Mar 31 - Hunter Canyon

HIKE HUNTER CANYON
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for a hike in the foothills of the  Huachuca Mountains in Miller & Hunter Canyons. The moderate trail follows a flowing stream with some up & down hills to an old mine for lunch and then back the same way for about 6 miles total. Bring water and lunch. Back mid-afternoon. Meet March 31 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool. Free, but gas donation is appreciated. For more details contact Jan at bolduc03@aol.com or 704-299-6614.

This hike is in honor of Bad Jack, because it's one he led many times.
SV people meet off Miller Canyon Road, first parking area on left after road becomes dirt.

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BACKTRACK - Council Rocks
Despite the multiple activities planned for the week-end, seven hikers and two dogs tried their luck cramming into a 2017 SUV Jaguar (responding to the name of Pauline!). After a brief but vigorous push and shove contest it became clear that the rest of the party had to make do with a ride in a derelict 1995 4Runner.
It was a lovely hike. The weather was sunny and cool making for perfect walking and spending time enjoying the granite formations. We all contributed creative name designations for the unusual shapes and I will send our recommendations to the Douglas Ranger Station. Here are a few of the suggested names, Nixon, Easter Island Heads, Sleeping Elephant, the Whale and a huge Indian Face revealed from afar with the correct declination of the sun. OK, enough of that, you get the idea. It was a fun hike and we missed the rain even though we saw rain showers in the far distance. I would like to thank my fellow hikers for their patience as a few times, I lost track of the trail, GPS in hand. Well, it was my first time as leader of a hike.
Hike Statistics: Distance: 6.5 miles, Elevation: 322 ft. (4814’– 5136’). 676 ft. accumulated elevation gain. Hiking Time: 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM 

-Loretta

SIDETRACK - More photos
Maria Kovary added many more photos from the Art Stairs hike to the Muleteam page - muleteam.shutterfly.com.



CALENDAR 
Apr 7 - San Pedro hike and riverside picnic with Doug
Apr 14 - Slavin Gulch in the Dragoons with Sandy
April 20-21-22 - Silver Peak camp-hike in the Chiricahuas with Brad
April 28 - ?
May 5 - ?
May 12 - Possible last hike & potluck. Any suggestions?


Thanks for hiking with me,
Larry

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Muleteam archive photos - muleteam.shutterfly.com
Muleteam & Bisbee gifts - cafepress.com/bisbeegear

Mar 24 - Council Rocks

HIKE TO COUNCIL ROCKS
Join the Muleteam this Saturday at the earlier time of 8am to a low elevation loop in the Dragoons. It's a 6.5 mile hike. Bring water, lunch and maybe walking poles (See remarks). Dogs Ok. Back late afternoon. Meet March 24 at 8am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool (about 60 minutes each way). Free, but gas donation is appreciated. For more details call or email: Loretta Plaa, lplaaster@gmail.com, 541-905-5098.

Hike Difficulty: 1.5 (See index)
0.5 - 1.5 Beginners... 2.0 - 3.5 Intermediate... 4.0 - 5.0 Advanced
Elevation Gain: 322 ft. (4814’- 5136’).
Getting there:
Bisbee to Tombstone, via US 80 to Middlemarch Road, Middlemarch Road to FR687, and FR687 to the trailhead. ~ 40 miles one way.
Remarks:
From the parking area, the trail heads west toward a saddle before entering a vast expanse of grasses, intersected at times by a dusty road, before arriving at the rocky outcrop of Council Rocks. After lunch the hike back will follow a sandy wash to the junction of Slavin Gulch Trail and back to the trailhead.
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GMmx5ij49Y
For your comfort:
A lot of cat claw acacia will be encountered on the return loop, long pants and shirt are highly recommended.

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BACKTRACK - Art Stairs
Great weather for 20 people hiking some interesting stairs of Old Bisbee. Lots of murals by Judy Perry and Rose Johnson, and a special tour of Dragonview Mountain Retreat with stonework by Lee Adcock and metalwork by Ben Dale. We stopped for the view at Castle Rock, saw Fred Albert's wall mosaics and the outside art gallery on the steps off Brewery Gulch. We visited the Buddhist shrine above OK street and the wall mosaics & masks on Opera Ave. Lunch was on the porch of the Muheim House with about half the people we started out with. However, everyone seemed to enjoy the day exploring.
More hike photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com, and here are two 360 photo links (Click on 'Fisheye' in the upper right corner of the photos to experiment with 4 modes)...
https://rebrand.ly/ArtStairsHike
https://rebrand.ly/MuheimHouse



SIDETRACK - April 1st Easter/April Fools Day Party 
Muleteam and friends are welcome to join us on Sunday, April 1 for our annual Springtime Potluck Party at our house (19 Clawson Ave., next to the Green & White Methodist Church) from 1:00-4:00 PM. We'll provide all the plates, glasses, etc. and iced tea and lemonade and Doug will be grilling bratwursts and veggie burgers. Bring a little something to share and your favorite drink.  -Doug & Anne


SIDETRACK - Trail Blazing
The iBisbee committee has had a trails project for the past three years with the goal of putting publicly accessible trails on designated Freeport McMoran owned land. This is part of a larger strategy of attracting younger people, families, and folks who like outdoor hiking and biking to come to Bisbee to live, work, visit. 
FM has been very cooperative and is willing to consider various option for a trail(s). I am heading up the project. Two years ago we engaged the Bisbee Boy Scouts and others in helping build a trail near Tintown that overlooks Warren amid FM reclaimed and revegetated land. The trail was built but the attorneys thought there was too much liability for FM. We are now in the process of seeing if they would consent to guided hiking along that trail. It's short about 1.5 miles. 
We also looked at the Denn mine area north of hwy 80 with an entrance across from Lowell. We have done a couple of preliminary walks in the area. That was put on hold because I was ill and could not continue to coordinate it. I'm fine now.
Here's the pitch....I'm looking for a small group of people to help chart, flag, and perhaps build a trail in that area. If you are interested, please contact Fred Miller 456-4254, bisbeewire@gmail.com. 



CALENDAR 
Mar 31 - Hunter Canyon in the Huachucas with Jan B
Apr 7 - San Pedro hike and riverside picnic with Doug
Apr 14 - Slavin Gulch in the Dragoons with Sandy
April 20-21-22 - Silver Peak camp-hike in the Chiricahuas with Brad
April 28 - ?
May 5 - ?
May 12 - Possible last hike & potluck. Any suggestions?


Thanks for hiking with me,
Larry

____________


Muleteam archive photos - muleteam.shutterfly.com
Muleteam & Bisbee gifts - cafepress.com/bisbeegear

Mar 17 - Art Stairs

OLD BISBEE ‘ART STAIRS’ HIKE
Join the Muleteam this Saturday to explore some unique art & unusual views by way of Bisbee's most interesting stairs. Be prepared to climb at a reasonable pace with planned stops for less than 4 miles. Bring water, lunch and probably a camera, but no dogs. Back early afternoon or drop out when you want. Meet March 17 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to begin the hike. Free. For more details contact Larry 224-4951 or sunstudio@cableone.net.

Similar but not the same as the route last year - with new surprises. The hike will end midday at the Muheim house where you will have the options to picnic on the lawn for lunch, tour the house for a $4 donation or just head on back home.

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BACKTRACK - Heart of Rocks
At about 8:10 AM six hikers left the courthouse in two vehicles for the Heart of Rocks hike in Chiricahua National Monument last Saturday. Enough Senior Passes were available to provide all six with free entrance to the NM, but at the entrance we found that no fee was being charged, with or without passes. The reason for this was never determined, but possibly it was related to some kind of centennial year for opening of certain Parks and Monuments. Chiricahua NM may have opened in 1918-- sounds about right.

At the Massai Point trailhead two others joined the hike, making a final total of 8 hikers. We all hiked together as far as the side trail to Inspiration Point, where we split into two groups-- one intending to return after getting inspired at the point, and the other going on to complete the Heart of Rocks as originally planned. The reason given for three of those returning early, was to arrive back in Bisbee in time for the Return of Turkey Buzzards Parade or something like that. There are so many bizarre events held in town these days, that it's hard to keep track of all of them. One had an event in Tucson that prevented completing the whole hike-- though one wonders why any of the hike was fitted into those Saturday schedules at all. Doesn't seem likely that a revelation came suddenly that no time was available to fit in both.

Another unstated reason may have been the uncertain weather. Though the forecast was definite about no rain expected until late Saturday, the sky became heavily overcast with some wind along the higher elevation sections of the hike. No moisture of any kind-- even a light misting-- was encountered at all on the hike, and up to a couple of dozen other hikers were met along the hike route. Lunch was eaten in a sheltered spot down in the drainage where the two ends of the H of R loop come together. For me, in spite of the shorts I was wearing, the temperature was perfect while on the trail and only a little cool while stopped, especially with a light windbreaker on. Noone complained about getting so cold that we needed to cut our lunch break short, so we took our time. Though the loop can be done in either a clockwise or CCW direction, we decided that the CW way we chose was the correct one because all the formation name signs were turned to face that direction of travel.

We stopped briefly at the Visitor Center which was crowded close to capacity with bustling activity, to pick up some pins provided for hikers in the backcountry. We were lucky to find one last unoccupied parking space for us to park in. Several CC Sheriff's Office vehicles and Search and Rescue personnel were there-- one vehicle not finding a space-- apparently because of someone who suffered a minor medical episode along a trail, which was easily attended to. We did not see the "victim", who must have been somewhere other than where we were.

Our only moisture of the day was a light sprinkling on our windshield after we had begun driving back on US 191 near Elfrida. Arrival back in town was shortly before 4:30, with plenty of daylight left.  -Brad

Two 360 photo links from the hike. Click on 'Fisheye' in the upper right corner of the photos to experiment with 4 modes. Below is a screen shot of one.
https://rebrand.ly/InspirationPoint
https://rebrand.ly/EdRiggsTrail


CALENDAR 
Mar 24 - Council Rocks in the Dragoons with Loretta
Mar 31 - Hunter Canyon in the Huachucas with Jan B
Apr 7 - San Pedro hike and riverside picnic with Doug
Apr 14 - Slavin Gulch in the Dragoons with Sandy
April 20-21-22 - Silver Peak camp-hike in the Chiricahuas with Brad
April 28 - ?
May 5 - ?
May 12 - Possible last hike & potluck. Any suggestions?


Thanks for hiking with me,
Larry

____________


Muleteam archive photos - muleteam.shutterfly.com
Muleteam & Bisbee gifts - cafepress.com/bisbeegear

Mar 10 - Heart of Rocks

HIKE TO THE 'HEART OF ROCKS'
Join the Muleteam this Saturday at 8am for a hike in the Chiricahua National Monument to a scenic area of unique natural rock formations. This is a 7.3 mile hike with hills and moderate elevation gain. Bring water & lunch but no dogs. Back late afternoon. Meet March 10 at 8am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool (almost 2 hours each way). Free, but gas donation is appreciated. For more details contact Brad at bradward.j3@juno.com or 432-2476.

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BACKTRACK - Joe's Canyon
It was a beautiful day and 12 mules started up the Joe's Canyon trail.  We emerged from the canyon and started hiking the ridge where the wind made itself known.  Before reaching Coronado Peak we met up with Brad who became our 13th hiker.  He arrived earlier and got a head start.  We enjoyed a nice lunch break and beautiful views from the top of Coronado Peak.  The trip downhill was uneventful, oh except when the leader and wayward few took a wrong turn and headed for Mexico.  Was it an attempt to flee the country or a simple mistake?  Let's just say that's what happens when you talk too much and don't pay attention.  It was a great hike, great company, and a day of sunshine.......and wind. -Sandy

A few portraits at muleteam.shutterfly.com including a heroic shot of Brad.
Here are the 360 links. Click on 'Fisheye' in the upper right corner of the photos to experiment with 4 modes.
https://rebrand.ly/joesc8e96
https://rebrand.ly/joesc61b2
https://rebrand.ly/joescd4a2



CALENDAR 
Mar 17 - Art Stairs hike in Old Bisbee with Larry
Mar 24 - Council Rocks in the Dragoons with Loretta
Mar 31 - Hunter Canyon in the Chiricahuas with Jan B
Apr 7 - San Pedro hike and riverside picnic with Doug
Apr 14 - Slavin Gulch in the Dragoons with Sandy
April 20-21-22 - Silver Peak camp-hike in the Chiricahuas with Brad
April 28 - ?
May 5 - ?
May 12 - Possible last hike & potluck. Any suggestions?


Thanks for hiking with me,
Larry

____________


Muleteam archive photos - muleteam.shutterfly.com
Muleteam & Bisbee gifts - cafepress.com/bisbeegear