/out/ — What's so special about Appalachia?

>>2867132 (OP)
They aren't. The people who think they are great have just never been anywhere else.

>>2867134
Eh, I haven't spent a lot of time outside the eastern US, but I have visited the western US and Europe, and Austria was very pretty, don't get me wrong, and Oregon had some nice parts, but Appalachia has nice canyons and rivers and you can get above them looking down.

I had a nice hike last week where you sort of meander around a mini-gorge (you can take steps to the bottom if you wish but the waterfall was mostly dry), and eventually get to an overlook of the main river it flows into. The trail was in crappy shape (overgrown/narrow) but it was still a nice experience. I assume trails are probably in better shape in Europe and western America.

>>2867134
Tbh I see a lot of that on this board. They've never gone anywhere so they think that the Appalachians are the only /out/ place in existence. It's kind of sad but that's their life I guess. Personally my top states are Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Wyoming, Montana.

>>2867132 (OP)
99.9% of /out/ has been outside less than 10 times this year so take a wild guess at how many went outside AND abroad

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I agree there are plenty of nicer places in the world in terms of grand views and pure mountains. But I'll never not love Appalachia. Such variety of habitat even if it's shades of the same greater ecosystem you can feel the differences as you go north south

There isn't that much temperate deciduous forest in the world let alone much where you can still (while difficult) find true old growth trees. Would have loved to see her in her prime though before the chestnut blight and fauna removal

>>2867175
there's a decent amount of old growth left, but, much of it is on private land, OR, is hard to access, if they left the trees, it's probably because they were difficult to get to so it will be difficult for you to get to those trees too

but you do get a neat effect where if you have a 200-300 ft deep gorge you can have old growth trees growing out of the bottom and reaching the upper rim of the gorge which looks pretty neat irl

I just like it.

>>2867132 (OP)
Lots of rednecks live there do people glazing them are probably hicks who have never travelled more than 100 miled away from their hometown.

>>2867567
The hicks are merely incidental to the enjoyment of the natural beauty of the land.

>>2867567
>never travelled more than 100 miles away from their hometown.
Isn't that most Americans? You're a statistical outlier if you even live more than 50 miles from where you were born.

>>2867567
The hicks dont glaze it. They know its actually shit to live there and generally dont care about the land beyond what they can hunt on it. Its people from dc who only go there as tourists and have a rose colored view

>>2867573
You know you can not think it is some utopian paradise to live in, AND appreciate the specific scenic attractions found there?

Appalachia worship is eastern cope. They are mostly puny and ugly.

>>2868275
No mountain is truly ugly. They're like women. I'd rather cuddle an "ugly" woman than see a beautiful one on the internet and I'd rather hike "ugly" mountains than see beautiful ones on the internet.

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the point of appalachia is that they are a real home and community that lots of people put huge effort unpaid time into protecting even the littlest hikeing trails and streams. even though its marketed as an adventure area, like a must see attraction, its mostly appreciated by the poeple who spend decades exploring their local enviorment. not the people who go on week trips to different parts across the globe to just see tops of high mountains. no one really lives IN the Rockies, its for visitors, but people really do live IN appalachia

>>2868360
cope

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>>2868363

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>>2867132 (OP)
Because Northeasterners who live in concrete jungle don't have much option unless they want to fly across the country to see something worthwhile

>>2868360
I can drive an hour out of Toronto and take a picture like this

>>2868360
someone needs to clean up the overlooks

>>2868372
the southeast actually has the largest population within a few hours drive of mountains

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>>2868373
this was a 10 minute drive from my house, you park at the river which you can fish or swim in, have some beers with friends, secluded from road noise and other people because you're in a dense forest or you can do the 20 minute hike up on the AT to that spot. and there is no one but locals there and people who care about its preservation, not just pics for Instagram, no city people or """"foreigners""""". I went there after work all the time just to chill. the only time it gets even some vistors is when a bubble of AT hikers comes through but atleast those people also generally care about preservation and tend to be more relaxed

>I can’t enjoy the outdoors unless it’s in a bleak, treeless wasteland of rocks that overlooks more rocks
Truly low IQ take

>id rather go to a national park crowded with Asian tourists
Appalachia makes up 14% of the US. It spans 13 states and is ten times the size of Croatia. A fuckton of people live near it. Some of it is fantastic, some of it is ass. You’re stupid for thinking it’s a singular place.

>>2867566
This is correct.

I live in Oregon btw. We have mountains here. But if you can’t just fuck off into the woods for a few days and have a blast then you should consider suicide.

>>2867175
>looks at South Dakota
best /out/ place because you can be a wildlife expert after an hour of studying

>>2868293
heavily foliaged and round mountains are like women that are fat, stink and don't shave

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>>2868360
There are people who live in mountains much more impressive than Appalachia

>>2867132 (OP)
East coast if for people who actually are about nature (naturalists, ecologists, etc). Hub of biodiversity.

West coast is for tech bros to post IG pictures. It’s pretty but not interesting everywhere looks the same. Not a lot of ecosystem diversity

>>2868843
>communities situated in actual wilderness confuses and infuriates the europoor
kek.

my HECK I am in appalachia right now
sadly gonna be 90 tomorrow

>>2869008
is there anywhere to post outdoor photos that isn't instagram?
I hate the owners and the "walled garden" concept where you have to be logged in to view content

>>2867132 (OP)
the name sounds very magical

>>2869029
In Bieszczady (Polish mountains) and Mazury (Polish lake region) there are villages with less than 100 people located 10-25 km away from nearest small town. I would say these villages are placed in actual wilderness but they're usually considered good places for tourists and shitty places to live in because of very limited job options and the fact that your children need to go said 10-25 km to the nearest school and despite having only a few buses a day if any.

But at least these villages are quiet and isolated... Well, unless it's July or August and you get flooded with tourists. I remember seeing a village with 40 people completely filled up with a few hundred tourists' cars.

So thanks but I'd rather live in a normal town a few km away from mountains

>>2868360
This. The mystique of Appalachia isn't the /out/, it's that it's one of the only distinct cultures in the US and it's a pretty cool one at that.

>>2869227
ehhhh I wouldn't discount the river views
the ones where you look down the length of a river and there's cool shaped hills on either side are my favorite I could hike those every week and never get bored, there's so many different rivers in appalachia to explore, not all get that canyon-y but the little river canyons can be nice too esp the 100-200 ft ones that you can get all to yourself if you go somewhere remote

>>2869227
how do you access the culture if you don't know the locals?
you have to time it to go to a festival or open house or an event of some sort
unless you are kinfolk you are just an observer
it's tribalist as heck

>>2869253
>unless you are kinfolk you are just an observer
Yes, which is precisely how it has survived being distinct. Some things you just get to read about, and occasionally be a guest into if you make it a goal.

>>2869254
my goal is to try to meet people here at least 2-3 times
I think once you keep coming back and show you are interested in the area, they become more friendly

I had a local offer to take me up to the 911/comm tower he has a key to because there's a nice view up on the ridge, and i came back and told him i had done a hike he suggested (that was hard af and I puked my guts out after hiking 1000 ft up took 6 hours struggling over piles of fallen leaves no trail for most of it)

but, first and foremost, I'm here for the nature, and the people are secondary
if you feel the need to have everyone be subservient and fawning towards you, go to southeast asia with the others

>>2869255
>my goal is to try to meet people here at least 2-3 times
>I think once you keep coming back and show you are interested in the area, they become more friendly
I think you're one of the good ones. Love to see this attitude towards going out. Keep it up anon

>>2869256
I was browsing boomer facebook groups for the area I'm visiting (nwpa) and it seems like a lot of them miss what things used to be like and do support fixing up the recreational areas here, but funding has been low, and stays low because conservatives want to not spend money on public amenities. I think Appalachia is a huge fountain of untapped recreational potential, but you have to ix things up, but in a way that's delicate and conscientious. You don't want it overcrowded, but you also don't want it so rugged nobody visits because the views are obstructed and the roads are falling apart.

>>2869257
>a lot of them miss what things used to be like
but none of em is ready to vote for what's necessary to actually go back to the way it was

>>2870901
I'd like it to be nicer than it was before with easier access and less crazy roads and better signage. They will have a bunch of guys doing bullshit like trimming the hedges while the visitors center is closed and the parking lot is crumbling.

the simple fact is that i don't care how far it is above sea level, it's best when the forest is right next to the sea and it becomes an estuary or cove that you can enhance your hiking trip with by steaming mussels and bathing in clean salt water that fully changes twice daily due to tides. then you can go out to the actual mountains, which while not being very high, is basically a low-grade level of rock climbing that gets harder in the rain that often happens and scrubs the air so you get a fresh wet pine smell. then there's a small clean running water within easy walking distance of your camp and you don't have to worry much about an animal attacking you at night. what is the problem with new england? also the great smoky mountains seem like the dankest ecosystem on earth

>>2868360
>no one really lives IN the Rockies
Are you really that stupid? or is this bait?

One of the oldest ranges on the planet, and you feel the sprit when you're out there. The Appalachian trail mogs all others. Pct is full of leftists and forest fire smoke, no water.

>>2867132 (OP)
there is potable water everywhere. its why casuals can hike the entire AT if they the free time.

>>2871066
Yeah its bait. East cope posting is hilarious to me.

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>>2867175
It is claimed that this section of the Etowah River in Dawson County, Georgia has the most biodiversity on Earth but I'm a bit skeptical.

>>2871564
>the most biodiversity on Earth
>a bit skeptical
only a bit? be smarter

>>2867132 (OP)
it's one of the few areas left in the US that is not completely, absolutely overrun with nons. like so many nons that it would make someone alive in the early 1900's wonder what in the absolute fucking FUCK happened to their country. has it become a zoo? will it ever be fixed?
how did it happen, surely it was intentional. has god abandoned us? is this hell?

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>>2871607

>>2871608
i'm older than you.

>>2869029
By definition if there is a community it is not wilderness. Even if you just mean surrounding wilderness, appalachia doesnt actually have that much outside of NY

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>>2871607
These are states with most black people

>>2871610
>unlikely
not an excuse

>>2871621
Sorry I insulted your heckin' diversity fetish. I'll endeavor to be more inclusive in the future

>>2871622
>not being a retard is a fetish
is that boomer cope?

>>2871625
why do you like brown people so much, just asking.

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>>2871626
I mostly listen to nigga music

>>2871626
I only like purple people