Sedona notes from Chicken Point: our last hike with Colby

Kindred spirits on the trails of life

Colby and I in January 2022

Bittersweet memories of a dear friend

A rekindled memory - two years ago this month, I enjoyed my last hike with a good friend. To this day, I continue to miss our time spent in Sedona - and our favorite hike to Chicken Point. Little did we know that our hike that day would be our last.

I am re-posting my tribute to Colby in case you missed it -

For the last few winters, we traveled to Sedona, Arizona to enjoy a few weeks of mild weather and to explore the trails with long-time friends Colby and Loretta. For almost 16 years, Colby and Loretta escaped the bitter and cold winters of upstate New York to spend time in Sedona, Arizona. Many, many times, they would invite us to visit. Finally, we joined them in Sedona for a week in early 2022.

Our friendship grew over the years

My friendship with Colby and Loretta probably started about 20 years ago. While Loretta is a gentle and mild-mannered person, Colby enjoyed sharing his opinion on several subjects such as crime, politics and the law. For some time, I attributed this propensity to his profession - Colby worked in law enforcement for most of his life. His last position before retirement was as a State Police Sergeant.

However, Colby never talked much about himself - he enjoyed talking about his family - especially his children and grandchildren.

A little bit about Sedona

Although I visited Arizona on and off over the years, I had never been to Sedona, well-known for its natural beauty, red rock canyons and mild winter weather. What makes Sedona so spectacular is its location in a stunning red rock canyon. Upon visiting Sedona for the first time, I was awestruck by the natural beauty of the crimson rock formations.

Sedona is also known to be a home to vortexes - described as unique geological places where it is believed you feel flowing energies that may produce a range of physical, emotional and spiritual effects.

Our first Sedona hike - the Airport Mesa Loop

Colby - the quintessential hiking companion

Over the 16 years that Colby and his wife Loretta had been coming to Sedona, they must have hiked every trail you could think of - probably several times. Colby’s intimate knowledge of the trails, the trailheads, the best views and the best times to hike was unsurpassed. In fact, Colby knew these trails so well that he rarely consulted a map.

Our first hike together in Sedona - the Airport Mesa Loop

The Airport Mesa Loop Trail takes you around the flanks of the Airport Butte and offers incredible vistas of the Sedona Valley.

A butte is a hill with steep vertical sides and a flat top.

Sedona’s buttes are a beautiful reddish color and stand in stark contrast to the azure skies. The Airport Mesa Trail is quite rocky with lots of ups and downs. The trail offers significant exposure to views of the surrounding valley.

Here we are on top of Table Top Mountain on the Airport Loop Trail.

A group photo of the four of us.

Here is my very first view of the Sedona Valley from Table Top Mountain.

Our last hike in Sedona: Chicken Point via the Mystic Trail

One of Colby’s favorite trails (and now mine too) was hiking the Chicken Point Trail Loop via the Mystic Trail. Colby introduced this hike to us in January 2022. When we returned to Sedona in 2023, I felt drawn to hike this loop again. Colby felt the same and we decided to make the Chicken Point Trail Loop our last hike before my husband and I left Sedona.

The hike to Chicken Point provides amazing crimson views of the red rock buttes flanked by lush green desert foliage. The trail is moderately challenging - a combination of rocky inclines and slick rock crossings.

Around every turn, you are treated to plenty of opportunities to soak in the amazing vistas of the Sedona Valley and beyond.

The Mystic Trailhead start

We head through a forest of twisted junipers on this relatively easy section of the Mystic Trail until we reach a trail junction. We take the shortcut on the Pigtail Trail and hike towards the beautiful tables of slick rock on the Hog Heaven Trail.

Local folklore traces the naming of the trails to when hogs roamed the area.

Below: the junction of Hog Heaven and High on the Hog Trails.

Below: climbing the steep red rock inclines. Stone steps built into the cliffs enable us to traverse the smooth rock.

Died and gone to heaven at “Hog Heaven”

Hog Heaven Trail culminates in a massive stretch of slick red rock with spectacular views of the Crimson Cliffs and Wilson Mountain in the distance.

Both times (in 2022 and 2023) when I approached Hog Heaven, I felt like I died and gone to “heaven” - literally. The view never gets old. In fact, I appreciated it more the second time around. I was truly hypnotized with the views in all directions. I could have spent hours at Hog Heaven.

Below: if you look closely at the photo, you may see other hikers on the red rock slab.

Hog Heaven - 2023

One of my most favorite places. I felt a sense of calm and serenity here.

Hog Heaven in 2022

Energized by the natural surroundings

What is nice about the hike to Chicken Point is that you are treated to amazing views all along the way. I wanted to stop at every view point and soak it all in - the colors, the foliage, the views, the desert warmth and the azure-blue skies. I kept telling myself - stop and enjoy the journey.

Many times I felt positive surges in my emotional and spiritual energy - like something (or someone) was recharging my batteries.

The final push to the Chicken Point overlook

We dropped back into the evergreen forest of juniper trees, yuccas and cholla cacti and started hiking up towards Chicken Point. Before long, we entered a canyon surrounded on both sides by a row of jagged tall buttes that seemed to reach the sky.

Below: sandstone spires surrounding Chicken Point

We carefully climbed our way up onto a small red rock plateau with steep drop-offs on all sides. Ahead of us we could see the eastern side of Sedona’s Chapel escarpment with views looking south. We spent some time resting on the overlook to soak in the views.

Below: the Chicken Point Overlook

Last photo of Colby and Loretta together on the Chicken Point Loop Trail

Final celebration at the Cowboy Club in downtown Sedona

We dined at one of Colby’s favorite Sedona restaurants on our last day together on February 5, 2023. To be honest, I am a sucker for Western-themed restaurants with authentic bars. The Cowboy Club would have been my choice, too.

Great decor and great food. You may notice that guns are not allowed; however, antique guns are displayed on the walls.

We bid farewell at the Cowboy Club and the next day, we left Sedona to start our road trip back home. Colby and Loretta planned to stay about another month before heading back home to New York State.

Kindred connections to Sedona

For me, being in Sedona with Colby fostered a common feeling of emotional and spiritual energy made even stronger with our penultimate hikes to Chicken Point. To this day, hiking to Chicken Point is my favorite journey of all time.

Just a few weeks after Colby and Loretta returned home, Colby passed away unexpectedly. Looking back, we did not know that our final good-byes had been spoken - in Sedona. A sense of kindred spirits grew along the red rock trails there.

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. - Ecclesiastes 3:1