I am a Western hiker, living my whole life in the Southwest. When I married my wife, we would visit her family about once a year, and we hiked a lot in the Appalachians generally along the VA-WV border. The differences (to me) were many, but subtle, and enjoyable.

Yes, everything is much much greener back east than out west. I also noticed that you hear more birds while hiking back east. Trailhead access seems to be a little easier also. Out west, trailheads sometimes are at the end of a 10-mile 4wd track that takes an hour alone to drive.

The surrounding "culture" seems to be supportive of hiking as a pastime (many of our hikes were near the AT). No one asks you if you "do this for fun" or "you're from the cell tower company" (or worse)

Certain tactics differ. Back east, it's not necessary to be hiking at dawn to beat the thunderstorms (usually).

I thoroughly enjoy our hikes in the VA/WV areas. But I do miss the long expansive views you get out west. When you get a long view back east, the distant hills fade into a bluish mush due to the humid air. In the west, you can see shadows on ridges 50 miles away.

Of course, out west, everyone is better looking, stronger and smarter.

The Sierra Nevada is not the only mountain hiking area in California. The Ventana Wilderness in the Santa Lucia range is about as different from the Sierra as the Sierra is from the Presidential range in New England. Ventana is near Big Sur, so has thick coastal vegetation. While not high altitude (its highest peak, Mt. Junipero Serra, is 5862') it is very rugged. Cone Peak, for example, is over 5100' high and only a little more than 5 miles from the ocean - so has an average gradient of nearly 20%, steeper than the east side of the Sierra. With the exception of one or two heavily used parks and trails it gets relatively little human traffic. Because the trails are so steep and rugged and the vegetation so thick, off trail travel is difficult and is serious bushwacking.

I knew this would be a firestorm thread from the get go........

DukeJH wrote:
My general impressions of east vs. west:
1. East trails are people trails: steep, rocky, and direct. West trails are generally longer, more gradual and maintained for stock.
2. East forests are much denser due to the wetter climate and the west is a desert. I recall descending Madison and being struck by how green everything was.
3. East trails are generally better signed with directions and mileages than west trails, with the exception of sections of the PCT and HST I've hiked.

I've luckily never bushwacked in the east but have had more than my fair share of time in willows, manzanita, and snowbush.

One other detail: in some areas, esp. the Pemigewasset, there was large-scale logging a century and more ago (note benches from logging rr construction]. Regrowth may look more or less old by now, but the density can be fearsome, with bushwhacks proceeding several feet off the ground on the branches.

aglane:

I had the opportunity to do timber stand improvement work in New Mexico to thin an area that had been clear cut and had grown back too densely. The 80 year old trees were 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

I've climbed the 100 highest mountains of New England as defined by the AMC, but my experience out west has been mostly limited to Utah. My 2 cents is that the trails in New England are an order of magnitude harder than the trails in Utah, most of which are suitable for horses. I have never seen an official trail in Utah that required the use of hands or had built in ladders. Signage in Utah tends to be poor and trail junctions are often not quite where shown on a map. The maps the AMC put out were always perfect. When we first moved to Utah we assumed that if a trail was marked on a map that a) it actually existed, b) it was where it was supposed to be, and c) you could tell whether or not you were on it. Well, we had a couple of serious navigation mishaps in the early days.

What I miss most about New England is the dense tree canopy. People back there used to complain that the Long Trail, for instance, was just a long green tunnel with no views, but I loved it! What I don't miss about New England are the black flies and mosquitoes. The Uintas have mosquitoes, but other areas of Utah have essentially none. I also don't miss the all day rains, the extreme cold in the winter, and the crowded trails. It is rare (as in hasn't happened yet this year) that I encounter another person while hiking outside of the Wasatch front or Kings Peak.

I haven't hiked enough in the Pacific Time Zone to know that area yet but I'll try to comment on some of the statements you made that do touch on topics I know a bit about. To some extent I'll just be corroborating what others have already said.

Using spray paint blazes is fairly common out east, but when you're on a trail in a green tunnel of trees having some way to verify which trail you are on is more helpful than worrying if someone feels their wilderness experience is being detracted from. The Appalachian Trail is blazed from Georgia to Maine, so you get used to blazes on trees or cairns or what have you.

I don't want to get into comparisons about numbers of people on the trails (west versus east) but I can say that it seems as though less people out west go into the mountains without a clue than out east. Both areas have their idiots but there seem to be a lot more idiots doing stupid things out east than out west and also, out east the dumb shit they do is somehow more idiotic. A woman from NYC tried to do a partial Presidential Traverse last winter as her initial trip into the Whites and paid for it with her life. On a lesser scope of stupid you'd be amazed how many neophytes end up on the trails saying "it gets dark out there once the sun goes down!"

Katadhin is a peculiar mountain. It's the closest you can come on the east coast to a mountain in Colorado.

Yeah, NH does have a lot of police officers. Per capita the most in the nation. They are mostly bored and speeding tickets are an acceptable way to pass the time. On the other hand break ins at cars parked on trail heads are rare, and the penalties if caught are harsh.

Yeah the black flies suck, but they end their activities after sunset and mostly don't bite if you're inside a structure or even a tent.

Overzealous concerned citizens telling hikers from Colorado that they don't know what they are doing on Mount Washington, Adams, Katahdin or wherever are just misinformed. Some people out east aren't well traveled and don't know that someone who has done Longs Peak isn't going to have trouble on Old Rag or anywhere in the Whites and they will find the altitude adjustment on Mitchell to be a joke. Our weather can be horrid and yes, it really can turn on a dime, but lightning is much less of a hazard out east than out west.

The difficulty of a bushwhack depends a lot more on rainfall totals than latitude or longitude. If you really want a hard core bushwhack there are a few canisters in the Catskills that seek your signature.

The cairns are there for a reason. Come here for a hike in winter and you'll know why. Or, if you're on Bear Mtn in CT, you'll understand that sometimes people just have a lot of time on their hands and plenty of rock to play with. I seem to recall a 'throne' area on a major trail in the Catskills that was just amazing.

Trailheads are easily accessible in both the Northeast and Southeast. Paved roads are the norm. I was in disbelief when I first walked up to Como Lake in Colorado and heard that satanic pathway described as a four wheel drive road. When I drove to the Lily Lake TH for Lindsey I realized I needed to start paying more attention to the difficulty of the TRAILHEAD and not just the difficulty of the climb.

If you don't like stores with amenities on the trail avoid the Shenandoah National Park that has Skyline Drive running through it. Pikes Peak is very similar to Mount Washington with regards to the toll road. It's busier on top of Pikes though.

The Northeast has small islands of area above 4000 feet. The Southeast has massive areas above 4000 feet but the trailheads rarely start below that, unlike the Northeast.

Every place has its own local flavor, find what you enjoy and exploit it!

I spent most of my adult life out west (California, Washington Colorado, New Mexico) and now I live in the Appalachian Mountains.

Nothing can compare to the beauty of the High Sierra, and you'll never be able to convince me otherwise.

However, I will agree that every place has it's own particular form of beauty that must be appreciated. If I spent my time bitching and moaning abut how much I miss the High Sierra, I would have never fully explored and appreciated the wonderful mountains in my backyard.

Appalachian Mountains


Summit of Seneca Rocks