Soldier Pass Trail and Arches

Changing plans is becoming a recurring theme of this trip. With my friends from Las Vegas delayed by car trouble until sometime this afternoon, I took advantage of an extra opportunity for some hiking. I started out the day intending to hike Soldier Pass Trail only to the point of the arches, and returning back after. However, the path up to the arches wasn't nearly as obvious in person as the book made it sound. The book described the trail as a "primitive road" that branched off to the right at the wilderness juncture 1.25 miles into the hike. I did see a wilderness sign and a path with some stones piled in a line in front of it. But it looked a lot more like a "warning, this is not the real path" than a "road", primitive or otherwise. (Note to self: Must get a GPS device, as it would have solved this problem easily). So, I passed by the path to the right, and continued on Soldier Pass. Eventually, I realized I had most certainly passed by the path to the arches. By this point, I was so close to the end of the Soldier Pass trail, that I decided to just go ahead and complete it and forget about trying to get down to the arches. I would check out that side path on the way back, and make note of whether it appeared to lead to the arches for possible future reference.

The Soldier Pass Trail led up to the top of Brins Mesa, and ended at a rather nondescript intersection with the Brins Mesa trail. A little anti-climatic, actually, after the steep, rocky climb to the top! I wandered around on top for a bit (the view is largely obstructed by trees, unfortunately), then headed back down after a brief detour on a well-marked "social trail" that led to a nice view, albeit, one in unfortunate lighting.

When I finally reached the intersection with the wilderness boundary again, the "just can't let it go" in me kicked in, so I started up that little side path to see if it did indeed lead to the arches. It did, and truth be told, seemed easier than what I had just done to the top of Brins Mesa. It wasn't my favorite thing to do on my way back from a long hike uphill, but compared to some of the other things I've climbed in Sedona, this was relatively mild.

Having finally reached my goal, I explored around the arches for a bit, then sat under one for a while, and finally headed back down feeling an enormous sense of accomplishment. While the day certainly is far from over, my feet and knees tell me that there will be a large amount of rest in my immediate future. The sign of a hike well done.

Here are a few more photos from the day.

The arches from a distance


Some cliffs near the arches.


Looking up at a gap inside one of the arches.