North of Our House Traditional Cache
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Hiking 6.2 miles RT on Turkey Creek Trail takes you to Our House and back. House Mountain is a shield volcano that erupted an estimated 15-30 million years ago. Trail winds through hidden backcountry of superb redrocks and solitude. Redrock pass required for parking on the National Forest.
Park at Turkey Creek Trailhead #92 off Verde Valley School Road. First parking area is within sight of the road. If you have a high clearance vehicle (or a rental car) you may continue straight ahead and park ~.25 mile closer. My measurements are from the second parking area where you will find a brand new metal trail sign courtesy of the Sedona Westerners hiking club in cooperation with the Forest Service. Take at least 3 liters of water per person especially in warmer weather. This is a hard exposed trail with a combined elevation gain of 1200' to reach the cache and may be too hot in the summer. Hiking sticks are recommended particularly for the return trip down the side of House Mountain since there is much loose stone and dirt underfoot on the trail. Along the trail are areas of volcanic ash on the uphill side. Also, any granite looking rocks containing black spots that you run across are magma that slowly cooled inside the throat of the volcano allowing for a different crystaline structure than the other lavas in the area that emanated from the same source.
When House Mountain shield volcano erupted it was located at the base of the ancestral Mogollon Rim. Since that time the rim has eroded about 41/2 miles north (a foot every 625 years) and can be seen above Sedona as Wilson Mountain. How do we know this, because for one thing the ancient lava flows are only south, and with the exception of a few ancient canyons in the former rim it acted as a dam. As you look north note the buildings in West Sedona, they are at approximately the same elevation (4500') as you are as you approach the top of House. With that perspective one can better understand how the ancestral Mogollon Rim stood 2000' or higher above where you are standing.
The cache is located at an interesting volcanic feature. Look at the ground, the loose granular material is volcanic ash. Further setback but between the volcanic ash and the gnarly lava above is a yellowish material which indicates the slope of the original volcano before it blew. Next up the gnarly stuff is agglutinated lava and then a cap of basalt lava.
The top of this volcano is gone and nearby you will be looking into the old caldera. As the crow flys the "Welcome to My House" geocache is 1.2 miles distant.
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