Mitten Ridge Wonders

Seen from Highway 89A, this is the ridge-crest between Bear Wallow Canyon and Oak Creek Canyon, just one mile north of Sedona, Arizona. October 8, 2008 Left to Right: Flying Buttress, Teapot Rock, Moose's Butte, Queen Victoria and Pointed Dome. Just to the north of where this photo was taken, the Wilson Mountain Trail leads up Wilson Canyon. Looming high above to the northwest is the broad summit of 7,122' Wilson Mountain, which is the highest point seen in the Sedona area. Wilson Mountain was named after Richard Wilson, a prospector and bear hunter who was killed by a grizzly (bear) in 1885. His body was found in Wilson Canyon, which is also named after him. The lower part of Wilson Canyon and nearby Mitten Ridge (to the south) are now a part of the Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness Area. Established in 1984, the Red Rock/Secret Mountain Wilderness covers 47,194 acres of "memorable landforms" in the Sedona area. Even though the last grizzly bears disappeared from Arizona in 1939, the Pinyon pine/ Juniper Woodland (of Sedona) supports a variety of wildlife. Inhabiting the area are elk, Mule deer, White-tailed deer, javelinas, coyotes, rabbits, mountain lion and black bears.