an introduction to arizona’s high deserts

finding some high elevation and cooler temperatures amidst the heat of the arizona desert

words and photos: trevor anderson

Just west of the New Mexico-Arizona border on the Colorado Plateau lie the White Mountains. The mountain range is a part of what is known as the ‘Arizona transition zone.’ This divide separates the low elevation desert in the south and southwest portions of the state from the higher elevation north and northeast sections. The White Mountains continue along this transition zone falling just east of the Mogollon Rim. Peaks in this mountain range reach 11,420’ providing a nice, cool summer destination for campers. 

The PLAN

Leaving early on a Friday morning in order to beat the heat of the lower lying desert towns in between Flagstaff and the White Mountains, we found our way to higher elevation and began exploring this completely new to me region. The White Mountain range is not an area I have heard much about. However, it really caught my attention while digging through some of the archived issues of Arizona Highways. While a lot of the state of Arizona is known for its dry deserts, there are plenty of pockets of water and cooler weather here and there if you are keen on doing a bit of searching. 

So after sifting through years - even decades worth of magazine articles, I had a relative idea of the places I wanted to check out. Although, things have changed a bit since the 1970s and there were a bit more people at some of my targeted locations than I would have hoped for, but hey - what can ya do?

Much of the White Mountain range falls inside the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. This region of the range does not operate the same way the rest of the area’s National Forest land does. While you are able to enter and recreate within the reservation, a permit is needed. There is a list of rules that must also be followed on the reservation, so do your research if you intend on spending time there. We unfortunately did not spend any time on the reservation on this trip, but I do hope to return to explore some of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. 

The rest of the ‘Public Land’ that resides in the White Mountain range is part of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

The RIGS

Like many of my travels, I’d be cruising in my 1985 Toyota Pickup. The weekend prior I had knocked a couple of maintenance things off my to-do list. The hot desert section around Holbrook would also serve as a great test of the new thermostat I swapped in. 

Camera wise, I’d be lugging around a handful of varying formats. I packed what I have found to be my favorite 35mm SLR, the Canon F-1 mounted with my favorite lens, the 50mm f/1.4. I also loaded up the exceptionally heavy Mamiya RB67 and even my digital Sony A7Rii which has spent most of its life on my desk with a macro lens on the copy stand for ‘scanning’ all of my film. Nevertheless, I was thankful to have brought it along so as to save a few bucks on film. And speaking of film, I shot 100% color negative film on this trip, putting through 5 rolls of varying speeds of Kodak Portra - all of my film is processed and scanned by myself.

Report:

After making our way into the White Mountain range and filling up the tanks we turned off the pavement onto a Forest Service road along the northern boundary line of the Blue Range Primitive Area. The route we took was incredibly scenic as it descended along the ridgeline above Clay Hunter Canyon but it was just getting too hot as we made our way down into the lower elevation. Although we did come across some running water in the Blue River at the bottom of Schoolhouse Canyon. 

After making our way back up and across to the west side of HWY 191 we eventually found an incredible camp along the top of an unnamed canyon several hundred feet above the Black River. We hung out around the camp, sitting on the edge watching the many Buzzards and Swallows - we even saw a Peregrine Falcon come and go a few times!

That first night was a cold one - well, at least colder than I had anticipated. Upon getting up in the morning my thermometer read 38 degrees. Probably not the best night to decide to leave the side doors of the tent open. And because I haven’t been able to get out for a night of camping since October (the longest I have gone without camping in years) I had forgotten that the zipper on my sleeping bag had broken, adding more discomfort to my chilly night. 

After a warm, and strong cup of coffee and some oatmeal we headed west all the way to the edge of the Mogollon Rim - one of the places that floored me while looking through the old Arizona Highway issues. There was one problem though - the people. The ‘Rim Road’ was like a freeway. After about two miles on the wide dirt road we pulled off to reassess the situation. We wanted to get onto the Arizona Backcountry Discovery Route, but after watching dozens of vehicles in the likes of everything from RVs to small sedans and even a semi-truck, we made the wise assumption that there was no way we would be finding a spot where we were intended to without being surrounded by people in their giant campers most likely with generators powering their TV sets, blenders and treadmills (I’ve seen it before).

The Backcountry Discovery Routes are created for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles, meaning that some sections might not be passable in a 4x4. Although I did study the map and the sections we were planning on crossing did look like they could be done in a truck.

After returning all the way back towards where we came from, we stopped in the town of Show Low to take another look at the map. We pinpointed a spot just outside the Fort Apache Indian Reservation back in the National Forest. While wheeling around the area we came across Greens Peak and made our way to the fire lookout tower on the 10,135’ summit. By this time it was starting to get a bit late in the day and we hadn’t had any lunch. During our descent of the peak we were able to get a bird’s eye view of a campsite surrounded by a small patch of healthy aspen trees. Luckily we found the spot unoccupied, and relatively clean and well looked after. It wasn’t long until sandwiches were being made on the tailgate and the beers were cracked. After the frustrating turn around we were forced to make at the Mogollon Rim this was a welcome alternative. I then pitched the tent and we hiked around taking photos until it got dark. 

I kept all of the gear to a minimum on this trip in order to keep the truck handling as well as possible. The custom drawer I built in the truck helped a lot in keeping everything organized and virtually dustless.

Thankfully that next morning was not as cool as the previous. We woke early and got straight to cooking up some breakfast burritos. Unfortunately because of our turn around the previous day, we didn’t have much of a plan for the day. With fires burning in the area south of us we decided to head towards Flagstaff in hopes of spending one final night under the stars. However, upon arriving in Flagstaff we ultimately decided on calling it and made our way home one day early. The fire at the northeast end of Flagstaff meant we weren’t camping over there, and the rest of the area can get pretty crowded during this time of year. 

All in all, the trip was a great introduction into this region. There are plenty more places I want to explore in the White Mountains and this three day trip made for a great test run of my current camping kit, especially after having not used any gear for several months.

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