My video shows the view of Boynton Canyon at sunrise from Subway Cave, a hiking destination near Sedona, AZ. It is accessed via a spur off Boynton Canyon Trail. Click the icon in the lower righthand corner of the player to expand the video.
My trip to Red Rock Country investigates the claim that some of Sedona’s most famous landmarks emanate extraordinary amounts of energy from the earth.
The clicking sounds from my camera’s shutter wafted away in the soft breeze as I peered west through the viewfinder. It was a cloudless October evening in Sedona, Arizona’s famous red rock wonderland, and the setting sun was illuminating the brilliant hues of nearby Cathedral Rock.
I lowered my camera after taking several rapidfire photos then shifted my weight from one hiking shoe to the other. Due to it being a weekday, traffic on the Pyramid Mountain Trail was incredibly light. The silence of the desert was only broken by the rustling of a couple of birds flitting through the leafless brush.
The red sandstone formation looming into the sky was majestic, but I wasn’t just considering its beauty in the quiet serenity. Cathedral Rock is one piece of a greater terrestrial mystery that extends across the Verde Valley, intertwined with an enigmatic Native American culture that long ago settled the region.
Energy from the Earth
A day earlier and near the opposite end of our planet’s rotation, I chased the beam of my headlamp north up Boynton Canyon Trail. First light was only minutes away, and the silence that often settles on the desert in the darkness was beginning to break. Birds chirped to mark their positions. A cool gust of wind blew down the canyon as the starlight made visible the outlines of the rock walls that surrounded me.
Like Cathedral Rock, Boynton Canyon is considered to be one of Sedona’s vortexes, areas that purportedly emit an extraordinary amount of energy from the earth.* These special places – which also include Airport Mesa and Bell Rock – are said to promote healing and a deep connection with the supernatural realm. They attract a steady stream of spiritualists, meditators, and mystics to the Red Rock Country, all of whom are searching for something far more substantial than the average sightseer.
A few minutes and a quarter mile up the trail later, a couple of mice scurried in front of me as I neared the spur leading to Subway Cave. Tourists, or, more descriptively, the throngs of tourists that are ubiquitous at Sedona’s attractions, were exactly why I was hiking so early in the morning: Landmarks like Subway Cave are overrun soon after sunrise, and I wanted the spot to myself for however long it was afforded to me.
Once I reached the entrance, I took a moment to collect myself. I had kept a quick pace the whole way, which is around 3.5 miles (5.6 kms) from the Boynton Canyon Trailhead. The light was now sufficient, so I turned off my headlamp, placed it in my pack, and eyed the short scramble to the cave’s platform.
Laboring on my hands and feet, I made it safely up the smooth incline. I skirted the narrow cliff to the splendid vantage point of the canyon that’s shown in my video at the beginning of the article. The sun still hadn’t made it above the red rock walls, so I sat for a few minutes, focusing all of my senses in the solitude.
I was looking and feeling for any sign of the canyon’s mysterious energy. I marked my breaths as the seconds ticked by and the daylight increased. As if magnetically, my gaze kept returning to a nearby cliff, where a pile of rocks and an overhang were visible.
* While many consider the “Kachina Woman” rock formation to be the specific site of the Boynton Canyon vortex, others regard the greater canyon and even the entirety of Sedona as an energy field. Considering the subjective nature of the matter and the fact that Boynton Canyon’s vortex is linked closely with the Native American history of the Verde Valley, I decided that the whole canyon and its many Indigenous ruins should be viewed as a potential vortex.
The “People of Long Ago”
During the middle of the 20th century, Sedona became one of the most recognizable desert landscapes in America. It was a shooting location for around 100 feature films, including those of the western genre that dominated Hollywood production at the time. The town saw major development in the 1980s and 1990s; it was incorporated in 1988, almost a century after the first pioneer arrived from the east.
Human history in the area, however, dates back well over a millenium prior to the golden era of western films or the real Wild West days, for that matter. Sometime near 600 CE, the Sinagua people arrived in the Verde Valley.* The archaeological record indicates that they lived in small, scattered settlements until the 11th century, when a massive geological event transformed their environment and, with it, their culture.
The eruption of the Sunset Crater volcano catalyzed a rapid increase and consolidation of the Sinagua. As their population soared, they formed large farming communities and forged strong trade ties with the Hohokam people to the south. The remarkable period culminated with what academics refer to as the Elden phase spanning from 1150 to 1220. The elaborate Wupatki Pueblo, which is on the opposite (northeast) side of nearby Flagstaff from Sedona, is a notable population center that was built during the height of Sinagua civilization.
From there, though, everything seemingly went downhill. For reasons that aren’t completely understood, the northern communities of the Sinagua were largely abandoned by the middle of the 13th century. The Verde Valley held on to many of its settlements for 200 more years. By around 1450, however, the Sinagua vanished into prehistorical mythology.
Staring at the rockpile and overhang from my perch at Subway Cave, I considered the rise, fall, and disappearance of the Sinagua culture. They were the ones who built the structure, turning the natural recess into a larger alcove. Panning once again across the rugged beauty of the canyon, I figured that it was probably a temple or place of religious significance. What, I thought, could be more sacred than a singular landmark such as this?
On the move again, I carefully skirted the narrow cliff into the interior of the cave and then out, following in the ancient footsteps of the Sinagua. The sun was now above the eastern wall of the canyon. While I didn’t sense or feel an unusual amount of earth energy, those who the Zuni now refer to as Hisatsinom, the “people of long ago,” seemed near me.
* “Sinagua” originated from the Spanish phrase “sin agua,” which translates to “without water.” The name is a misnomer, for the Verde Valley provided an ample supply of water for the resourceful natives.
The Science Behind the Phenomenon
The Sinagua played a key role in the origin of the Sedona vortexes. Boynton Canyon is a good example: The “Kachina Woman” is the supposed epicenter of the canyon’s energy; the rock formation received its name from the Hopi, whose ancestors (and therefore cultural inspirations) were the Sinagua. And while the ruins at Subway Cave are some of the most well-known remnants of the Sinagua in Sedona, I knew there were many more hiding in the surrounding red walls.
On my way back to the Boynton Canyon Trailhead, I spied a dry creekbed leading to the west. Studying the contour of the canyon, it appeared to lead up a high draw. I elected to follow it, believing I might find more ruins.
Traveling half an hour through heavy brush, I made it to what would have been the headwaters of the creek when it was flowing. I stepped around a bush to my right and suddenly found myself on a thin cliff similar to the one at Subway Cave. Walking a short, meandering distance, my hunch was confirmed: I came upon the ruin shown in the video below, which looked to be undisturbed for some time.
The ruin of a Sinagua structure faces east on a cliff in Boynton Canyon near Sedona, AZ. The Native American people inhabited central Arizona for centuries.
My shirt was soaked in sweat, so I took it off and put it in the midmorning sun. Surveying the area so that I didn’t damage any artifacts, I found a safe place in the shade to sit and rest. It didn’t take me long to feel revived. Living most of my life in the often oppressive humidity of the American South, I have always found the desert air to be refreshing.
Rather than energy rising from the earth, I believe it’s the atmosphere that explains the phenomenon of the Sedona vortexes. The low humidity and dry air cause a reduction in respiratory inflammation and inhibit the growth of harmful molds and allergens. Breath-intensive activities such as hiking and meditating feel markedly different to visitors like me that live in a less ideal climate.
Add in the well-known benefits of sunshine, the world-class beauty of Red Rock Country, and the mysterious ruins that are hidden throughout the area, it’s not hard to see why many proclaim that supernatural forces are at work in Sedona.
My shirt dried quickly in the aridity. Putting it back on, I retraced the cliff and then began the drop down the creekbed, rejoining the trail a short time later.
The day was only half over by the time I made it back to my truck. While I never sensed an abnormal energy force, my trek through the age-old landscape of Boynton Canyon is an experience I will never forget.
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