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So I brought along an old camera that wasn’t so sensitive to dust and met a passel of people in front of The Huddle Sports Bar for my adventure to the top of the Pinals and beyond. Owners, Steve and Tracy Quick moved here in 2003 and Tracy says one of the first things she purchased was a RHINO.. “that “amazing off road vehicle” which Yamaha will tell you is part ATV, part monster truck.
“When your entire back yard opens up to the Pinal Mountains, you gotta have one!” Tracy says with a sweep of her arm pointing to an endless horizon which stretches in all directions of pine trees and rolling mountain ranges.
The Huddle is the ex-officio home of the “Independent Riders” who are a loose knit group of ‘independently minded’ motorcycle riders who are mostly over the age of being totally cool and just want to enjoy as much time as they can on the road in the open air with friends and family. Most have both a bike and an ATV and on any given weekend you will find bikes or off road vehicles lined up outside the Huddle either coming or going on a ‘ride.’ If you want to ride along with them some weekend or simply get some good advice on great places to ride, you’ll want to stop into the Huddle and see Tracy or Steve.
Our trip that day took us up and over Pinal Peak which is the highpoint of the Pinal Mountains with an elevation of 7,848 ft and a prominent landmark in this area. A well maintained forest road winds its’ way to the summit of the mountain and then drops away in all directions revealing a spiderweb of trails and lesser roads spanning out on a canvass of green. Some of these roads can take you all the way to Tucson or Superior if you know which of them to take. But I could see how one could easily get lost if you didn’t come prepared or already have an innate sense of direction. Which I don’t.
I was happy to be a passenger and enjoy the scenery!
The Pinal Mountains were first established as a US Forest Reserve in 1905 and contained over 45,000 acres, but a short three years later was merged with the Tonto National Forest and the name was discontinued. Today, the “Tonto” is the fifth largest forest in the United States occupying nearly 3 million acres of land and stretching south from Phoenix to the Mongollon Rim and East to the San Carlos Apache Reservation
This last year there were several lightening fires which were allowed to burn in areas where there was no threat to structures or livestock. This last summer the Frio Fire, was sparked by lighting on Aug 17th and burned over 2000 acres before rain extinguished the flames. Smoke could be seen as far away as Apache Junction and the East Valley causing breathing problems for some local residents. Yet, a short 8 months later, signs of regrowth was already beginning to show.
With over 45,000 acres and hundreds of miles of forest roads, the Pinal mountains around Globe offer a large, and almost un tapped adventure for off-road enthusiasts where the only other person you see might be the one sitting across from you.
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Writer, photographer. Passionate foodie, lover of good books and storytelling. Lives in Globe. Plays in the historic district. Travels when possible.
