The Sawtooths, Driftless, Ozarks or Quachita? (live in, best, areas)
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Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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So everybody knows about the Appalachian and Rocky mountain ranges, the two dominant mountain ranges of North America. However, lying in the Midwestern US and part of the western south are a few lesser known low-mountain ranges/hill country.
In the upper Midwest sit the eastern Sawtooths (not to be confused with the much more popular Idaho Sawtooths) in Minnesota and the Michigan UP, as well the Driftless area that escaped glaciation more than once, shared by Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.
In the lower Midwest and western south sit the Ozarks and Quachita mountains. The Ozarks are admittedly the best known of these four regions, but shockingly they are often forgotten in conversation these days. The Ozarks sit in Missouri, (a tiny bit of) Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, with the neighboring Quachita shared between Arkansas and Oklahoma.
With the Midwest generally being defined as flat, these areas go relatively un-noticed by the general public.
So here's the question; whether you just learned about these places now or knew about them previously (perhaps personally), which do you personally prefer the natural beauty of? Or in general, which region do you feel provides the best hunting/fishing or even home-lifestyle?
I personally believe they are all fairly comparable in both landscape and obscurity, and more or less wished to bring them up.
As a backpacker who lived in Missouri for 4 years, my vote goes to the Ouachitas. They are more prominent than the Ozarks and imo more beautiful. The Eagle Rock Loop in Arkansas is one of my favorite backpacking trails, and I’ve backpacked all over the country. Arkansas has some truly splendid areas.
The Driftless Area is interesting but very small. I’ve not been to the Sawtooths so I can’t comment.
Oh yeah, the Wichita Mountains. Perhaps the most interesting because you simply don't expect them to be there, in a place like that. Very unique area.
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