Carr Canyon Road under a full moon

I hosted a full-moon hike up Carr Canyon road at 5:15pm via Meetup.com to watch the moon rise over the Mule mountains of Bisbee. I posted the hike on the Meetup and had two people signed up for this. When I arrived at the designated time, two additional hikers were there, making us a group of five enthusiastic hikers. Sadie came along. The waterfall was still going from the rain over the weekend.

Everyone showed up on time as well. We all departed at 5:17pm and chatted noisefully all the way up the road. What characters we had today! Robert is a long-distance hiker who's done night hikes all over the Huachucas, to include sleeping at Carr Peak overnight. He was willing to talk about anything he's done to anyone who would listen. He's certainly done some neat things to brag about, and next week he's hiking a good section of the Arizona trail with his brother. Brett was an impromptu show from Carr Canyon Road who just wanted company. He was quiet the entire time, but brought along his Canon camera.

The other two women were an older woman, Cyndy, and Claire, who I first met on a Fort Huachuca Volksmarch last fall. I hope they show up for future moon hikes. Robert and Claire said they appreciated me hosting this, and would like to see more full moon hikes.

I only brought Sadie tonight, because I know that as a single dog, she's quiet and minds her manners. Bringing any more than one dog would be suicide with strangers.

We walked up the road at a decent pace. It was still light enough at 5:40pm when we got to the Comfort Springs Trail. Moon rise was slated for 6:05pm.

We were a little behind by now as Claire needed to stop a few times to catch her breath. That's when I decided to take the group on a side spur trail that jutted east from the trail and offered clear views off a high peak. The moon was already cresting and I had to jog to the peak to get the moon while it was still orange.

Sadie was at her best behavior, staying away from the crowd and giving up our space. She didn't whine or bark or get between our legs. I was very proud of her. She never left my side.

Once the moon rose, though, it quickly got dark and windy. Robert probably wanted to camp at this site but I wanted to be back on the main trail by 6:30pm (end of nautical twilight) so that we wouldn't be tripping over the boulders on this spur trail. No one in the group had ever been on this site, and as hike leader I take my job very seriously.

There is something about being under a full moon in the early evening. We were still on the road when the moon got high enough to shine on us as we made the last half-mile to our cars at the locked gate. I only wore a fleece sweater and felt the cold wind trying to pierce through.

We were back at our cars by 7pm, making this a two-hour walk by the time I got back home. We only did around three miles, but that's great for an after-work hike.