SLC to PHX Part 3: The devil is in the details

If you missed the last two editions, you can find them here (P1) and here (P2).

We knew it’d be cold. We weren’t expecting it to be this cold. 

In Flagstaff, on the final morning of the road trip, we woke up to a nice balmy environment of five degrees. Just five. Not six. Not four. Five. Brrrr.

We had to wait a little bit for the car to warm up but that didn’t stop us from a rousing rendition of Car-aoke with our gal-pal Celine Dione.

With the car all warmed up and our butts toasty (god bless seat warmers), we headed down the 89-A through Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. If you haven’t taken this route, I highly recommend it. It’s not very busy considering most are taking the I-17 and the scenery is amazing.

Today was even more impressive with snow covering the ground.

Once we got into Sedona, we went into the backcountry to hike Devils Bridge. With it being a Monday, we luckily snagged a parking spot but most weekends this is a hike where you have to park on the road.

Devils Bridge has been popularized by social media and for good reason. The red rock background coupled with standing out on a rock arch is super cool.

The hike is broken up into two unofficial parts.

The first, is about a three-quarters of a mile walk on a dirt road that is really only accessible to high-clearance vehicles as the road has some very difficult terrain.

The second part is the trail from the official trailhead that is maybe a mile up. (Overall they say it’s 3.6 miles round trip from the parking lot we parked in.)

As you can see, it’s absolutely stunning up here. There truly is no place like Sedona and this hike will continue to get more popular as it’s really not that hard (okay I’m a bad judge but it’s not bad and it is dog-friendly).

Some who have a fear of heights may be hesitant to go out on the arch itself but there’s plenty of room and the likelihood of falling off is near zero if you’re acting appropriately.

With Devils Bridge knocked off our list, we began the journey back to the valley of the sun and warmth with smiles on our faces as we had a successful and safe trip.

It was great to meet up with long time friends and share laughs, stories, and the thrill of adventure for a long weekend.

With the constant go-go-go of city life battering us every day, trips like this help center yourself, find some inner peace, and get you ready to handle a couple more weeks of work and regular life before you need to Opt Outside and slow it all down once again.

There sadly aren’t any more epic road trips planned into the 2018 calendar but there are plenty of more adventures including heading back to Zion in the middle of May, the Grand Canyon in late April (and probably another trip sooner rather than later).

Until next time adventurers, take care and be safe.