We tackled both Sedona summits in one day, ending with Bear Mountain, which, in my opinion, was the most challenging (and most fun!) of all of the summits in this summer challenge.

There are some immediate things to look out for on this hike. For starters, locating the trailhead was a bit confusing – the parking area indicates that it is the starting point for both Doe and Bear Mountain, so look closely at the foot of what you THINK is the trail and you'll see a second sign that says “Bear Mountain across the road.”

Secondly, Bear Mountain in itself is deceiving – it is nearly impossible to see the actual summit from the trailhead, so it's easy to think that the visible towering red rock in front of you is your end-point. Not until you get over the top of this first red rock peak do you realize just how much farther you need to go. I was tickled to see a “The End” marker at the top after realizing this confirming we actually reached the right summit!

Lastly, there apparently have been some devious hikers that have previously scaled this mountain, who decided to etch white arrows on the rocks to purposefully and wrongly indicate the route. Be wary of these arrows and ONLY follow the painted white diamonds or you'll easily get off course. These white diamonds can be found at intervals of roughly 10-20 feet and once you get the hang of it, they are fairly easy to locate on the way up. You'll need to look a little bit closer to find them on the way down, as the angle from a descent can make it somewhat difficult to clearly locate a few of them.

As you scale up and around the rocks (and it's a LOT of scaling), be on the alert for conniving cacti. If you need to reach out for leverage when cutting around bends and turns, there's likely to be a cactus right where you intend to place your hand. They are RIGHT THERE on the trail, so be very careful. Scaling and scrambling are required on this hike; a much different climb than any of the other summits in this challenge.

Now maybe it's because I ascended this summit immediately following a hike up Wilson Mountain, which had the most breathtaking views of Arizona I've seen, but I found the vistas from the top of Bear kind of anticlimactic. However, you ARE surrounded by majestic red rocks and amazing views throughout the climb, which completely makes up for it!

The weather was perfect – a sunny 68 degrees at 12 p.m. when we started this hike, and only about 10 degrees warmer when we closed the loop around 4 p.m. Ending this summer challenge with Bear Mountain was the pinnacle of my six-pack of peaks experience!