Soldier-La Milagrosa Loop on lower Mount Lemon offers a bit of everything, from some road miles to steep, rocky ascents, flowy downhill miles, and technical descents! The route begins at La Milagrosa Trailhead just off North Avenida de Suzenu at the base of Mount Lemmon. From here, there are 2.5 miles on a combination of dirt road and paved road to get to the Soldier Trailhead (East Horsehead Road -> North Soldier Trail Road -> Catalina Highway).

The traverse follows the main ridgeline of the Bitterroot Mountains, a subrange of the Bitterroot Range. For most of its length, the crest is also the border between Montana and Idaho. The main ridgeline includes over 30 peaks (following the 300’ prominence convention), most of which are unnamed. The ridgeline proper is roughly 111 miles, with approximately 55,000 feet of vertical gain. With the exception of the first 7 miles and the last 5 miles, the Bitterroot Traverse is entirely off-trail, with extended class 3 sections, as well as fourth and fifth class climbing.

Cerro Incahuasi (6,621 m)

This is a beautiful route that traverses across all 3 of the ~5000m summits from Laguna Santa Rosa / Refugio Maricunga. I first did this counter-clockwise, starting with 7 Hermanas, but it could be done either way.