Elevation: from around 5300' to 6100'
I had been wanting to do this hike for quite a while and today five others joined me for a leisurely-paced hike around the golden hills of Bisbee. Big Steve, Frank, Valerie, Michael, Kevin and I with Sadie did this hike. This was Kevin's first hike in quite a while. We parked in the free parking lot behind the Old Stock Exchange Saloon in the lower Brewery Gulch and walked up the half mile to the trailhead, passing by quite an assortment of shabby cottages to small artisan homes. In one lot it looked like an old VW buss was used as a home, parked high up on a trashy hillside. Dogs barked, Sadie barked back, but this time no dogs came chasing after her. She was on the leash until we hit the trail and were to ourselves.
One 20-something-year-old man, with unkempt blonde hair, wearing an old and well-worn brown-leather jacket and black jeans, came down the trail toward us. He was camped off the road in an old greenish tent. We saw him later selling his artwork in front of the old Mining Museum. Turns out he's a "traveling artist" by the name of Montigue, but like many street artists in Bisbee, they don't make a great living and don't last. Valerie gave him a small monetary contribution but didn't buy anything from him.
Looking back now I wish I hadn't made everyone scramble up the dry creekbed. I saw the sharp right turn going east and we stayed on a northerly course; I was hoping we would run into another trail further up. We didn't. We managed to cut off a mile from the course but it was a butt-kicker. And the views from that first ridge into Sandy Bob Canyon and the lower hills of Tombstone would have been a nice view, too.
But, noone got hurt and seemed OK with the shortcut. Once we made it up the ridgeline it was fairly level there and easy, with pretty views all around. One can see the misty blue mountains of Mexico.
It was sunny but a little on the windy side. It felt like it was in the 60s today. Any signs of snow from last weekend were none-existant.
Once we were on the ridgeline it was all downhill from there. We straddled the ridge that was closest to the old mining homes. The trail came out at the Laundry Hill exit (although there were other options we could have explored), but we could have stayed on the trail another half mile and existed at the water tank in Old Towne. We ended up walking the last 1.5 miles down the Main Street with Sadie pulling on the leash the whole time.
Although a tad pricy at $4.50 for a 16-ounce glass, the beers are good. I had the Belgian Whitbier but it looked like a lemon malt; the brew was very cloudy. It was nonetheless tasty. The second beer was the Pilsner, but I felt its malt was a tad too strong. Kevin had the Copper Ale, which seems to be the local favorite. The alcoholic range went from 4.6 for my Whitbier to an impressive 7.9 for its Stout.
We got to the microwbrewery at around 12:30pm with just a few guys at the bar. We left an hour later with full seating. I enjoyed talking with everyone, with Mike, Valerie and Frank being our newest and more active members. The Old Bisbee brewpub is a place I'd recommend visiting friends to try. The only food it sells for now are white bratwursts served with a small bag of potato chips, and fresh popcorn is free, but the owners may expand on that later.
We sat at two round tables with a view of the town. The Old Bisbee Microwbrewery has only been open for a year (its first-year anniversary was 3 March) but its clientele seem to be growing. The owner-brewers were there but I failed to chat much with them. Experienced brewers and wine makers, they both hail from Washington state.
I could spend a whole weekend in Bisbee exploring the side streets. There is something new I see every time. Today it seemed there were many more homes than usual for sale, from small 1000-square-feet historic buildings up Brewery Gulch selling for $189,000 to practically condemned 980-square-feet lots selling for $65,000 with no room for parking to totally
remodeled 2000-square-feet former boarding homes. We only touched the surface, but I could easily map out a 10 or 15-mile walking adventure in and around Bisbee and call it a day, then feast at one of the many tasty eateries in town. This is a place where a very eclectic group of people come. Today the town seemed rather quiet; nothing was on the town's event schedule until tonight with its Spring concert.
Kevin liked this hike and is willing to do this one again with the complete hike.
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