Hill and Dale: Two Old Farts on Brown Mountain

I first met my great friend Ira Yedlin in January of 2015. It was a Saturday morning and following my sister Trish’s suggestion, I ambled down to the nearby Bisbee Courthouse where a local hiking club, The Mule Team, met every Saturday morning at nine. I resolved to start out the new year hitting the trails after an epic hike the previous Monday guided by friend Britt Hanson.

The Mule Team gets its name from the Mule Mountains surrounding Bisbee, where many of their hikes happen. That day’s hike—a decade ago!—was eight miles out-and-back to Mural Hill in the Mulies as the locals refer to them. There were twelve hikers gathered around the big circular fountain in front of the courthouse, many having just had breakfast at the High Desert Market across the parking lot, as they often did. One fit-looking gent stood out with his laughing and garrulous banter tinged with a Brooklyn accent (stubbornly held onto despite living in Seattle for the prior 30-some years). I knew immediately I was going to like the guy, and indeed, we became fast friends and well-matched hiking partners.

Ira is visiting from his current city, Cincinnati. He thought he would escape the single digit temperatures for a little 10-day respite in the desert. Of course, we vowed to get in a few hikes for old time's sake and I have been scouting out several since we came down in November. Ira is recovering from a hip replacement and a couple other things that have recently kept him off the trails, so this is a chance to get him back in the saddle so to speak, and Brown Mountain has a nice one between its two peaks.

Ira led the hike today and he was no slouch, setting a pretty decent pace despite not being acclimated to the elevation. He handled the rocky ascent with aplomb, and also the descent, although he missed the poles he left back at the house. Met a few other bipeds on this popular hike in the amazing Tucson Mountain Park. Great weather with clear skies and a high near 70º.

Ira, looking much younger than his 68 years then (and my 68 years today). This pic was taken pre-iPhone on my old Canon G12 on a hike up Mount Ballard and Fissure Peak, just outside Bisbee. That was our fifth hike together and it was almost exactly ten years ago on January 17, 2015.