High Country

High Country runs across the eastern uplands of Arizona, the elevated forest country where the Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains rise above the desert lowlands. Elevations range from about 5,000 feet at Globe and Payson to over 11,000 at Mount Baldy near the New Mexico line. The terrain is ponderosa pine forest, mixed conifer at higher elevations, and the steep escarpment of the Mogollon Rim. Apache, Gila, and Greenlee counties cover the region. Anchor towns include Payson in the western Mogollon country; Springerville, Eagar, and St. Johns on the White Mountains plateau; Globe and Miami in the copper-mining belt; Clifton and Morenci in Greenlee. Petrified Forest National Park sits at the eastern edge; Apache-Sitgreaves and Tonto National Forests cover most of the public land; the Coronado Trail Scenic Byway runs from Springerville south. Trips here lean seasonal-cool: trout fishing on the Black and Little Colorado rivers, hiking the Rim, mountain-biking out of Pinetop-Lakeside, and skiing at Sunrise Park Resort. Summer is strongest — the high elevations stay 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix.