Bear Mtn that wasn’t a bear.

It was a beautiful day, to go up, up and away.

The trail may have been steep, but my knees didn’t utter a peep.

The mountain did tease, but false peaks we did with ease.

The views from up on high, did make us sigh.

The mountains with their colors so bright, in the afternoon light.

It was time to go, down we went slow.

We went on Labor Day weekend, surprisingly very few people on this trail, about 10 people all day. We had heard from friends that had hiked this before how tough it was going to be. We also ran into a couple on the trail part way up about how hard this one was. They had hiked Mt. Elden before and said this was much tougher. We hiked Mt. Elden the week before and did not have a pleasant experience. So we wondered if we hadn’t gotten the “tough” part yet. After finishing the hike, we both thought this hike was much better than Mt. Elden.

The parking lot is not very big, holds about 20 vehicles max but does have a restroom. This parking lot is a “shared” lot for both Doe Mtn and Bear Mtn. Doe Mtn is on one side of the road and Bear Mtn on the other side. The parking lot was full, but cars were coming and going regularly so we didn’t have to park on the road side. Doe Mtn has several short and easy hikes, which most of the people were there for.

Across the road we went, a short (1/4 mile) flat section to the base of Bear Mtn then up we went. This trail was marked at regular intervals with a white double ended arrow (see photos) painted on rocks, not just marking the trail but also the direction. When there was a sudden turn of the trail, it was usually marked so you could tell which direction. There was a decent amount of shade for the first mile or so. The trail is only 2.5 miles each way. It’s an out and back. Once you reach the first summit (there are 4 total) there was less shade, but you could still find shade to stop and take a break.

The trail has a few steep spots, but what I really appreciated was the fact that there were very few giant step ups. Most of the step ups were less than 12 inches tall, which was great for my knees. Yes, it was a workout, but not one that caused a lot of pain. Just after the first mile, you top out to a relatively flat section that you go up and over, then down a bit (maybe a hundred yards) then up the next section. You do this 3 times altogether. If you didn’t know this or look at a contour map, you may get discouraged, “another hill!”.

It was worth the hike. The views from up there are amazing. You can see the Mogollon Rim, Sedona, Jerome and very the beautiful red rock mountains that Sedona is famous for.

We were the last ones up there (we’re relatively slow hikers) that day and saw no one on our way down. So, it was very peaceful and a rather enjoyable hike for us.