Bring your camera, camera, camera!!!!

And plenty of water!

Our Wilson Mountain day hike started with O’dark-thirty wake-up call. 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 started our trek promptly at 0700 from Encinoso Picnic Area – North Wilson Trailhead. A cool 70 degrees at the start but got little humid during the first .5 mile with all the overgrown lush foliage.  Almost forgot I was in Arizona with all the lush green and flowering plants. Humidity + lush growth/flowering plants=bugs. Thankfully the bugs were only buzzing and not biting.  Otherwise we were mostly shaded the first mile under the big pines.  The initial climb up to the first plateau was a bit of a lung and leg burner. I took my time at a slow and steady pace along the switchbacks as this was my first time on this trail and didn’t want to gas-out too early. As the trail started to flatten on what’s known as “the first bench” there were amazing views of the red rock valley below and the peak of where we were headed above. Up to this point took a lil less than 1.5h and was a nice spot to regroup and recharge before the second push to the top. The second part of the ascend was a gradual incline amongst blooming foliage with absolutely amazing views in all directions.  You really have to pay attention to your footing as all you want to do is look around.  Once at the top you could go back down (but you made it this far) or you could meander about .75 mile right to the North Canyon overlook.  Here we got a beautiful clear view of Humphrey’s Peak and overlook of Oak Creek Canyon. We trekked back south to the Sedona Overlook about .5 mile from the Wilson Mountain sign.  This view literally took my breath away. I have always had a fear of heights but this view was so serene and beautiful I just sat down on a boulder and took it all in over a PB&J sandwich. We spent about 30mins talking to other hikers and took some group pics. We started our descend a little after 11:00.  It was cool and breezy at the top but became much warmer as we descended and the sun was directly overhead at noon. The second half of the descent is not easy on the knees and may be a good idea to use trekking poles. We just took our time and a couple quick rests in the shade as it really was getting warm. We finished our 10.5 mile hike a little before 1pm.

Take-aways: There is a $5 fee for all-day parking.  Make sure to park only in designated areas, else you will be ticketed or worse…towed.   It would suck to come back from a long hike and have no car!  We did encounter one snake that just slithered across the trail into a bush-so be on the lookout for critters.  Be prepared with food and fluids.  I carried a hydration pack with a 1.6L bladder of water and a 16oz collapsable bottle of frozen electrolyte drink. I had a little left over but would advise overpacking just to be prepared as it did get quite hot towards the end. I had a partly melted frozen water bottle waiting for me in the car that I was super grateful for.  I absolutely loved this hike and am excited to tackle the next 5 summits over the summer.