On Top of Bell Rock

Cathy and I have lived near Bell Rock for two years now. Some time ago our friend Simon introduced us to Peter, a frequent climber of Bell Rock.  Peter takes people on a guided climb of the rock and I had always meant to call him, but we have been so busy that I hadn’t done it.

Yesterday we decided to hike around Bell Rock, and Cathy decided to wear her hiking boots instead of her ordinary tennis shoes. We walked from the Trailhead to Bell Rock. We decided to walk up the lower rock surrounding Bell Rock just to see where it might take us.

We managed to hike to the wall that climbs 600 feet to the top of the rock. As we crawled along a trail that went through trees, we heard voices. We came out of the trees and found ourselves up against the sheer wall of Bell Rock, when who should come along but Peter, leading a group of five to the top.

“Peter!” I exclaimed.  We shook hands and he asked us to join his group.  We gave it about 5 seconds of thought.  “Let’s go!” we said. Peter led us a little further on the trail that came to a point where we would have to crawl on all fours to climb the rock face.

There we began our ascent.  With Cathy in her good boots and me in my Costco tennis shoes we climbed, first with our walking sticks and then without them, as we were forced to leave them behind. There were a few challenges where Peter helped everyone with the right toe holds and handholds, as we navigated up cracks and across rock faces.

Soon we found ourselves on the top, where we could see the Sedona Valley to the north and the Village of Oak Creek to the south.  It was a windy day so we were a little extra careful on top as we ascended a few places where blocks of stone made platforms on which one could stand.

Peter took our photos for his FaceBook site.  He has now led more than 2000 people to the top of the Rock. Eventually we descended and walked back to the trailhead, a bit sore from the unusual muscular exertion, but happy. Our casual walk to Bell Rock had turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.