Introduction

[Pointman]

I would like to introduce myself. I have been watching this site for a month or so. I am a long time backpacker now retired from the Army and living in Dothan Al. During my Army time, I had the opportunity to backpack (civilian side) in many cool places including Alaska, a number of California locations (e.g. Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite), the AT, other Smoky Mountain trails, Cheaha area and many others. The Army had me spend a lot of time with a backpack in many other locations since I served in Light Infantry, Airborne and Ranger units. Sometimes I wondered why I would want to return from a 3 week field problem and leave to backpack a day later. I really enjoy my time in the woods.

Since the Army had me twice serve on College campuses and I had taught wilderness skills when I was in college at Auburn, I also taught wilderness skills, backpacking classes, orienteering, climbing, rappelling, and survival techniques at 2 other colleges. Hopefully I helped others learn to enjoy backpacking and outdoor activities.

During my Alaska time, I became interested in dogsled racing and raced in pro classes for 7 years. I put backpacking on hold and spent my time outdoors with dog teams in some great places. My team is now old (I only have 3 left and the oldest will be 16 in 2 weeks) and they live in an air conditioned kennel at my house. I considered retiring back to Alaska and racing fulltime but decided to return to my home state. I was sure when I retired from the Army and moved to Dothan I had the best dog team in the Alabama.

During the past couple of years I have begun backpacking again and have taken several AT trips, Pine Mountain trips, Torreya in Florida, and Providence Canyon both solo and with my family. I recently completed a 37 mile solo trip on the AT from Dick’s Creek Gap to Neels Gap during Thanksgiving week. The weather was a little interesting since I started at 14 degrees and saw snow, sleet, and considerable rain the third day. I cut my planned trip short and shuttled from Neels Gap back to Amicalola Falls State Park since I decided being warm and home for Thanksgiving was better than climbing Blood Mountain in a snow storm. My pictures are posted here:

http://www.whiteblaze.net...ember&imageuser=17669

I guess I am learning more about the fine line between hard and stupid.

I also have been doing some canoeing and kayaking and I am interested in doing more of that since there are many close water trails to Dothan. I also think I would be interested in helping with trail maintenance when I can.

Thanks for letting me introduce myself and I am looking forward to seeing some of you on the trails. I am interested in venturing into some of the places you guys are discussing that I have not yet been. I want to thank Ednotmilkman for recommending this site to me. Since folks have been saying things are too quiet around here maybe this long post will not bore you.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Welcome to Alatrails!

[cwhiker]

Welcome to Alatrails Pointman

[montysano]

Welcome, Pointman!

I didn't see any mention of the Sipsey in your list.  If so, you should work to remedy that.  I've done my share of backpacking in the Smokies and up on the Cumberland Plateau, but the Sipsey is IMHO the most magical place I know of.  Plus, there are 1 mile hikes in the Sipsey that will whip you more than a day on the AT!

[Pointman]

Sipsey is a place I am interested in. Hopefully I can plan a trip there soon.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Welcome, Pointman!

I didn't see any mention of the Sipsey in your list.  If so, you should work to remedy that.  I've done my share of backpacking in the Smokies and up on the Cumberland Plateau, but the Sipsey is IMHO the most magical place I know of.  Plus, there are 1 mile hikes in the Sipsey that will whip you more than a day on the AT!

The walking is frequently like this: /, only not uphill. V8 commercial, anybody?

[MoBill122]

Pointman....

  Was wondering if we crossed each others trail Thanksgiving weekend.  I met Sir Peealot and his son, Grasshopper on top of Cowrock Mountian. Grasshopper didn't seem to be enjoying the nice wet weather of the weekend !  lol

[Nalgene Ninja]

Welcome Pointman!

[jedbear]

Welcome home Pointman,
And, War Eagle!
You seem to have much to share with fellow hikers and those interesting in our sport. With such a diverse
background, you hold knowledge that is in demand. Would you consider sharing some of your experiences
with those of like minds at various conferences and programs in Alabama?
You live close to a trail in the making at Geneva State Forest. It is nearly finished lacking one more bridge.
Afterwards, fine-tuning of the treadway will need volunteers. Perhaps you would find this of interest.

                          jedbear

[Graceless]

Welcome Pointman.(were you a point man?) and LOL about the dog team .

[Pointman]

MoBill122:

Was wondering if we crossed each others trail Thanksgiving weekend.

I guess it was possible. I went fairly long distances without seeing anyone which I believe was due to weather. Grasshopper was not taking the weather very well when I saw them. They seemed very nice folks. The boy scout group I saw was really wet.

jedbear:

Would you consider sharing some of your experiences with those of like minds at various conferences and programs in Alabama?

Yes, I would consider sharing. I have done several of these type of things in the past. PM me if you have something in mind. I am interested in the Geneva State Forest trail and would be happy to help if I can work it into my schedule.

Graceless:

were you a point man?

I spent some time early in the Army as a point man. I learned a lot doing that and walking as the compassman. As I gained rank, I rarely was up front.

[Rigormortis]

Welcome to AlaTrails.  I see you cover your pack with a orange vest, this is a very good idea during hunting season.  While hiking the Appalachian Trail I have encountered many hunters near the trail which was a bit scary.   

[PastorLarryT]

WELCOME to AlaTrails and the Wiregrass, Pointman!
Looking forward to your input here.

[Lesley]

Glad to have you! I look forward to your perspectives on stupid vs. hard.  I myself am fond of the hard way until Matt points out that it's stu.....maybe not very well thought out 

[Woody]

Don't know how I missed this one when it started  but just wanted to say welcome! The more the merrier 

[McDowra]

Welcome!!!!

[todd150hp]

hey, wow good to have someone with such an impressive outdoor skill set. Another bonus I think your one of the few on here from the southeast corner of the state. I get envious of all the folks on here with their quick trips to the Sipsey etc.. I moved to Lee County 7 years ago from Talladega county and have been unhappy with the cramp that put on the amount of hiking I get to do ever since. Now if I wake on Sat. morning and decide to go for a quick bping trip its a 2.5 hour drive to Cheaha instead of just 30 min. Sipsey is 4.5 hours drive for me. Anyway, maybe we can carpool sometime.

[Chris]

Good to see retired Army. I have been in for only 6 months. Welcome!

And, War Eagle!

36-0 is all I have to say.

Roll Tide!

[Rylan]

WOW Pointman, what a bio!!  Thanks for the pictures.  Do you have any from your Alaskan adventures?  I'd love to see those.  If you do any speaking or workshops nearby I want to know about them too, particularly wilderness skills.  But let me know about any outdoor oriented education you're up to and I'll bring it up on the podcast.  Maybe we can help spread the word.  Dothan isn't far from Auburn.  If you find yourself up here on a Thursday evening then Golden and I have a cigar waiting for you.  We'd love to include you in one of our podcasts.  Lesley joined us once and she brought a really nice fella but his name escapes me now??

War Eagle!
(even though football isn't going very well lately and we have an extra dose of college town drama)