Appalachian Summits - From Ashland-Lineville to Frederick
One of the most renowned, and far-reaching, regions of the United States, the Appalachian Mountains are notable for the individual forms within the chain of peaks and also for the history that they helped to forge. One of the oldest mountain systems in the United States at 480 million years in age, the Appalachians are physically subdued compared to younger American ranges like the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies, but they are nevertheless aweinspiring, and in some cases imposing, and even evocative.
Appalachian Summits explores this chain of peaks through an itinerary anchored by the high points of a number of Appalachian States. Beginning in the southern reaches of the mountain range, this journey visits Alabama's Cheaha Mountain, Georgia's Brasstown Bald, Tennessee's Clingmans Dome, North Carolina's Mount Mitchell (the highest point in the Appalachians), Virginia's Mount Rogers, Kentucky's Black Mountain, West Virginia's Spruce Knob, Maryland's Hoye-Crest, and Pennsylvania's Mount Davis. The flight also visits areas around these high points, landmarks both well-known and also less travelled.
Assistance on the trip will be available in the form of a 'Back on Track' button on the VFR Map -- however, be advised that using this will disable achievements tied to the activity.
Total Legs: 13 Total Distance: 812 Total Time(125kts): 6 hours 29 minutes
Leg 1
Ashland-Lineville to Richard B Russell Regional - J
Leg Distance: 82.05 Approximate time at 125kts: 39 minutes.
Ashland-Lineville(26A) to Cheaha Mountain(POI1)
Distance: 12.07NM Bearing: 5° 6 minutes
After lifting off from Ashland-Lineville Airport, head due north, toward a ridge of verdant, rolling mountains that culminates at the 2,413-foot-high Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in the state of Alabama. This is near the southernmost extremity of the Appalachians, where they appear more as hills as they do mountains.
Cheaha Mountain(POI1) to Jacksonville(POI2)
Distance: 19.79NM Bearing: 10° 9 minutes
Pass over the city of Oxford and then another small range of peaks to reach the small city of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville(POI2) to Piedmont(POI3)
Distance: 10.37NM Bearing: 53° 5 minutes
Follow Alabama State Route 21 to the town of Piedmont.
Piedmont(POI3) to Weiss Lake(POI4)
Distance: 15.61NM Bearing: 8° 7 minutes
North of Piedmont lies Weiss Lake, at 30,200 acres, it is the sixth largest lake in Alabama, and can be seen from the air for over one hundred miles.
Weiss Lake(POI4) to West Rome(POI5)
Distance: 18.66NM Bearing: 76° 9 minutes
Turn to the northeast, following the Coosa River, which leads into Weiss Lake, into Georgia and the city of West Rome.
West Rome(POI5) to Richard B Russell Regional - J(KRMG)
Distance: 5.55NM Bearing: 50° 3 minutes
Land at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport, northeast of West Rome.