perfect and the parking lot was surprisingly empty. We looked forward to a relaxing afternoon. At the trail head we were greeted by a Bear Advisory sign. Really? When did Fay Canyon get bears? We started to think about the fragrant goodies that we packed for brunch and maybe gave a nano-second of thought to leaving them in the car. We were both starved and Pat always has the bear spray in his pack so we decided to risk an encounter.
Pat “Path-finding”
We saw a few hikers along the trail. Most only went as far as the natural arch and Indian ruins. A few went beyond. We arrived at the point where the trail crossed a dry wash. It sure looked different and the “End of Trail” sign was missing. It seemed one of the heavier rains during the year relocated the sign, some trees and even boulders. We were hoping the remainder of the trail was discernible. It never was super-easy to follow after this point.
“Well, this isn’t right”. That’s what we said three or four times while bushwhacking and back-tracking… and cursing a bit. The trail was in pretty bad shape, but eventually we saw a definite landmark and knew we were only a few more minutes from our spot. Whew!
Brunch at last!
This really is a spectacular VinoSpot. We sat there for a couple of hours with our odoriferous snacks and a sauvignon blanc, not a bear to be seen. At one point we heard a couple of people with a dog below us about 50′ or so. They must have lost the trail or decided there was nothing more to see because they turned around and hiked back out.
Too bad they missed it, but they probably didn’t have wine anyway.
I knew Vino-Hiking had to be you!
Guilty!