If you’re planning on taking the AB Young Trail hike, you’ll want to park your car around the Bootlegger picnic area. Try to find a spot where to cross the creek. The water is cold and may take a little bit to cross. There’s a bridge at Junipine Resort that you can cross that will take you straight to the path of the AB Young trail, but you didn’t hear it from me. If you walk down through the resort, you’ll see the bridge. Once you cross it, you’ll find a path that will take you along the creek. It’s about 30 minutes from the start of the AB trail, but the trail is shaded, and It’ll save you from crossing the stream on foot and getting wet.
7 am, 69 degrees
We stayed at the Forrest Houses Resort and were able to take the same path to the start of the trail. We started the AB Young hike at 7 am at 69 degrees. The steep, strenuous trail climbs 1600 feet in 1.6 miles over 33 switchbacks to the rim of Oak Creek Canyon. It’s 2 hours of a vigorous StairMaster workout climbing up not to mention the workout your lungs get. Once you start the trail, you’ll walk in the shade for about two minutes, a steep ascent. After that, you will be in the wilderness and hiking in the sun the entire hike. Make sure to dress accordingly. If you hike early, take a light jacket or long sleeve, a hat, and a backpack where you can store items.
The views all along the canyon are beautiful, and you’ll notice rock formations open up. As I said, the trail climbs 1600 feet in 1.6 miles over 33 switchbacks to the rim of Oak Creek Canyon. As you climb up, you’ll notice more ponderosa pine, and the trail becomes narrow. You may think the trail continues in a few areas, but there are walls of stones that people have placed, so you don’t go in the wrong direction. So if you see these walls, don’t hop over the rocks. Look for a different path.
The Top
When we got to the top of the AB Young Trail hike, we were at 6700 feet! The views are fantastic, and getting to the top is so satisfying. The 4 bars on our phones, considering we only got 1 bar below, were pretty cool. We were literally on top of the world, aka mountain. Once you reach the top, you can continue west for 0.8 miles (this area portion is not well marked), ending at the East Pocket Fire Lookout Tower.
We didn’t make it to the tower. But, once we got up, we roamed around a little bit. Saw the devastation from the fires from years past. We had some snacks, took pictures, drank lots of water, and started climbing back down. Now going down is easier on the lungs but harder on the knees when you’re trying to contain the momentum. Also, because you are descending, your toes are scrunched in your shoes, so make sure to wear good hiking shoes. I found it easier to jog back down without eating shit, but I did stumble on the rocks a few times.
11 am, 82 degrees later
We got back to the start of the trail around 11 am, 82 degrees later. Hungry and tired made for a nice hot shower, delicious meal, and a sweet power nap. Ice on the knees helped too. It was harder than I thought, but I hadn’t been hiking in a few years.
It’s an incredible hike but if you’re not an avid hiker, make sure you know you’ll be hiking in the sun for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, going up and the same amount of time coming back down. Take a backpack with power bars, trail mix, water, a first aid kit, and some type of spray/bells. I was lucky to have gone with my darling and brother-in-law. So I felt safe and secure. There are a lot of wild animals like bobcats, skunks, javelinas, coyotes, sometimes bears around, and you never know when you’ll cross their path.
Also, make sure you take plenty of water. I took six water bottles (16.9oz) for myself and my darling because I forgot our hydration packs. We went through all six bottles. If you have a hydration pack, take it on this hike. You’ll need more water if you get stuck out there for whatever reason. Finally, make sure you take a charged cell phone—all of our phones had better reception when we got to the top.
Hiking the different trails in Sedona is fun and a great workout, both physically and mentally but please be prepared when going out, whether you’re taking a hike on your own or going with friends. I loved everything about this hike. We were exhausted when we got back to the ground, but it was so satisfying. I hope this post has given you some good tips, and hopefully, you’ll try out the AB Young Trail Hike. It’s a great hike that’s different from the Red Rock trails. Happy Hiking!