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JamesJM
Caribou Mountain, is that on the Appalachian Trail?
I have hiked... ummmmm, 3 hikes on sections of the Appalachian trail... very SHORT sections. Maybe 20-25 miles all three hikes combined and only one an 'over-nighter'. None of them I would consider in the true 'wilderness' areas of the trail.
So I know very little about the trail except what I've read... but the photos, if you google it, are stunning. So very different than the Sierra Nevadas.
The Appalachian Trail seems a lot more forested to me. Not just trees, which is similar, but the undergrowth. Obviously the mountains are far more 'rounded' than the Sierra Nevadas which have many sheer granite monoliths.
If you have hiked in Maine love to hear about it. - JamesJM
We hiked in the Maryland section.
These days, I spend a lot of time on the Blue Ridge Mountains, via the Parkway (in Virginia). Very different kinds of mountains from the West. You are right. Very green. Though, this year, the green got a bit of a late start. Not sure why. But, wow, is it green now! So beautiful. Thick, rich forests, and tons of blooming flowers of great variety. And bears. I saw a young one by the roadside a week or so ago, with several cars stopped to watch as well. For the first time in ages, we have bear warnings in the picnic areas and by the overlooks. Bobcat sightings too.
I also love the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge. Mountains are taller and wider, in general, than in the Virginia section. Grandfather Mountain being among the highest. Tons of biodiversity. Among the most in the country.
(I lived in Boone, NC for a time and got my second university degree there)
James, you really should take a trip along the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge Parkway is free. The Skyline Drive (Virginia) costs roughly $15 for the day, I believe. But there are free park days for that, too.
Really, really beautiful.
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