Eleven members of the Motorola Hiking Club met at Denny’s on Bell Road for the trip to Sedona. We were on the road by 7:30.

When we arrived at Dry Creek road, we had already dropped off Viajay and Meera’s car. It wasn’t long before we Monica parked her car as well. We should have only taken the high clearance vehicles in to the trailhead. The road was quite rough and not good for a passenger car.

We finally arrived at the trailhead at about 9:45 and after the obligatory group photo, began the trek up the creek bed. The first 2 miles are out in the open and we were able to enjoy many views of the red stone canyon walls.

We hiked until noon and stopped in the shade for a short lunch break. We hadn’t really seen many colorful leaves as of yet and decided to continue further into the canyon. It wasn’t long before we were rewarded with bright reds (sumac, maple) and the more muted orange and yellows of the sycamore.

We hiked along the creek enjoying the reflections from a few scattered pools. Not far from our lunch spot I lagged behind the group and heard music playing.

I tried to share this with the others and if it wasn’t for the roar of the planes and helicopters, more people could have enjoyed the sound.

At 1:00 we reached a marshy area with more of the colorful leaves scattered about on the ground. The trail started to head up for a short distance and it was here that the group decided to turn around.

The views were just as outstanding on the return trip. It was interesting that as we neared the trailhead how the red rocks seemed boring after the fall colors.

The hike was about 8 miles round trip and was well worth the effort. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year.