I hiked Elden with my husband, Ron, and our dogs, Faith and Dharma. Not our first time up this mountain, but there were lots of firsts–first time with snow on it, first time the dogs have hiked in elevation, and the first they've gotten a taste of snow, literally and figuratively.
When we left the house we planned on doing a hike in Sedona but changed plans when we got to the exit and decided to kick it off on Elden. We hiked slowly to allow the dogs to acclimate to the elevation, and ourselves as well, since it's been a year since we've hiked over 7000 ft.
Near the top there was a small section of snow that was packed down and melting. We had some fun playing in it with the dogs. The weather was in the low 60's and the winds were very strong, especially at the peak. I'm sure the gusts were over 50 mph and the sustained winds were around 25. We took some pictures quickly and moved down to lower ground where the winds weren't so fierce.
I like this hike, but it may be my least favorite in the series, which is perhaps why I got it out of the way. It's not exceptionally scenic in my opinion, but the climb is a good workout and great practice for higher elevation. I do love seeing the San Francisco peaks when you reach the summit, and the way the pine trees change as you getter higher, and eventually you reach the Aspen trees. The fire tower views are exceptional if you have the opportunity to go up there.
The fire tower was not open this time, but we did get to go in there on a hike last year, and highly recommend it if the ranger is present.
Looking forward to the next hike. Onward.
Responses
Since I can’t edit what I wrote I am officially asking for a change to the english language to include “getter higher” as legit grammar.