It was an invigorating start to the day. It was 53F. This morning's sky was the first colorful sky in six weeks. And there was a cool breeze, too. What a difference from just yesterday! The cirrus clouds at sunrise then stuck around all day. Today's high in Bisbee only hit 73F; that's almost 20 degrees cooler from last week.
I had a slight obstacle while getting ready for the drive to Bisbee: I couldn't find my car keys. Have the pups taken my lanyard and dropped it off somewhere in the backyard? Luckily Kevin lent me his huge truck, although both dogs felt uneasy riding in it. The cab was full of work tools so Zeke wasn't very comfortable, and Hansel in the passenger seat lurched forward and hit his neck on the dashboard. Luckily I had just started my drive and wasn't moving very fast
The four of us were on time, meeting in front of the Old Bisbee Brewing Company and took off before 9am. The parking lot was surprisingly full already. There was nothing going on in town that would have packed the lot. It was much less packed when we left Bisbee at 1:30pm.
The walk up Brewery Gulch was fun, as always. I always like the artsy homes and decorated gardens.The dogs were on leash here, getting tangled up in each other's leashes, but once we were up in Zacatecas Canyon, all three dogs did very well off-leash.
This was Hansel's first official group hike on his own and he did very well. Yes, Trace taunted him at first, and there were a few snaps at each other at the start, but Hansel kept to the trail and didn't follow Trace off trail until we were near the ridgeline. More importantly, he also didn't bark at other dogs or people on the trail. Zeke, my Old Faithful, kept to my side the entire time.
Hansel did get a bloody cut on his rear right lower leg. I don't know how that happened, perhaps from stepping on a sharp rock. It was superficial and didn't seem to cause him any pain once the blood dried. We only came across one other couple on this hike and they were hiking the loop in the opposite direction.
It's been a while since I did this loop. The last time was in April 2019 when EricS led this. The views all around are very pretty, with 6000' hills in all directions. This was Theresa's first time doing this. SteveT said he had done this before but didn't remember the walk up Zacatecas Canyon. On a clear sky like last weekend, this could be a very uncomforable hike, but that breeze got gusty as we reached the ridgeline. We took our hats off to avoid having them fly off. That breeze stayed with us all throughout the hike, too.
One new change today was a lock on a gate going up Zacatecas Canyon. That was not here last year. "Private Property" said the sign. We crawled underneath it to continue our loop. This land had always been open to hikers as long as hikers didn't trash or vandalize the land.
We took our time. The 4.75 miles (normally it's 4.2 miles but hiking to the water tower adds another 0,5 miles) took us four hours. The hillsides were dry. There were no late-season wildflowers blooming anywhere. Autumn colors are still not in their prime. Most of the trees in these hills are emory oaks, agave and small shrubs, so shade is only in the canyon.
The brewery was open when we got back to our cars at 1:15pm. Holly and Theresa agreed to stop by the brewery for a beer. I had two pilsners and a bowl of their tasty vegan chili. Everyone else had a bowl of chili, too. This proved to be an affordable meal, as there aren't that many restaurants open in Bisbee on Sundays with open-air dining. I was hungry by now, too. All three dogs seemed tired and rested by our table as we sat on the sundeck with a light mist blowing over us.
We all departed at 2pm. I got home by 3pm to a happy pack of dogs. I ended up taking Gretel on a solo mile hike around the 'hood under a pretty sunset and a very faint drizzle. We hadn't had any "chance of precipitation" since early September! She did quite well by herself, looking up to me for approval. I know I often have no patience for her behavior, but I know I need to give her as much time training as I do with Hansel.
This last 1.15 miles makes my total mileage for today at 8.25 miles. This cooler weather was invigorting, and more cooler weather is now forecasted for the rest of the week. Colorado and Wyoming got snow today
Nina left Arizona on Thursday and should be arriving at her new West Virginia home tomorrow. It's a 2170 mile drive for her. She has been updating her Facebook page with photos of her cat and her at rest stops along the interstate. She will get to WV under cool, rainy skies tomorrow. She wanted to take her time and stop along the way, but her husband Mark insisted on getting to WV as quickly as possible. I hope she at least slows down when she reaches the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/23/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/
Global cases 43,335,576
Global deaths: 1,165,420
US cases: 8,890,695 (+65,720)
US deaths: 230,508 (+450)
France cases 1,138,507 (+51,985)
France deaths 34,761 (+112) Now ranked #5 in world, after US, India, Brazil, Russia
AZ cases: 238,163 (+1391)
AZ deaths: 5874 (+5)
IN cases: 162,607 (+2153)
IN deaths: 4130 (+12)
TX cases: 913,494 (+4550)
TX deaths 18,066 (+40). TX is now ranked #1 for total confirmed cases, surpassing CA, FL and NY.
UT cases: 104,882 (+1765)
UT deaths 572 (+4)
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