Full moon hike in Brown Canyon

I had this hike scheduled for a MeetUp but an error on my original post confused people.  Two of four people showed up because they thought the hike was cancelled.  It was a quiet walk with Karen.  Minnie and Zeke came along.

We started the walk at 4:30pm and walked the loop clockwise, up Ramsey Canyon Road before turning off on Brown Canyon Road, a dirt road leading to homes.  I took the dogs off leash here and they stayed nearby.

There was no snow or ice on the trail.  The only snow we saw was a small patch off the trail near the high point.  The trail was damp from melted snow, though, and mountain bikers had left grooves in the dirt.  The cool temperatures were ideal for Minnie and I knew she'd enjoy the walk.  Both dogs enjoyed the exercise.  (Minnie seriously needs to lose weight.  She must be secretly snacking on cat food in the middle of the night.  Even Eric mentions on Facebook that Minnie has gained weight.)

Sunset was at 6:15pm and moon rise at 6:19pm so I timed our departure from the horse trough to coincide with 40 minutes to the hill above Brown Canyon Ranch.  This makes for a moderate pace without exhausting anyone.  Karen is a strong hiker and both dogs had no trouble keeping up.  I enjoy her company and appreciate her stories of hiking the northern Michigan trails with her now aging 14-year-old shepherd mix.  She and her husband moved down here five years ago.

The moon rise turned out to be a nice one today, despite the short time between sunset and moon rise.  We only had to wait two minutes before seeing the moon push its way above the Mule mountains.  Winds were mild. (I wore a sweatshirt over my hiking shirt)  It wasn't cold at all. Once the moon had crested, we continued our walk back down the hill, stopped by the pet graves, and finished in the parking lot.

Watching the moon rise made me miss my Canon camera.  I really need to get my 6D fixed.  These cheap-looking cellphone pics do our local beauty no justice.

We were back at our cars before 7pm.  Karen had to get back home and I just went home myself, forsaking plans of having dessert at the German Cafe in town.  Annette had posted some scrumptious photos of her lemon-whipped cream cake and I wanted some.  She makes the best desserts in Sierra Vista.