This map shows a shuttle hike that I did with Steve Maschue. We started at the Jim Thompson/Brins Mesa trailhead, climbed up to a viewpoint high up on Brins Mesa and then continued on to Soldiers Pass and descended Soldier's Canyon to the trailhead. Although we could have made a loop trip back, Elaine and Sue picked us up at the Soldier's Pass trailhead.
Click on map to enlarge it, and then click on "original" size at the bottom. Map generated by MyTopo (Maptech) Terrain Navigator.
Elevation profile of our hike up to Brins Mesa and out the Soldiers Pass Trail. We left the trail as indicated and climbed another 300 feet (1.4 mi round trip) to a viewpoint (Elev 5449) which is not shown on this profile.
Click on Thumbnail to view. Profile Generated by MyTopo (Maptech) Terrain Navigator program.
enlarge 294KB, 800x600 3 001 Trail Sign at start of trail.
enlarge 288KB, 800x600 4 002
Steve near the trailhead looking towards Cibola Mittens. The trail through here ascends gradually through the juniper forest.
enlarge 286KB, 800x600 5 003
Looking east from near the trailhead. The top of Steamboat Rock can be seen to the left of the tree at the right.
enlarge 270KB, 600x800 6 004
Looking up towards the upper end of Morman Canyon and Wilson Mountain.
enlarge 241KB, 800x600 7 005
After about a mile the trail steepens as it ascends to Brins Mesa. This viewpoint is below the top. You can see that we have climbed quite a bit at this point.
enlarge 162KB, 800x600 8 006 Looking east from viewpoint.
enlarge 224KB, 800x600 9 007 Bill at viewpoint.
enlarge 177KB, 800x600 10 008 Bill - view is looking south from viewpoint.
enlarge 185KB, 800x600 11 009 Another view.
enlarge 200KB, 600x800 12 010 Continuing up the trail.
enlarge 262KB, 600x800 13 011 Narrow Leaf Yucca found beside the trail.
enlarge 314KB, 800x600 14 012 Sego Lily and Magenta paintbrushes.
enlarge 239KB, 800x600 15 013 Another view.
enlarge 134KB, 800x600 16 014 Close up of Sego Lilies with resident bug.
enlarge 377KB, 600x800 17 015 Steve pondering a Century plant.
enlarge 172KB, 800x600 18 016 A pretty blue flower - I think it's a Delphinium.
See Delphinium for more info.
enlarge 368KB, 800x600 19 017 Cacti along the trail.
enlarge 241KB, 600x800 20 018 An impressive Century Plant stands vigil beside his fallen brethren.
enlarge 219KB, 800x600 21 019 View, looking east, from near where the trail tops the mesa.
enlarge 170KB, 800x600 22 021 Looking SE from near mesa top.
enlarge 145KB, 800x600 33 034 Looking over Brins Mesa west towards Dry Creek.
enlarge 147KB, 800x600 34 036 Another view.
enlarge 180.26MB, 800x600 Download AVI 35 037.AVI Panoramic video from upper Mormon Canyon all the way around from east to west.
enlarge 277KB, 600x800 36 038 More hoodoos.
enlarge 307KB, 800x600 37 039 It's a long way down.
enlarge 40.02MB, 800x600 Download AVI 38 VIDEO FILE 040.AVI Video showing how far down a fall would be.
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enlarge 25.30MB, 800x600 Download AVI 39 VIDEO FILE 041.AVI Video of Steve hiking down mesa from viewpoint.
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enlarge 240KB, 800x600 40 042 Steve.
enlarge 300KB, 800x600 41 044 Another view.
enlarge 274KB, 600x800 42 045 Looking up Mormon Canyon to Wilson Mountain.
enlarge 308KB, 800x600 43 046 More Hoodoos.
enlarge 164KB, 800x600 44 047 Looking East from viewpoint.
enlarge 196KB, 800x600 45 048 Another view.
enlarge 147KB, 800x600 46 049 You can see the trailhead parking lot just to the left of bill.
enlarge 205KB, 800x600 47 052 Bill
enlarge 276KB, 800x600 48 054 Telephoto of Trailhead parking lot.
enlarge 204KB, 800x600 49 055 You can see that the parking lot is a long way down there
enlarge 149KB, 800x600 50 056 Telephoto looking south past Sedona to Airport.
enlarge 265KB, 600x800 51 057 Working our way back down, Steve on a rock viewpoint.
enlarge 139KB, 800x600 52 058 Steve on same rock as previous photo, but from a more impressive perspective.
enlarge 29.00MB, 800x600 Download AVI 53 VIDEO FILE 059.AVI Video of Steve heading down the path from the viewpoint.
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enlarge 409KB, 800x600 54 060 Juniper berries covering the ground.
enlarge 356KB, 800x600 55 061 Juniper berries.
enlarge 175KB, 800x600 56 062 Steve at edge of mesa - looking east.
enlarge 198KB, 800x600 57 063 Looking west across the mesa.
enlarge 317KB, 800x600 58 064 Just above the grassy slope is our viewpoint. If you enlarge the photo to original size and you look closely, you can see a hiker we passed on the way down taking a break at the viewpoint.
enlarge 182KB, 800x600 59 065 Heading towards Soldier Pass. Note the rock "knob" at the center of the picture just above the trees.
enlarge 154KB, 800x600 60 066 Looking down Soldier's Canyon - Coffee Pot Rock is at the end of the rocks at the right.
enlarge 167KB, 800x600 61 067 Steve atop the rock "knob" shown in one of the previous pictures. He was more ambitious than I, and climbed it.
enlarge 139KB, 800x600 62 068 View of Steve on top of knob.
enlarge 264KB, 600x800 63 069 Hiking along the trail to Soldier's Pass as it crosses Brins Mesa.
enlarge 274KB, 600x800 64 070 Most of the Agave (Century Plants) that we saw were dead, but we found this one that was sending up it's stalk and would be blooming this year.
enlarge 247KB, 600x800 65 071 Just above Soldiers Pass, looking down the canyon.
enlarge 218KB, 800x600 66 072 A wider panorama.
enlarge 156KB, 800x600 67 073 We were blessed with a very nice day and we could see for miles.
enlarge 236KB, 800x600 68 074 Heading down from Soldier's pass.
enlarge 221KB, 800x600 69 075 Looking back to the bluffs along Brins Mesa. There are several impressive arches along this ridge.
enlarge 271KB, 800x600 70 076 Another view.
enlarge 288KB, 800x600 71 077 Telephoto of Arches along the cliff.
enlarge 426KB, 800x600 72 078 Some Paintbrush and a white flower that I can't identify.
enlarge 218KB, 600x800 73 080 One of the Seven Sacred Pools - a popular destination of the Sedons Jeep Tours.
enlarge 215KB, 600x800 74 081 View of Steve above the Seven Sacred Pools.
enlarge 234KB, 800x600 75 082 Another View.
enlarge 163KB, 800x600 76 083 The wash at the Sacred Pools. You can see the Jeep Road to the left of the wash.
enlarge 137KB, 800x600 77 084 View of Coffee Pot Rock from the Sacred Pools.
enlarge 287KB, 600x800 78 085 View of the Devil's Kitchen - a sinkhole that formed in the 1880's with another collapse in 1989.
See Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole for a geologic description of this feature.
enlarge 40KB, 900x121 79 pan1 Panoramic view from our viewpoint above Brins Mesa. This is best viewed by pumping up your screen resolution to 1920x1080 and then clicking on the thumbnail. On the enlarged photo, click on "Original" size option at the bottom and use the horizontal slider to view.
