Lost Gold Mine Trail

After stopping off at Starbucks for my routine caffeine fix, I drove out to the Lost Gold Mine Trail trailhead at the end of E Cloud View Ave in Gold Canyon, AZ (map).

Mine was the only vehicle in the lot, which surprised me given the time - 7 am - and on a Sunday morning. This location also serves as the trailhead for Hieroglyphic Trail, which leads to some pretty spectacular petroglyphs (ca. 200 A.D.) a mile up canyon (the Hieroglyphic Trail, however, is located within the boundaries of the Superstition Wilderness Area, and is accessible to hikers only).  The Lost Gold Mine Trail traverses State Trust Land, and as such is open to mountainbikers.  The Lost Gold Mine Trail starts with a good warm-up climb with several switchbacks and bouldery "water bars," and begins a series of descents and ascents into and out of arroyos dissected into the pediment.

Lost Gold Mine gets compared to South Mountain's "Desert Classic Trail," and while parts were reminiscent, the Lost Gold Mine is definitely more technical, with obstacles at every climb up and out of every arroyo.  I was off of my bike a few times, re-attempted several climbs, but mastered few this morning.  Definitely a challenging trail, and one that makes it hard to get a rhythm going.

The views from the Lost Gold Mine Trail are grand, with expansive views of the southern edifice of the Superstition Mountains, and the trail threads through some of the thickest saguaro stands I have seen outside of Saguaro National Monument.

The geology definitely exerts an influence on trail conditions - where crossing the pediment and dropping into arroyos, the going is mostly loose gravel with cobbles and boulders tossed in for technical interest; where crossing the lighter-colored volcanic tuff, the surface tended to be flat and mostly smooth; when riding over and through the dark purple dacite, the surface was ledgey, rough and bouldery, and on the return, the trail I had picked made several passes through Pinal Schist, with its vertical foliation, banded appearance and good "gription." 

While the trail presented its fair share of challenges, it is short, "do-able," and really fun.  A definite repeater.