It often seems that the popular image of Arizona is Tombstone, sagebrush, and desert landscape. When it’s not, it usually captures the Grand Canyon instead.
Green is usually not a part of the picture, but the idea that Arizona is nothing but dusty arid sand and rocks is all wrong.
Down from the ski and Apache country of the White Mountains is the Mogollan Rim. Think Mogollan in Spanish – mug-ee-own – and not Mongolian, because it is named for an early 1700s Spanish governor. The nearest major town is Payson, once the home of famed Western author Zane Grey.
The Rim rises up to 9,000 feet, with much of the land beneath the dramatic sandstone and limestone cliffs and canyons laying at an easier 4,000 or 5,000 feet. The area is green and well watered, with the hills and cliffs being dominated by forests of Ponderosa pine, and offers a cool summer retreat. While summer temperatures in the 90s sound high to some people, its dry heat, and the Arizona lowlands get routinely over 100 degrees.
While the Mogollan Rim’s roads offer scenic drives, and its many lakes are home to fishers and boaters, the more active will want to get up into the hills and go for a hike.
At Just Roughin’ It we’re a fun-loving company that will come out to any major city in Arizona, pack up a group, and take them on a custom-made trek into the woods of the Rim. It’s one of our complete, easy hiking or backpacking packages complete with transportation, great gear, and an awesome guide!
All you need to furnish is your own shoes, clothes, and your camera, and all starting at $139 per person. As a custom-made trip, it can be scaled up to a multi-day trek that goes up and over the highest, most rugged parts of the Rim, or down to an easy-going walk in the woods for the day.
A big part of the advantage of hiking the Mogollan Rim country with one of the Just Roughin’ It guides is that you have an expert, who knows not only the trails, but also the local lore. Do you want to find a good-but-isolated fishing creek, or watch a grazing herd of elk? We’ll make sure we send you with the right guide. If you love botany and gardening, then ask for someone who can show you the difference between the Sierra Madre plant life in the lowlands, and the Rocky Mountain flora up on the top of the Rim.
The thing about wilderness adventures is that with the right guide and the right plan, they can be geared around any age, any fitness level, any group, and almost any interest.
With a good guide up front, even a tenderfoot will see marvels and have a fantastic time!
Credits: Photograph by Alan Levine
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