Hunting for Caves and the Milky Way in Sedona
Alec Sills-Trausch[wpforms id=”7607″ title=”true”]Another weekend and another adventure, this time hunting for Sedona caves. So far, I’ve hit the birthing cave, soldiers pass cave, keyhole, cave, and Boyton canyon. There’s surely more but each is incredibly amazing.
I’d been wanting to shoot the milky way from Sedona for quite some time. Additionally, there were two caves in Sedona I’ve wanted to check out, so this was the perfect weekend to cross all of them off the Arizona bucket list.
Milkyway in Sedona
I arrived at my shooting spot around 12:15 am and, as always, had my mind blown by how beautiful the milky way looked. The milky way just never gets old. It’s striking, overwhelming, and simply mesmerizing.
Plus, I was out in the beauty of nature, unadulterated by yelling or other trail nonsense.
Birthing Cave Sedona
I’ve been wanting to find this Sedona cave for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I drove from Cathedral Rock to the Long Canyon Trailhead, about a 20-minute drive in the dead of night.
My plan was to hike to the cave, get some milky way/star shots, sleep in my car, and then return for sunrise photos. Instead, the hike to the cave was a little longer than I expected and by the time I was done shooting night photos, it was already past 2:30 am. Soooo, I decided to curl up on the lovely rock floor of the cave and take a quick snooze.
Yep, classic Alec.
Everyone that I’ve told has been worried about some animal coming and attacking me. Personally, I was more worried a human would come up, find me, be startled, and shoot me. This is Arizona after all.
Luckily, the worst that happened was I was pretty cold around 3:45 am and my legs weren’t that comfortable. I did also learn that by age 27, sleeping on the cold hard ground doesn’t do wonders for the body. Imagine that!
I was bummed that a few of my photos from inside turned out blurry but the rest of them were really nice.
Originally, I had set my alarm to wake me up at 4:40, about 30 minutes before sunrise. Instead, I was up a little after 4, cold and tired, but ready for some nice blue hour shots. The birthing cave ended up being really incredible, though it’s really only worth it if you have wide enough angle lengs to get it all in in one shot.
Once I was done at the Birthing Cave, around 6 am, I headed to Soldiers Pass, for the next cave adventure.
Soldiers Pass Cave
I’ve seen this on social media as of late, so figured I’d go check it out! I’ve done this hike a couple of time (it takes you right by Seven Sacred Pools) so I was familiar with most of it…. just not the exact route you take to find the cave.
Unfortunately, I made too quick a left hand turn towards the cave, which meant I bushwacked considerably more than I needed too. And, as all bushwacking experts know, you end up with quite a few scrapes and cuts. I did make it to the soldiers pass cave and was able to enjoy the peacefulness of the cave before a family of 7 wandered in. And that’s my cue to leave…
After I wrapped up this quick hike, I went to hammock and eat. I’m not really sure what meal it was, as it was only about 10:30, but it was also my second meal of the day. I think the hobbits would call it second breakfast and I’m not disagreeing with anyone who knows Gandalf on a first name basis. Anyways, I got in a quick snooze before packing up in Sedona and heading down into the hot valley below.
I may have only been in Sedona for 12 hours but I made every minute count.
Quick adventures like this remind me to always be grateful for what you’re able to do and the moments you can enjoy. A mere three months ago I had just wrapped up my fifth chemo treatment and had little idea what was going to happen to future-Alec. But now, as I’ve probably said before, we’re back to the regularly scheduled programming of adventuring as much as possible.
Other Sedona Caves
Keyhole Cave Sedona
Be careful climbing into the Keyhole Cave as it can be a bit slippery going up and down.
Boyton Canyon
Requiring some bushwacking, please remember the leave no trace principles when attempting to find this carve-out.
Enjoy the hunt for Sedona caves, ya’ll!
Until next time adventurers, take care and be safe.
You can follow along the journey on Facebook and Instagram or shoot me any questions and comments about places to go. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get notified when new posts come out!
Looking for more Sedona hikes? Here’s some of the most popular trails and the less crowded ones!
To view my entire photography collection, click here.