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AZ Trail #3 LbNA #14956 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Kristal & Ron
Plant date:May 6, 2005
Location:
City:Superior
County:Pinal
State:Arizona
Boxes:1
Found by: Tiptoe & Tonto
Last found:Jan 1, 2008
Status:FFFFFFFF
Last edited:May 6, 2005
This box is the third in our series, highlighting points of interest along the Arizona Trail – a nearly completed hiking/biking/equestrian trail crossing Arizona from Mexico to Utah. Stay tuned for many, many more installments that are in the works!

Near mile marker 221 on Highway 60, between Florence Junction and Superior, take Forest Road 231 going south. It’s the only road exiting the highway for miles, but just to check yourself, you cross a cattle guard with a brown #231 post next to it. Go .3 miles to a T-junction and then .6 miles to the Picketpost Trailhead.

Leave the parking lot going south and take a VERY leisurely stroll for 10 minutes, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the desert. There is a riverbed alongside on the left and just before you cross it you’ll see another trail heading east off of the main one. There is almost always a rock cairn here because this is the main trail to the top of Picketpost Mountain in front of you. It rises 2000 feet above the rest of the desert and has views across most of the state. A hiker we met on the trail said it’s a 3-hour scramble to the top, up the canyon that is facing you. There’s a mailbox with a summit log on top for those who are intrepid enough to achieve it.

Take this trail. Go through the wash and in a very short distance you’ll start to climb a long hill that’s not very steep. About 200 steps from the east side of the wash, spot a palo verde tree with a dead saguaro lying next to it on your left. The box is at the base of the tree on the north side.

A few ridges over, or a few miles down the highway, is Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Founded in the 1920s, it is Arizona’s oldest and largest botanical garden. This 323-acre State Park is an oasis in the desert and a bird-lover’s paradise. If you’re in the area, it’s not to be missed!

Check out their website at http://Arboretum.ag.Arizona.edu