[at-l] Introduction (Read at own risk)

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

OK - I'll bite.

I've been here since 1995.  That makes me older than dirt.  Trained on 
rec.backcountry, lived through the Wingfoot era (including some time on atml 
- which was the predecessor to Trailplace), survived the gun, cell phone and 
umbrella wars, wrote the Thruhiking Papers - and I'm still here, although I 
don't participate as often now.  Partly due to medical problems, partly 
because there's rarely enough hiking conversation here to keep my interest.  
But I'm still here.  There are people (a LOT of people) here that I love.

Happily married - have 3 kids (all grown) and 3 grandchildren.  The 
grandchildren are future hikers - I'm making them their own hiking sticks 
for Christmas.  We live near Washington, DC - much too close to the fire, 
much too far from real hiking.  But we still log 500 - 600 miles plus 5 to 8 
weekends of trail crew per year.

I started hiking in 1950 and found the AT in 1952 (Yeah - older than 
dirt!!).  Completed the AT through PA and NJ before I went off to college 
and then the Marines.  Ginny started hiking long before I met her and 
thruhiked the AT in 1988.  We met on the AT in 1992.  We've logged over 
15000 miles together in the last 12 years including 2 thruhikes (CDT and 
PCT) and most of the AT.  And we'll be thruhiking the CDT again in 2006 
(after I "retire").  Anyone want to join us?

After that, we've planned other diversions - like the Arizona Trail, the 
Great Divide Trail, the PCT and AT again, maybe the Bibbulman Track --- and 
others.  So many trails, so little time.

We're both thruhikers and section hikers - we'll hike anything that'll stand 
still long enough for us to scramble over it.

We've also written guidebooks for PA trails, served on the ALDHA Board, run 
CDT workshops, kept the Ruck going, and done trail construction and 
maintenance - among other things.  It's been a good 12 years.  And it's 
getting better.

In the meantime, we both still work fulltime - Ginny for a law firm, me as a 
NASA contractor.  But (as I've said before) that's just what we do - not 
what we are.  And we'll only be doing it for another 18 months.  Actually - 
less than 18 months now.  <VBG>

Y'all have a good weekend.

Walk softly,
Jim