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). These initial miles are a nice warmup for the Soldier Trail, which is a steep, rocky trail that climbs nearly 2000ft in 2.6 miles and connects with the AZT. You take a right turn on the AZT, running past Gordon Hirabayashi (Prison Camp) on a flowy net downhill to Molino Basin. At Molino, you cross the Catalina Highway (which you ran on briefly at the beginning) to continue on the AZT for a 1 mile climb, followed by a couple miles of rocky descending with beautiful views of the nearby Rincon Mountains. After a total of over 5 miles on the AZT, you take a right turn on La Milagrosa Trail, which starts off with short ups and downs and ends with a steep, rocky descent that takes you back to the neighborhood at the base of Mount Lemmon where you started. The final mile includes some uphill and some downhill on a combination of dirt and paved road and is a fast finish to the route! If there has been recent precipitation, you may get some pools or even flowing water toward the end of La Milagrosa Trail! There are also seasonal pools toward the beginning of La Milagrosa Trail where one can filter water if needed, though water is not always present so it's best to carry enough for the full route unless you know there is water to filter! This section of the AZT and La Milagrosa Trail are loved by the mountain biking community, so watch out for bikers! This route has been a classic route for Tucson Trail Runners, run annually in February since 2001 (to check the TTR database of results going back to 2001, go to ttraz.net, as there are results listed there that preceded Strava)!
