Our final outdoor adventure in Arizona was climbing Cathedral Rock. It was about 3-4 miles in distance and roughly 1,000 feet in elevation. It was a moderately challenging adventure due to the laborious uphill climb. Along the way, several people had to pause on the trail to catch our breaths. 

The hike was an uphill climb on the large rocks. Ryan and I initially enjoyed the hike by running around on the rocks, hopping from one to the next. As we made our way along the trail, the path became steeper, causing us to slow our pace.

One section of the trail was particularly interesting. There was a very narrow section, requiring rock scrambling. It was a steep, strenuous climb. Only one person could negotiate through the path at a time because of the tight and narrow space. It wasn’t challenging in terms of technique, but more so in regard to strength and endurance. Once at the top, most people needed a rest break to regain their energy to continue up the route. 

The technique of climbing was easier than our previous adventure in Birthing Cave as the rocks were not as smooth. There were more hand and foot placement available making it much easier to negotiate. 

At the top of the climb, we were rewarded with incredible views of Sedona. The bright blue sky with the red rocks and green bushes were beautiful. There was so much color surrounding us; it was quite the view.

After enjoying the scenery from the top, we decided to go off trail for a bit. We found a path that continued around the rocks at the top of the main trail. We went behind these rocks and continued scrambling around on the rocks, exploring the area.

This was the most fun part of the hike. It was great being away from everyone else and just do our own thing. We had fun finding paths to follow and clambering around. We could have continued this way for hours. It looked like the paths would go on forever, but we didn’t want to get too far off trail and lose our way, plus it was getting close to sunset, so we figured it was best to venture back to the main trail and start our descent. 

While scrambling down the rocks of the narrow section, some people at the bottom were expressing their fear of climbing. They were asking us if the climb was as challenging as it looked and when we told them it wasn’t that bad, they seemed to think we were just more experienced. I guess we looked so good doing it, we were able to fool them! They should have seen us the day before at Birthing Cave. They would have realized very quickly just how inexperienced we truly are at “rock climbing”.

Towards the end of the hike, we ran into a familiar friend, Buddha! We were excited to see the little guy again. He and his owner were just starting the hike and he looked excited for the challenge.

Overall, this was a great hike. Its hard to put into words what made this trail so enjoyable for us. We just had a blast spending the day together and pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones. I was surprised at how well Ryan handled the heights and he was surprised at how adventurous I was with going off trail and jumping around on the rocks.

Our time in Arizona continued to be amazing as we continued to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine and the interesting exploration of Sedona. We traveled back to Sedona a couple more times to discover other hiking trails. These next 2 hikes we went on were some of our favorites as they were quite different than the typical trails we endure.

Our time in Arizona was amazing. We absolutely loved the warm, sunny weather and the gorgeous views of Sedona. We would have loved to stay longer, but we were excited to continue our travels. Our next destination, Palm Springs, CA!