Originally posted by Jackal1
Another Texas expert that knows very little about Texas as a whole I presume.
* Guadalupe Peak 8,749
* Bush Mountain 8,631
* Shumard Peak 8,615
(list of peaks across Texas).....
Originally posted by JB88
if you don't mind driving for an eternity across the flat of the world to the part of texas they call southern new mexico. its wayyyyyy over there.
look at a map ifluff'n ya don't believe me.
Peak elevations are not the whole story either. There is the Prominence of the peaks and how high do they rise over the surrounding terrain on average? 8,000 feet may sound good, but if the surrounding topography is around 5,000 --- it's not that great.
Guadalupe Peak, Tx Elevation = 8,749 feet. Prominence = 3029 ft. Unsure of average for local topology elevation, but most of the base of the Guadalupe Mountains (probably the best in Texas, on the New Mexico border) run between 4,000 and 5,000 feet elevation.
By contrast the Front Range at Colorado Springs is 6,035 feet (officially), 12 miles west stands 14,110 foot Pikes Peak (Prominence = 5,510 ft, over 8,000 feet above Colorado Springs) --- a bit of vertical distance involved.
All kind of a moot point in the end: If your thing is Mountains in the States, then the destination should not be Texas. New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and probably to a lesser degree Washington, Oregon, and northern California are all better destinations for mountains. The lower Appalachian and Smoky Mountains in the east also rate well, especially when subject to fog, and the ease of driving/riding through those mountains. Very different experience than the Rocky Mountains.
Rolling hills like East Texas, Kentucky, the Dakotas, southern Ohio, all worth a look, but much different that peaks.
