Continue Hikes?

MULETEAM & COVID-19
I received the two messages below yesterday.
I would appreciate your comments on the blog page for others to see - muleteam.blogspot.com

We are continuing to hike for now, and this Saturday is Miller Canyon. See previous blog post for details.  -Larry

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From John Broz:
Hiking is explicitly permitted under Governor’s new restrictions.

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From Lizann Michaud:
On Mar 30, 2020, at 7:36 AM, Lizann Michaud <lizann314@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Larry and Muleteam,
I'm writing this because I care. Brad's description of the Joe's Canyon Trail hike, and his two cents about COVID-19, are both highly alarming.

Getting COVID-19 does not give anyone immunity for more than a few days max. And hiking, even six feet apart, means that hikers are breathing in other hikers' exhalations. As soon as a person exhales, the one behind is stepping up into it.

Respiratory droplets and aerosolized carriers of COVID-19 are in exhalations, as well as, coughs and sneezes. People are contagious up to 14 days before symptoms arise. And this virus is extremely contagious.

I implore you to stop official Muleteam hikes, as by keeping hikes under the Muleteam banner gives a sense of false safety. Please take this step to protect our whole community.

Sincerely, caringly,
Lizann



My reply:

Lizann,
Thanks for your thoughtful email, and I share your concern. However, the Muleteam is not 'my' hiking group - I schedule the hikes, but I don't feel I have the authority to stop them.

The hike leaders keep the group going, so I listen to what they want to do. Many have stopped hiking this season, but some have wanted to continue. We have banned carpooling and everyone is very aware of avoiding personal contact, but getting outside seems especially appealing these days.

I will share this exchange with the Muleteam soon, and we will continue to act responsibly.
Larry

Miller Canyon

HIKE MILLER CANYON
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for a social-distanced hike through a scenic wooded valley along a creek in the Huachuca Mountains. The trail is uphill and is about 5 miles roundtrip. Bring water and lunch. Hiking sticks suggested and dogs on leashes ok. Back mid-afternoon. Meet April 4 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain. Free, but no carpooling for now. For more details contact John at 319-325-3605 or johnbroz1944@yahoo.com.

SV people meet at 9:30 in large dirt parking on the left with restrooms on Miller Canyon Road in Hereford.

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BACKTRACK -  Joe's Canyon Trail (or, paraphrasing Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hikes in the Time of Coronavirus)

Three hikers and no dogs met at the courthouse at 9 AM, for the Joe's Canyon hike. Since there were only 3 of us, the other two besides myself decided to do other things instead of going on the hike. My intention was always to do a solo hike if noone else showed up, so I drove out to the Coronado National Memorial to begin the hike on my own. I had been informed that the main reason for the closure of the Carr Canyon Road and campgrounds was due to a mob of recreationists present at the upper end of the road and overwhelming forest service resources. The mob was made up of Sierra Vista residents deprived of entertainment by the epidemic's closing of so many businesses there. With those campgrounds and trailhead closed off, I fully expected the mob to move on to the national memorial. I was confirmed in this fear to a great extent. All of the parking spaces on the side of the visitor center parking lot facing the main highway were filled, as were half of those on the other side, even though the visitor center itself was closed, except for the bathrooms. If even a half dozen of us had driven out separately, there would barely have been enough spaces for us there, though the picnic area, while closed to social gatherings, was apparently open for overflow parking. Actually, two of the filled spaces belonged to fellow Muleteamers who had planned to meet us at the trailhead.

The three of us started on the hike, meeting over a half dozen hikers from the Huachuca Hiking Club who were already on their way down as we were starting up. One of us was doing her first Joe's Canyon hike and decided to return by herself after we reached the junction with the Yaqui Canyon Trail down to the international boundary. We remaining two continued on to the pass trail and thence up to the top of Coronado Peak for our lunch break. On the way we met a lot of hikers from the pass, intent on reaching the monument at the end of the border trail. There were also a fair number of hikers who were going to the peak from the pass to which they had driven. I fully expected to do the hike alone, all along, so I lingered for awhile longer after my remaining companion went back on his own before me. If any problems had overtaken the other two on their way down, I would have been along later to come to their aid. As for myself, above the Yaqui Trail junction I met quite a few hikers returning from there. Below there, on the switchbacks climbing from the lower canyon below the ridge saddle, I met two more couples heading up as the sun descended in the west. Why they started up so late, I did not find out, but they were there to help in case I had an accident. I arrived back at the closed visitor center a little after 4 PM, for the drive home.

Now for a few remarks about the COVID-19 epidemic. I firmly believe that all of us who we believe are healthy enough to withstand the virus-- which is the vast majority of our population-- should just expose ourselves to it, contract a case, self isolate at home for two weeks, and thereby JUST GET IT OVER WITH sooner rather than later. This would shorten the epidemic and the period during which the more vulnerable of us have to remain completely isolated before enough resources become available to successfully give those the additional treatment they will require. Why don't we have COVID parties (?), just like the Mardi Gras parties before the ordeal of Lent, where those who are healthy but not yet exposed can be deliberately infected by those showing obvious symptoms just before EVERYONE begins a two week period of self isolation, and before which they already made preparations. BTW the most proper name for the epidemic is COVID-19 rather than simply coronavirus. There has already been one coronavirus outbreak, though most are unaware of it, and there will probably be more to come. It did not get very far and took place in Hong Kong during 2003.  At that time I believe it was given the name Hong Kong Flue. Now it is known by the name of SARS, for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.  -- Brad

ps - I made a mistake when I called the 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong by the name "Hong Kong Flu". That SARS outbreak was only called by that name which is still used. There was a Hong Kong Flu outbreak in 1968, which was caused by the H3N2 strain of more traditional influenza unrelated to the SARS coronavirus.

CALENDAR 

Apr 11 - Old Bisbee Ridge Trail to Juniper Flats with Susan & Lindsay
Apr 18 - Brown-Ramsey Canyons in the Huachucas with Brad
Apr 25 - Rustler camping-hike in the Chiricahuas with John Wasser
May 2 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
May 9 - Eclectic art walk along Old Bisbee stairs with Larry

Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Joe's Canyon

HIKE JOE'S CANYON TRAIL
Join the Muleteam this Saturday to hike from the Coronado Visitor Center through a very scenic valley in the Huachuca Mountains to Coronado Peak for a view of Mexico. This is a continuous uphill trail returning down the same way for a total of about 6.5 miles. Bring water and lunch but no dogs. Back mid-afternoon. Meet March 28 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain. Free, but no carpooling for now. For more details contact Brad at bradward.j3@juno.com or call 432-2476.

So carpooling will be discouraged, and we'll keep a 6 foot distance between hikers on the trail. If you suspect you could be a virus carrier because of recent travel or symptoms like a high temperature, please stay home.

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BACKTRACK -  Fairbank

Our Saturday hike, was in many ways a special day under the circumstances. Accommodations were made at the get-go: no car pooling and be conscious of social distancing (I even brought out the tape measure to demonstrate 6 feet...got a few laughs and was told the story about some guy who walks around with a 6 foot diameter hulu hoop making sure no one invades his space).

It was a beautiful sunny and warm (but not hot) day and perhaps our easiest hike of the year. We had 11 hikers and two dogs starting at the Fairbank townsite and taking the flat trail to the river. Some of our team took a detour to the old Cemetery and we regrouped at the base of the ruins of the historic mill and then on to the riverside for the dogs to swim and the humans to have a light lunch. We all met back at the Fairbank townsite early-about 1:30PM.

To get serious, I respect everyone's priorities for safety, and we all have to do what we feel is important for us and our friends and family. I'm not judging anyone for not hiking on Saturday, and I wouldn't blame anyone for not doing a group hike again until there is some control of this pandemic. It's just that it seemed to me that today a few of us got away for little while, keeping our distance Bisbee Style, and for a few hours the world seemed right again.

I know we all need to takes things a day at a time. I think we're incredibly lucky to be in a place like Bisbee where there is so much love and community support. Enough with the maudlin touchy-feely stuff. Hang in there.  -Doug

I took the group photo with everyone keeping their distance, and a few more are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 

SIDETRACK - Calendar Changes
So...Here we are, making adjustments like everyone else. It's nice to get outside and do something, but some understandably don't want to take the chance to hike with others right now. After contacting scheduled hike leaders some of the hikes have been omitted. Thanks to Brad for taking over the Joe's Canyon hike. I haven't heard from John W about the camping, but I'm guessing that it will be cancelled. It wouldn't be unexpected if we cancelled the remaining hikes this season, however, I will continue to post the hikes others are willing to lead. Reply if other calendar changes need to be made, or if you'd like to lead a hike on a blank date. Otherwise, April 18 could be the last hike of the season.


CALENDAR 

Apr 4 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
Apr 11 - Old Bisbee Ridge Trail to Juniper Flats with Susan & Lindsay
Apr 18 - Brown-Ramsey Canyons in the Huachucas with Brad
Apr 25 - Rustler camping-hike cancelled?
May 2 - ?
May 9 - ?

Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Fairbank

CHANGE NOTICE
Fairbank Hike Without Picnic

Dear Friends,
With regret, I have decided to skip the "picnic" part of our Fairbank hike, with hopes to reschedule later in the year when the Coronavirus situation is under control. Anne & I think there is too much sharing food and utensils that might make some of us uncomfortable.

However, we're still going to have the basic Historic Fairbank hike this Saturday, March 21. We'll meet at the Courthouse at 9AM, carpool to the Fairbank parking lot (Route 80 past Tombstone, left at the Border Checkpoint on Route 82 for 6 miles, parking area on right). From the townsite, we'll see the mill ruins & graveyard, on to the riverside and take a break and snack, and let the dogs swim in the river. Then back on the flat and easy loop trail. It's about 6 miles roundtrip-with an option to  return after our break from where we started, which makes it much shorter. At the end, we'll re-group at the townsite and check out the museum and other restored structures. Have a leash for dogs. Bring water & lunch. Back mid-afternoon. For more details contact Doug at 432-0307 or reiniger@wyoming.com.

For those of you not familiar, Fairbank has a fascinating history. It was settled on a Mexican land grant in the 1870s as a stage stop on the way to Tombstone and became an official town in 1883. The railroad connected to Fairbank in 1882, which became an important depot for the shipment of cattle, materials and ore from Tombstone (which wasn't connected to the rail line until 1903) and south to Nogales and Mexico, in addition to a central point of entry for miners, prospectors. The mines played out in 1901, and the heirs of the original land grant took over and evicted everyone but a few town residents. Still, the town remained active until the 1940s, with a school and post office and general store. The school closed in 1944. The post office closed in the 1970s, and the general store hung on a few more years. In 1987, the Bureau of Land Management acquired the land grant and made Fairbank part of the  San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area (NCA). NCA has been working on stabilizing, preserving and restoring buildings such as the old school house (now a museum) and a couple of old homes and a stable.

-Doug

River Picnic

SAN PEDRO RIVER HIKE & PICNIC
Join the Muleteam Saturday, March 21 for our 12th Annual Hike & River Picnic. This is the most "civilized" Muleteam event of the year. We'll meet at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool. It's an easy one-mile hike to the river. At that point, people can decide to stay by the river and set up for the picnic, visit the ruins of the 1770 Spanish Presidio, or continue up-river another 3+ miles round-trip to the site of Contention City. We will all gather back riverside for a "gourmet" pot-luck picnic. Bring your favorite dish, wine or beer to share. Dogs love the river and are welcome. Call Doug (520-432-0307) with questions.

Directions
Bisbee north on Route 80 past Tombstone, left at Border Checkpoint on Route 82 for about 6 miles. Past Fairbank parking area, over the bridge, right on N. Balance Rd. A couple of miles on N. Balance to parking area on the right.

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BACKTRACK -  Sheepshead

Two Muleteamers – Deb and myself – met at the courthouse and then joined up with six members of the Huachuca Hiking Club at the start of Middlemarch Road. The weather was perfect. The Sheepshead hike turns out to require less driving than any of our other hikes in the Dragoons, with the trailhead only a short distance from the turn off of Middlemarch. Unlike the technical route up the front of Sheepshead Peak, where we saw some climbers, our trail had us reaching the summit by curving around on the northwest side, with the final ascent from the back. Scrambling up the steepest parts was challenging but fun. Climbing aids included branches for grabbing and an occasional hand from fellow hikers. The rocks mostly provided good traction, though there were occasional wet spots on account of recent rains. At the top we enjoyed lunch and great views of mountain ranges including the Huachucas, the Whetstones, and the Rincons. The total round-trip distance was only about 4 miles, but with nearly 1500 feet of elevation gain, despite the first part being relatively flat. We were back by mid-afternoon. All in all, a great, exhilarating experience. Many thanks to the Huachuca Hiking Club for guiding us on this new-to-Muleteam hike! -Elizabeth

Barry (purple shirt) led the hike to fill in for Steve and took the great photos at the link below...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cactusbuzzer/sets/72157713497762956/
Elizabeth's 360 photo - Sheepshead360

CALENDAR 

Mar 28 - Joe's Canyon in the Huachucas with Ken & Sandy
Apr 4 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
Apr 11 - Old Bisbee Ridge Trail to Juniper Flats with Susan & Lindsay
Apr 18 - Brown-Ramsey Canyons in the Huachucas with Brad
Apr 24-25-26 - Camp-hike at Rustler in the Chiricahuas with John Wasser
May 2 - Eclectic art walk along Old Bisbee stairs with Larry
May 9 - Old Bisbee City Trail to Cross & pizza party with Laura

Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Sheepshead

CLIMB SHEEPSHEAD

Join the Muleteam this Saturday at the earlier time of 8am for a hike in the Dragoon Mountains to the moonscape terrain of a popular climbing rock with great views. This is a tough hike. It's a steep 1460 ft climb with a total hike distance of 3.5 miles and estimated time of 4.5-5.5 hours. Bring water, lunch and gloves, but it's not a dog friendly hike. Back late afternoon. Meet Mar 14 at 8am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool (over an hour each way). Free, but gas donation is appreciated. For more details contact Steve A at 520-458-6185 (landline) or safall04@gmail.com.

Detailed hike description on Hike Arizona - https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=16469

Even better Sheepshead photo album - https://photos.app.goo.gl/gthnHgHadpJDyIgx1

We will meet the Huachuca hikers (and anyone else) at the the beginning of Middlemarch Road to drive to the trailhead.

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BACKTRACK -  Patio Peak

As I sit here cozily composing the report of yesterday's hike, I observe how different those perfectly clear skies and cool, breezy-- sometimes windy--conditions were from the wet weather of this morning, with its steady, moderate drizzle and low clouds everywhere obscuring the not so high peaks normally visible from my house as well as to our hiking party on yesterday's trek. I marvel at the bullet we dodged by less than a day. Twenty one hikers and about four dogs set out from the Yuma Trail trailhead after finding sufficient parking for our vehicles just below where the gate lies that we passed through on our entrance into this land of mystery's maze of old roads, picking out the ones that guided us to our destination. No cattle were visible at all though the ages of many droppings indicated an abundance of bovines not so long ago. Normally dry gullies had trickles of water in them as  clues to our moister than usual winter this year, and the impoundment or stock tank we passed at the beginning of a corner cutting had a really respectable pond lying therein, attractive in its aspect though I would not want to drink from it. Orange flagging was placed at intervals along the way to aid in our returning along tried and true paths as we retrieved them after they had served their purpose. The steepest ascent up the old bulldozed road to the ridge along which Patio Peak lies, was trying as usual in its rockiness-- though not as much so on the way up as on the later descent. Once gaining the old road passing just below the undulating ridge on its way to the peak, the only nuisances were the acacia bushes which the road was not wide enough to keep from intruding at random intervals along its edges. The grade here was moderated up to the peak by the meandering curves of the road as it wound its way up. The Border Patrol photo arrays were in an even more obvious location than ever, and a liesurely lunch was had, surrounded by unusual views of the Warren and Bisbee patterns of human settlement. Following an unerring route back thanks to our temporary flagging, we arrived back at Yuma Trail in mid afternoon, weary but with a sense of accomplishment. --Brad

Slide to see complete photo below (taken by Ken), and a couple more by me are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 

SIDETRACK - Hiking Options
Sierra Vista has other hiking groups that meet on different days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Friday(Bisbee stairs) and another Saturday choice. If you're interested in any (or all) of these I can send you the current schedule/info for each. Thanks to Lawrence for this idea and collecting the info. Email your request to Larry at sunstudio@cableone.net.



CALENDAR 

Mar 21 - Annual San Pedro River hike & gourmet picnic with Doug
Mar 28 - Joe's Canyon in the Huachucas with Ken & Sandy
Apr 4 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
Apr 11 - Eclectic art walk along Old Bisbee stairs with Larry
Apr 18 - Brown-Ramsey Canyons in the Huachucas with Brad
Apr 24-25-26 - Camp-hike at Rustler in the Chiricahuas with John Wasser
May 2 - ??
May 9 - Last hike & potluck ideas?? 

Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Patio Peak

HIKE TO "PATIO PEAK"
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for a local hike from Yuma Trail in Warren, through Gold Gulch and by Gold Hill to a distinctive peak in the southern Mule Mountains. Have lunch on the top with a curious view of Bisbee from a different angle. Total distance about 6 miles, all up & down hills on old mining roads. Bring water and lunch. Back early afternoon. Meet March 7 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to carpool. Free. For more details contact Brad at 432-2476 or bradward.j3@juno.com.

Peak and trailhead
This hill is closer than Black Knob but in the same general direction, and is easy to find by following an old road all the way to the top. The Muleteam has hiked to this hilltop at least twice before, and those who were there will recognize its most distinctive feature as a pad of concrete on the very top. The origins of the pad are shrouded in mystery, but its appearance invokes the image of a patio, hence "patio peak". 
There is very limited parking at the trailhead, though there is a space for a few more vehicles just below the gate where our hike starts. Carpooling from the courthouse is encouraged, in order to limit the number of cars needing a parking space. The trailhead is at a primitive gate at the top of Yuma Trail near where Shattuck St., Mohave Trail, and Navajo Trail, intersect at almost the same spot. Start up Yuma Trail from the intersection where Arizona Street turns into the Warren Cutoff from Hwy 80 and intersects Cole Avenue from the west. Take Cole Avenue from Bisbee Road or the Warren Cutoff to the intersection. Turn onto Cole Avenue east of the intersection and then IMMEDIATELY take a left turn onto Yuma Trail.  -Brad

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BACKTRACK -  Clark Spring

19 hikers and Sheila. 4 trails…Lower Miller, Miller Peak, Clark Springs and John Cooper in one day. Miller Creek section as beautiful as ever. And the recovery from the Monument Fire is well underway. What we learned today…hikers yield to horses, bikes yield to hikers and horses. Horses rule. All the credit in the world to the people who maintain the trails. Excellent job. Great weather, great hike, great company, great day for the Mules. -John

A few other photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. Add your own hike photos to the page.

CALENDAR 

Mar 14 - Sheepshead in the Dragoons with Steve Anderson & Huachuca hikers
Mar 21 - Annual San Pedro River hike & picnic with Doug
Mar 28 - Joe's Canyon in the Huachucas with Ken & Sandy
Apr 4 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
Apr 11 - Brown-Ramsey Canyons in the Huachucas with Brad
Apr 18 - Eclectic art walk along Old Bisbee stairs with Larry
Apr 24-25-26 - Camp-hike at Rustler in the Chiricahuas with John Wasser
May 2 - ??
May 9 - Last hike & potluck?? 

Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry