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Not that I like reviving old topics, but I saw this and felt compelled to reply.
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Originally Posted by MONSTERMTNS
The Appalachians blow the Rockies away! First a fact that few know..The Appalachians although shorter in elevation than the over sensationalized Rockies and Serria Neveda's are actually more lofty..This statement may confuse you..however when a person looks at a mountain the elevation no matter how high is not what impresses the beholder..It is the actually size of the mountain or mass that rises above the surrounding landscape..
I'm not sure about the Rockies, having only visited once, but I can say that this is patently untrue of the Sierra Nevada. While the western slope of the Sierra rises gradually, the eastern slope is incredibly dramatic. In some places, it gains 11,000 feet in only a few miles. Other ranges in CA have similar elevation gains, including the White Mountains (White Mountain Peak), the Panamint Range (Telescope Peak), and the Cascades (Mount Shasta.)
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Take Colorado's most so called lofty(tall ) peak Mt. Elbert which is nearly 15,000 ft tall..Sounds impressive, however the base elevation of Mt. Elbert is already nearly 11,000ft so the viewer is actually only beholding little over 4,000ft or so of Mt.Elbert or to put it bluntly mount Elbert is really only 4,500ft Mtn...So Mountains "real" lofty Peaks like North Carolina's Mt. Mitichell 6684( tallest mtn in the east) which shows 4,500 ft of itself(matching Colorado's tallest peak in visible hieght) or NC's Mt. Clingmans dome and TN 's Mt Leconte which show more than 5000ft of pure mountain bulk( and there are hundreds of mountains like this in the Apps like in North Carolina, TN and NH).. These mountains either nearly match or dorf most the mountians in the entire rocky mountain chain in the lower 48 states . Not to mention that I could go on about the endless variety of flora ans fauna that the appalachians are covered in compare to the bla unfinished and and sparce variety of flora the rockies are in lack of..The Rockies are beautiful yet unfinished still developing however the appalachians are a spectacular finished work of God's art! A complete settled, vast expanse of awe striking wilderness..
The mountains in CA have some pretty incredible wilderness as well, including the tallest, oldest, and most massive living things in the world, bear, mountain lion, elk, and pronghorn, as well as some of the tallest waterfalls in North America. Nothing against the Appalachians, but it's pretty nice out here too.
I voted for the Rockies. There is nothing like the beauty of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, the mountains of Glacier National Park or the wildlife of Yellowstone. Speaking of wildlife the Rockies has mountains goats, Bighorn sheep, etc. that the Appalachians does not.
Still I have to mention that the Appalachians are right where we need them - near some of the most crowded parts of the country. First there is the wild lake and mountains country of the Adirondacks and the Maine wilderness. Then there is the Great Smoky National Park down south - the most visited National Park in the system I believe. Finally there is the Poconos, Catskills, Berkshires, and the Blue Ridge - all not far from the big cities.
The Rockies are the greatest - but thank god we also have the Appalachians!
I like the Rockies better. Sure, the Appalachians are more accessible for me and have some things to do, but the Rockies are higher, they have snow one the top, they get more snow, you can do more, and all in all, they provide more to do. There are more places to sky, rapids, river rafting, higher mountains to climb.
Rockies. I have been to both many times and the Rockies just "speak" to me more.
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