Enjoying Sedona - Safely
72 views · Published 11 July 2016 · 2:50 · Indexed 25 September 2026
Channel: Life The Basic Manual · 2016 · Education
Sian pauses during her hike on the Sugarloaf Trail, Sedona, Arizona, to discuss the concept of ‘situational awareness’. Sedona is a stunningly attractive landscape. The soaring heights of the red rock, against the turquoise blue of the sky, can easily distract walkers and visitors from what’s underfoot or ahead. In addition to this, because many of the trails here are close to the town of Sedona itself, people are often lulled into a false sense of security. But the risks - among them, getting lost or injured, dehydrated or experiencing sunstroke, are real. Sian shares her experience of speaking to local law enforcement officers, and how a good proportion of their work is tied up with dealing with situations where people have lost their situational awareness. This might be a tourist running into another driver when focussing on the views, or it might be a local whose sense of risk has been blunted by familiarity. Either way, the desert is the desert, and deserves your respect. The rocks here are sandstone, and relatively soft. It’s very easy to lose your footing on a pile of scree, or miss a handhold when you’ve tried to climb up a rock face. Climbing on the red rocks is a specialist sport - make sure that if you are contemplating it, you make sure you get the right advice and equipment. Ultimately, she suggests that you enjoy to its fullest this remarkable and energising place - safely.
