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.

______________

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