List "Southeast 50 Finest Peaks (and contenders)" By wayfarer
Notes: A list of the 50 most prominent Southeastern peaks in the LOJ database. This list also includes all competing peaks. Virginia's Reddish Knob has 1997' of "clean" prominence and is in the error range to have over 2,000' of prominence.However, there are contending peaks to Reddish Knob and also Rocky Mountain that could potentially "steal" their prominence. Flagpole Knob has a slim chance of being more prominent than nearby Reddish Knob. And Rocky Mountain has several nearby contenders that include Bald Knob, Maintop Mountain, Mount Pleasant, and two areas on The Priest. Also, in North Carolina and Tennessee, Gravel Knob and Camp Creek Bald are contenders to nearby Green Ridge Knob for prominence leader. Hickory Knob, Propst Mountain, and Buzzard Roost are contenders to Icy Knob in North Carolina. Signal Bald is a contender with Tusquitee Bald. Georgia's two contending peaks of Big Bald Mountain and Rich Mountain compete with one another for #35 on the list. In West Virginia, Bald Knob and Cheat Mountain are contenders to Thorny Benchmark, though there is evidence to claim that Thorny wins. It is suggested that all be climbed to ensure having attained the true prominence peaks. Additionally, it should be pointed out that work by Edward Earl, Andy Martin, Ron Tagliapietra, and Greg Slayden has determined that there are an additional 11 peaks that have less "clean" prominence than any on this list but could possibly be more prominent than some of the peaks at the bottom of this list if they met their "optimistic" prominence. Those peaks are as follows: Signal Pole Hill, NC/TN; Pig Pen Bluff, NC; Little Black Mountain (Chunklick BM), KY; Mount Guyot, NC/TN; East River Mountain, VA; Bald Knob, VA; High Peak, NC; Holston High Point, TN; Yonah Mountain, GA; Mount Jefferson, NC; and Heard Mountain, VA.