In the mid-1970s, when Dale Shewalter began mulling the idea of a trail that would traverse the entire state of Arizona from Mexico to Utah, mountain biking was just a glimmer in the eyes of a handful of misfits—and certainly not in Arizona. Yet through his vision to create a statewide trail for non-motorized use, Shewalter became one of the earliest advocates for mountain biking in the Grand Canyon State.

The idea came to Shewalter after years of rambling the parched mountains around Tucson. Having long dreamed of connecting these stunning landscapes, he set off in 1985 to explore how far he could go on existing backroads and paths. That original 750-mile expedition cemented Shewalter’s vision of “experiencing Arizona, the diversity and the beauty of our landscapes and our cultural history, one step at a time.”

A schoolteacher from Flagstaff who favored hip-hugging Wranglers and cowboy boots and hats, Shewalter was an unlikely mountain biking champion. Archival footage depicts him exploring on foot and horseback with friends from the ranching community.

“Dale Shewalter was the OG of the Arizona Trail, and mountain biking in the state owes him a lot,” says Scott Morris, a Tucson local who would become intrinsically linked with the trail. “He was a hiker and a horseman, but he also rode bikes, which is part of why mountain bikers got a place at the table.”