Warren Area

HIKE FROM GALENA TO GOLD GULCH RACETRACK
Join the Muleteam this Saturday at the earlier time of 8 AM for a socially-distanced, off-pavement route through Warren. We begin by walking the native-vegetation trail through the park adjoining the Galena neighborhood. We then take a footpath into Warren, connecting to the old railroad trackbed which we will follow south. Skirting the ballpark, we will continue on to Gold Gulch Road, where we will check out an old motor racetrack before heading back the way we came. Meet May 2 at 8 AM by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain. Free, but there will be no carpooling from the courthouse.

The route is mostly flat and easy, around 5 ½ miles, but there is little shade. Bring water and your mid-morning lunch or snack. We should be back not long after noon. Dogs ok with leash. For more information contact Elizabeth Bernstein, ebernstein2001@yahoo.com, 520-432-5902.

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BACKTRACK -  Zacatecas & Beyond

The plan D / toll road hike. 
14 friends & 2 pups hiked up the Gulch and Zacatecas to the toll road to points unknown. 
What we learned….. If you neglect to pay the toll,  they neglect to maintain the road.
What we saw…. Hills     Canyons    Purple verbena all over  the burn area    Lotta rocks
                           A passable trail probably made by cows    Some water still in the creek
                           A cement stock tank irresistible to Big Dog    Cow pies    Traces of the road
Lunch spot…. Landscaping by flash flood,  but big oaks provided  welcoming shade – so perfect.
Politically correct?    Yeah we socially distanced and observed the campfire ban.
All good.  -John

I took the group photo, and all other photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 



CALENDAR 

May 9 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly


Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Beyond Zacatecas

HIKE ZACATECAS AND BEYOND
The logistics of a group camp got too complicated this year. Rucker, Portal, Rustler, all closed. No restrooms. No carpooling. Group meals could be a problem. Let’s just keep Rustler and Chiricahua Peak in mind for a later date.

So how about we meet at the fountain 9am for a stroll up the gulch and Zacatecas. Then we will take the old toll road to the next canyon over and do a little exploring. Might be interesting or not, but it will be some exercise.  -John

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BACKTRACK -  Brown-Ramsey

Five hikers and one dog started from the courthouse at about 8:10 AM and headed to the trailhead on Ramsey Canyon Road in social distancing separate vehicles. The lot at the trailhead was open and was practically filled with vehicles when we got there to barely find room still left for us to park. One more hiker jointed the party, and we started off on the well trod foot and bike trail around the gate locked against vehicle entry. After a short hike on the Brown Ranch Road, we left it at the point where an old unmaintained road branched off to the left. A number of other tracks spun off at intervals. but we kept on the one that eventually turned into an official signed hiking trail just beyond where a grave still lay under its partially legible engraved natural stone. After joining the Brown Canyon trail from the ranch house, the rest of the socially distanced hike was uneventful except for the respectable flow in the creek, which was still less than Miller or Ramsey Creeks. Though the season's heavier moisture was noticeable in the creek flow, the concrete trough spring was unaffected at its usual level of algae-filled water. After ascending to the old decrepit fence, four of us had lunch at that first summit-- spacious enough to observe more social distancing-- while two turned back early to keep their aging dog from too much wear and tear. 
We then returned back down to the old trough spring where we added a little variety by detouring back to Ramsey Canyon along the old road so popular with mountain bikers and of memory as the way that Lynn was brought out after breaking her arm. The last stretch along the Ramsey Canyon Road pavement brought us back to our vehicles parked in the open lot we started from. Reports from some of the large number of other hikers met along the way brought news that hikers were being kept from passing through the Ramsey Preserve only sporadically and not at all on the day of our hike, when two local residents reported hiking a loop similar to ours-- through the Preserve in the morning, taking the high connector trail over to Brown Canyon, and returning by the same old road that we took from the trough spring back to Ramsey below the Preserve.  -Brad

Molly took the group photo, and Elizabeth's 360 photo is at 360BrownCanyon.
All other photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 


CALENDAR 

May 2 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly
May 9 - Off-pavement hike in Warren area with Elizabeth


Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

8am Brown-Ramsey

Time Change...
The meeting time is now 8am for the Brown-Ramsey hike.


HIKE BROWN-RAMSEY
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for a "Two For One Hike" in the canyons & foothills of the Huachuca Mountains. The trail is about 6.5 miles total (using a shuttle) with grasslands, forest, steep hillsides and two canyon creeks. Bring water and lunch, but no dogs into Ramsey. Back mid-afternoon. Meet April 18 at 8am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain. Free, but no carpooling for now from courthouse. Special social distancing shuttle procedure is an alternative being considered. Dogs are ok if they go to the lunch spot and return the same way. For more details contact Brad at bradward.j3@juno.com or call 432-2476.

Social Distance Shuttling
Several alternatives for return to trailhead are being considered. Background below is being provided to facilitate a short discussion at courthouse meeting site. -Brad

My idea is to take, just before beginning the hike, two vehicles to the Ramsey preserve entrance where I found a foolproof parking space for one vehicle despite the Preserve front gate being locked. Each vehicle will have only one occupant, a driver, so no problem there, so far. Then one vehicle will carry those TWO occupants back to the trailhead parking lot on RC Road. During the one minute trip back down the road, the passenger will hold his or her head out the window!!, thereby breathing in an outside space thoroughly separate from the interior air being breathed by the driver.

At the end of the hike the vehicle left parked will carry a driver and TWO passengers. The driver's window will be closed, so as not to contaminate outside air being breathed by a second passenger just behind the driver, this passenger's head being through an open window in order to breathe outside air.  The first passenger will do the same as was done on the drive before the hike. After reaching the trailhead parking lot, the driver will then drop off the two passengers, and all three will become drivers of vehicles to pick up two more separately-breathing passengers per vehicle at the Preserve, taking them back to the trailhead parking. This will continue until all hikers have been returned to the trailhead, in order to leave in their own cars, one per car. In more normal times, all this may sound complicated and silly, but no more so than protection now being recommended for enclosed indoor spaces.

If this idea is rejected, at least there will be a Plan B, involving hiking close to an extra two miles, first back over to the concrete horse spring in Brown Canyon, using the eroded road involved in Lynn's rescue, and then retracing our steps coming in. This will be a hiking experience on a trail hardly distinguishable from those on the rest of the hike, where no motor vehicles will be rushing past us as they would if we hiked an extra mile, in a Plan C, beside the Ramsey Canyon Road pavement back to the Brown Canyon Trail parking lot.

______________

8am Brown-Ramsey

Time Change...
The meeting time is now 8am for the Brown-Ramsey hike.


HIKE BROWN-RAMSEY
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for a "Two For One Hike" in the canyons & foothills of the Huachuca Mountains. The trail is about 6.5 miles total (using a shuttle) with grasslands, forest, steep hillsides and two canyon creeks. Bring water and lunch, but no dogs into Ramsey. Back mid-afternoon. Meet April 18 at 8am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain. Free, but no carpooling for now from courthouse. Special social distancing shuttle procedure is an alternative being considered. Dogs are ok if they go to the lunch spot and return the same way. For more details contact Brad at bradward.j3@juno.com or call 432-2476.

Social Distance Shuttling
Several alternatives for return to trailhead are being considered. Background below is being provided to facilitate a short discussion at courthouse meeting site. -Brad

My idea is to take, just before beginning the hike, two vehicles to the Ramsey preserve entrance where I found a foolproof parking space for one vehicle despite the Preserve front gate being locked. Each vehicle will have only one occupant, a driver, so no problem there, so far. Then one vehicle will carry those TWO occupants back to the trailhead parking lot on RC Road. During the one minute trip back down the road, the passenger will hold his or her head out the window!!, thereby breathing in an outside space thoroughly separate from the interior air being breathed by the driver.

At the end of the hike the vehicle left parked will carry a driver and TWO passengers. The driver's window will be closed, so as not to contaminate outside air being breathed by a second passenger just behind the driver, this passenger's head being through an open window in order to breathe outside air.  The first passenger will do the same as was done on the drive before the hike. After reaching the trailhead parking lot, the driver will then drop off the two passengers, and all three will become drivers of vehicles to pick up two more separately-breathing passengers per vehicle at the Preserve, taking them back to the trailhead parking. This will continue until all hikers have been returned to the trailhead, in order to leave in their own cars, one per car. In more normal times, all this may sound complicated and silly, but no more so than protection now being recommended for enclosed indoor spaces.

If this idea is rejected, at least there will be a Plan B, involving hiking close to an extra two miles, first back over to the concrete horse spring in Brown Canyon, using the eroded road involved in Lynn's rescue, and then retracing our steps coming in. This will be a hiking experience on a trail hardly distinguishable from those on the rest of the hike, where no motor vehicles will be rushing past us as they would if we hiked an extra mile, in a Plan C, beside the Ramsey Canyon Road pavement back to the Brown Canyon Trail parking lot.

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BACKTRACK -  Juniper Flats

Eleven hikers and Sheila began the hike up to the top of the mountains overlooking Bisbee. The day was cool, partly cloudy and a bit breezy but we all returned downtown dry. Three of us plus Sheila returned early via the Locklin trail while the rest of us continued on the ridge trail to Juniper Flats. We lunched near the beautiful pagoda that catches rainwater, filling up a cistern. We all chose a spot on the granite rocks overlooking Bisbee. The eight of us returned down Juniper Flats Road to West Blvd. at our own paces, enjoying the blooming spring flowers of the wisteria and Tombstone roses that line Tombstone Canyon Road. -Susan

More photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 

CALENDAR 

Apr 25 - Rustler camping-hike in the Chiricahuas with John Wasser
May 2 - Carr Canyon to Bathtub Spring in the Huachucas with Molly


Thanks for hiking with me,

Larry

Juniper Flats

HIKE BISBEE RIDGE TO JUNIPER FLATS
Join the Muleteam this Saturday for THE BEST views of Old Bisbee! This social distanced hike is 6.33 miles round trip. Climb to the Ridge Trail, over to the pagoda for lunch and back by way of West Blvd. Bring water, lunch, walking poles optional, dogs welcome. Back early afternoon. Meet April 11 at 9am by the Old Bisbee courthouse fountain to start the hike. Call Susan Mayes at 610-220-5287 for more details.

The hike starts up Clawson to High Road and then on to the City Trail and Ridge Trail. The most challenging section is climbing up to the Ridge Trail where some light rock scrambling is required. You will be rewarded with the views, which just get better and better as you ascend! We will hike up and down the ridges overlooking town and Zacatecas Canyon all the way to Juniper Flats and eat lunch at the pagoda. The return is ALL downhill, walking on Juniper Flats Rd. to West Blvd. back down to Tombstone Canyon. Lindsay Koehler is co-leading the hike and her phone is 954-770-2221.

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BACKTRACK -  Miller Canyon

Nine hikers and two dogs, Sox and Sheila, got another look at the stream in lower Miller Canyon that we saw on the Clark Springs hike. It was still full of water and gleaming in the sunshine. We had the Creek mostly to ourselves on the way up the hill. After reaching the 2nd parking lot, we skirted the orchard and had lunch in the woods along the creek about 1/4 mile past the turnoff for the trail to  Hunter Canyon. A sign warned that killer bees were operating in Hunter Canyon now. 

The Hunter Canyon sign always reminds me of our dear departed friend, Bad Jack, who led a hike overlooking Hunter Canyon for many years. Jack was fond of telling a story about being surprised to hear fellow hikers telling him to get back on the trail and relieved to find that the object of correction was actually Doug and Anne’s dog, Jack.  -John B.

I took the group photo at a ruin by the trail. All other photos are at muleteam.shutterfly.com. 

SIDETRACK - Schedule
Thanks for the feedback about whether we should continue hiking. The schedule will remain the same, but it may change quickly. It seems to be complicated to comment on the blog, so if you have further comments reply to my email: sunstudio@cableone.net.



CALENDAR 

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