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| | | LOST Superior Town Center to Pinal City, AZ | | | |
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LOST Superior Town Center to Pinal City, AZ
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| Hiking | 8.30 Miles |
285 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.30 Miles | | | |
| 285 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | | I was just here a week ago , tried to “hike” the town center portion of the LOST and missed the correct turn for the end of this section and had to jog across Rt. 60 near Main St. to the Circle K, fortunately on the way back through town I stopped at Felicia’s Ice Cream Shop and picked up a Cuban sandwich, best I’ve had since moving from Florida! Lured by this and unfinished business decided to return today. The LOST trail map was recently put online and substantial changes from the older and unfinished previous plan. Several times I tried to hike to Superior looking for the LOST to spur off the AZT near Hewitt Station Rd. to enter Superior, appears this plan had been abandoned before completion. I wasn’t aware until I arrived today , it was the day the Yavapai running club were holding their Copper Corridor runs, 12 to 50 km courses, it was soon evident by the finish line banner on Main St.. The LOST ,Legends of Superior Trail, is now divided into 5 segments west to east,Arnett Canyon, Pinal City Panther, Miners and Ranchers, Superior Town Center and Queen Creek Canyon, I parked at the Magma Avenue Trail Head which just since last week has had fill dirt placed eliminating the potholes and some widening done. Started by crossing the concrete bridge with element 29 immediately on the right heading uphill to the beginning of Main St. Quite an eclectic collection of buildings along here , I was distracted some by the plaques beside each one describing prior tenants , at least on Saturdays the town has a lively vibe,open cafes ,live music and a farmers market. After last week I verified that to remain on this unsigned town portion of the LOST turn left at Porters Saloon down the concrete steps which you then walk through the saloon ,to the sound of live music, and reach the pedestrian bridge across a dry Queen Creek. Once at the bottom of the bridge you have completed the town center segment and are beginning the miners and ranchers segment. Not sure about the decision to name it this in my opinion it’s the suburbs of Superior section, however evident on this section of the trail, really the whole trail to Picketpost Trail Head is testimony to the excellent work done by the American Conservation Experience who provided the muscle to create an obviously good enough trail to race on. The trail from here on was festooned with ribbons hanging on various vegetation for the racers to stay on course which made the trail quite colorful. With only 400 allowed in the race they were pretty spread out over the 30 miles ,never saw more than three at once, I was the only hiker on the trail today and made sure to give way even though these trails are double wide. This section of the trail goes under the Rt. 60 overpass for Queen Creek , after this some rooftops and barking dogs accompany you. Once I reached Panther Drive trail gate this section was complete. Turning right maybe 50 yards on Panther I could see the obvious trail on the left and here starts the Pinal City Panther segment. On this section a fair distance of walking is adjacent to the Superior Airport , no jet noise today. Despite the nice breeze it felt a bit warm through this shadeless stretch gradually bending southwest , now Picketpost Mountain is growing larger as you proceed down toward Queen Creek. A fording of the creek would have taken me toward Arnett Canyon but I ended the route by heading up to the Pinal City old mill ruin. After rummaging around a bit I did decide to head over to get a picture of the ore wagon tracks before turning back, that added another mile. Passed by a few runners still on the trail that I offered words of encouragement to, also kept a bottle of water in reserve in case I came across anyone in need. Of course I had to stop by and get another sandwich on the way back, FYI some of the establishments are cash only. This trail has potential to log a good number of miles if you start at Picket Post, include the Picketpost circumference and then finish at the Clayppol tunnel without a painful amount of AEG. |
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Route Editor
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as we neared the end of the hike. Capped off a great day with lunch at Porters Saloon. Great day! Thanks guys! 
