Supes Wild.(# of tot TRAIL MILES? & # of tot SQ. MILES?)

[Grasshopper]

For our Tonto Natl Forest-Superstition Wilderness, Does anyone know what the total number of published "trail miles" and the total number of "square miles" are?? Someone I know has asked me this interesting question and I have no clue, but am sure that it must be published somewhere and that surely some of you will know these numbers...bet our HAZ-"Superstitions Guy" knows IF no one else does?

Note: For these total numbers use both East & West sections and use numbered F/S trails... IF possible, list seperately total East & West trail miles of those "no numbered" trails.

[big_load]

I don't know about trail miles, but USFS says it's approximately 160,200 acres, which is 250 square miles.

[te_wa]

i think trail miles are close to 250.
180 official, numbered trail miles. those do not include such off trail stuff like labarge canyon and crosscut trail, etc..
that means there are 80 miles of unnoficial trails... better get crackin' huh

[DarthStiller]

What makes that a hard question is that there are easily followable trails (ridgeline, for example) that don't appear on maps. The latest Beartooth map shows alot of new trails (+mileages). it includes some of the "unofficial" trails (Reavis Falls) but I dont think it has all of them. I would think you should include such trails as the ridgeline, Reavis Falls, Ely-Anderson, etc. But what about going from Hieroglyphic Canyon to the ridgeline trail? Its kind of a trail, but not really. I've heard that a trail is sort of forming going up to Battleship Mt. due to increased recent traffic. And then there's the old decommissioned section of the Campaign Trail that deads ends just north of the end of the Cuff Button trail. Hard to say.

[Grasshopper]

I just brought-up under HAZ-TrailDEX, the total listed trips in the "Superstsition Wilderness" and it lists 6 pages worth of
131 hike descriptions. Is there an easy way to total the distance in miles of these 131 trips to come up with a total hiking miles in the Superstitions (for these trips listed on HAZ). This total number might be the most valid way to do it?
(This total number should include both USFS Supes Wilderness "numbered and not numbered" trail routes).

What do you think about coming up with the total hiking miles number this way? Would some of these 131 hike descriptions include hiking the same trail more than once? *

* = I will answer my own question: YES.. and the reason this idea won't work!

[joebartels]

I don't have a clue, my guess would be 150 miles for numbered trails in the wilderness

[SuperstitionGuy]

I could look it up on all the maps, books and articles I have collected about the Sups but unfortunately I gave them all away to a Superstition Search & Rescue friend when I left the state about a year and a half ago. Over time the USFS has dropped some of the trails as system trails and no longer maintains them. For lack of manpower they are probably not even maintaining some of the system trails anymore. There are numerous old trails made by the ranchers and dutchman hunters that are not documented on maps. I would often find them when searching off trail for indian, mining and ranching ruins. Tom Kollenberg quotes trail milage in some of his articles that are published in periodicals and on line through the Superstition Mountain Museum and related web sites.

I never paid much attention to the trails and/or milage as I used them primarily to reach a destination where I would continue off trail. My first backpack trips in the Sups were riparian in nature and did not include trails at all. I first backpacked all the main water courses and side drainages so I could learn where to find water for my overland treks. I had a mounted wilderness map where I would trace in yellow marker all the routes that I did. Whenever someone would ask me what I was going to do when the map was all yellow, I would respond by saying that I then would switch to a black marker...