Hiking poles and gloves are a great idea!

A hat and plenty of water especially in the summer months.

Our Bear Mountain day hike started with an early morning drive from Phoenix to Sedona to be on the trail by 0730. Out of bed at 0400 to meet group at 0445. We were blessed with minimal traffic so early in the morning coming into Sedona.  We parked in the lot directly across the road from the trailhead. A $5 Red Rock Parking Pass is usually required, but we got lucky and came on a no fee day.  Our starting temp was 79 degrees and got toasty by the end in the 90’s!  Very minimal shade with path about 90% exposed in the morning. The path takes no time and the climbing starts. The path has many large rock faces and boulders to traverse. A few times we got off path especially on the first bench (flat area). It is mostly easy to navigate if you follow the painted white arrows. It’s actually kind of fun…like playing a trail version of connect-the-dots. It is a steady semi-steep climb to the top “END OF TRAIL.”

We took a short break to eat at the top and admire the always beautiful views of the red rock valley below. I particularly loved the various cacti and majestic century plants along the trail. No real bug or insect issues to speak of, which was nice.  The trek back down was just as challenging on the knees….hiking poles are a great option.  This was a beautiful hike but not to be taken lightly due to nearly 2000ft of elevation gain in 2.5 miles (5miles round trip). Overall an awesome moderately challenging hike to get prepared for our third Six POP summit….Mount Humphrey’s ????⛰