There is one other guy camping out here where we are. He is providing what he calls “trail magic”. The AZ Trail is a great thru hiking trail and over the week we have seen probably 20 or so people pass by. This guy set up a little pop up tent, has chairs, coolers, and a stove. He’s providing everyone food, drinks, and a sit in the shade. Pretty cool.
Today we rode out and back on the AZ Trail from Tiger Mine Road. We rode this section a couple years ago when we were camping in the area and loved it. It’s remote and rugged and probably why I like it. This section is pretty much all rideable and very fun. From the start it drops down and then follows the top of a ridge before repeatedly crossing a wash, climbing up the next hill, dropping down and crossing another wash. There are a couple pretty steep shorter climbs but nothing too long. Somehow we racked up 1874′ of climbing though.
The area that was to become Tiger was first settled in 1881 after Frank Schultz located gold ore in what was to become the Mammoth Mine. Sometime around 1920 Sam Houghton bought the property and named it Tiger after his college mascot, the Princeton Tiger. Nothing remains of Tiger today. Magma Copper Co. obliterated it years ago.
As we were packing up to pull out and move to a new spot for the next couple weeks, some guys pulled up and started setting up a bunch of antennae. I asked what was going on and he told me they were out on ham radios to see how they could connect with. People sure have interesting hobbies.
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