Walking Bisbee

This was a recon walk to measure mileage that should have taken place yesterday, but yesterday my left ankle was sore and needed a break after Saturday's long hike. I didn't get started until the afternoon, when I could leave for Bisbee with the recyclables (mostly cardboard from Amazon and petfood cans), which was a good excuse to head out to Bisbee 26 miles away. It was a beautiful late fall day in the mid 60s with slight overcast skies and no wind. I took Minnie this time, since she hadn't been hiked all week. The town was quiet.

I didn't carry a backpack. I figured it was cool enough for Minnie and me to go without water for a few hours. Stores in town have water buckets for dogs, and there was water running in the ditch through Tombstone Canyon. I parked at the brewpub and walked up OK street before turning west and downhill toward the Mullheim House, which is now a museum. The trees down this road have shed most of their leaves now. From there it was uphill again on narrow roads overlooking the town. I can never tire of this view.

The rest of the walk was very close to the annual Bisbee1000 route, a charity run ($75 for 5km!) always on the third Saturday in October. This run is painted on walls and rocks all over Old Bisbee. The charity gives proceeds of that money for local groups. I ran this course four times, but stopped when the entry free went over $50. Very little of any of the monies go to repairing the dilapidated stairs in town, for which the Bisbee1000 got its name. "Save the Stairs!" was the mantra when the charity run first began in the 1990s, but that mantra is no longer used. I prefer streets over steps, though. Although the stairs provide a great workout, many of the stairs go right past private property with open views inside homes. I wanted to find a route that was people-friendly, as many people do not like climbing stairs,and many dogs hurt doing so. Finding a stair-free route in Bisbee is nearly impossible.

Minnie seemed delighted in the new smells around her. She was on leash, but I took her off leash when we got away from the busier part of town. I spent several minutes talking to a local woman named Anne about training German Shepherds; her new pup is four months old and a very determined boy. She approached me as I was walking up Tombstone Canyon. Her pup needs early and firm training to be a good dog as an adult, and she seemed willing to work on him. (Since when am I a dog expert?!) I also stopped and talked to a resident off a short alley way where Minnie was able to get some water from the ditch. This ditch captures the monsoonal rains every year, but today the water was just trickling. Getting to this water was not easy, as the ditch is deep and borders on private property. Everyone I met was very friendly. The town has a European ambiance to it, except the streets are awful and many property walls are cracking. There's a run-down feel to Bisbee, but what makes the town so scenic is the landscape and the personal yard art so prevalent in town. One can hunt for Gargoyles, painted butterflies, iron reptiles as one walks along.

I did the downtown area, hiked across from Castle Rock, went down the IronMan steps, up Moon Canyon and along Adams Avenue, around the Central School, up Quality Hill and back down toward the Gulch. There are modified miner shacks all over town. Some are remodeled and modern, others are run down and neglected. Some are colorful, others bland. I've done variations of this hike many times.

I finished with a few beers and good conversation with the bartenders Vanessa and Danielle at the Old Bisbee Brewing Company. There were only a few other customers at the bar and business was slow. I really like that place as the beer is always good and the clientele as eclectic as the town. And what a mellow day to walk around town. A couple from Nashville had done the Tucson marathon yesterday and were enjoying one more day in AZ before flying back to Nashville.

Minnie growled at a small dog, Scruffy, a regular customer with his owner who likes to watch everyone come inside the pub. He sits in the same spot by the door every time. Minnie barked at Scruffy a few times but luckliy settled down. I would have put her back in the van to calm down had she not done so on her own.

I drove back home with the Huachuca mountains silhouetted by the last rays of sunlight and the city lights lighting the horizon. What a priceless view this is every single time.

Today's hike was a mere 4.68 miles. It's going to be hard to replicate the route for Thursday's town walk as the starting time will be later. Today's pace was slow, as I stopped a lot to photograph the views and Minnie sniffed it all out herself. The distance seemed to be enough for her and she rested well the rest of the day.