We started the day with a hike that I hoped would take us to Soldiers Pass Trail. We tried to complete that trail yesterday but there’s a small parking lot and if you don’t drive very early, you have no chance of getting a spot. There’s another lot further away from this hike that you can park in and take several connecting hikes to finally get to Soldiers Pass which is what we did. I had the trails mapped out on my phone and we knew we had to take three connecting trails to get to the one we wanted but I asked someone along the way about my route and he said the route I was planning on taking wouldn’t get me there. So we listed to him and later found out it actually would have gotten us to the Soldiers Pass hike and the 7 sacred pools. Next time I’ll trust my instincts and planning and I won’t ask directions from someone I don’t know!!! We ended up enjoying our hike along Jordan Pass and Cibola Pass Trailheads. They were connecting loops that took us on a moderate hike with some good shade for part of the trailhead. Here are some photos from the hike! The trails are well maintained and heavily traveled.
Looks like R2D2 from Star Wars 
After finishing this hike, we drove to Devil’s Bridge trailhead. Devil’s Bridge is the largest natural sandstone arch located in the Sedona area of Coconino National Forest. The hike is listed as moderate, which it was except for the last 15 minutes or so of the hike which involved a narrow pathway and then you have to hike up several sets of steep, rocky steps and in some spots we had to do some scrambling to get up the rocks. The good news is that part ended right as we got to Devils Bridge. The line to stand on the bridge was too long to wait (and I wouldn’t have done it anyway) so we took some photos then started back down the trailhead. My hands were really sweating as we went down the rocks because some were quite steep. This picture shows one of the sections but for the really steep ones, I needed to squat and balance so no photos!!
Here is a photo of the bridge from the top. Notice that it’s a freestanding bridge created by the rock arch.
The hike for Devil’s Bridge is kind of unique in that the first half of it can be completed in a 4 x4 or you can walk the first part which is about two miles out and back. The second part up to the bridge is also about 2 miles out and back so if you chose to walk the entire trailhead, it would be about four miles. We completed the first half in the Jeep which is often done by the Pink Jeep Company for tourists but since I have the Konney White Jeep Company driving me, we chose to ride the first half and climb the second half. Here are some shots from inside the Jeep looking at the road.
To close out the day, here are a few photos of the city surrounded by the red rocks. Get some rest, you’re going on more hikes tomorrow with us!
Camping Konneys 