I just love this forum with a place for old timers. Geezer, your note brought back a lot of memories along with many others.

My dad got me out in the hills of West Virginia at a very early age. He had a 6th grade education and joined the Army as soon as he could to get out of the coal mines. Career in mind with the army, but he ended it after WWII, I think he had 10 years in when he got out. We packed into the woods with canvas backpacks from the Army for much of my youth.

Then came Scouting. I used my canvas Army backpack, Army canteen, mess gear and so on for many years. Growing up in West Virginia I had an outstanding scoutmaster, we never hiked an established trail. We'd blaze new trails using a hatchet to mark trees on two sides. Rev Barber, a Baptist minister, and an excellent scoutmaster, knew his way around the woods and how to enjoy some time in the wilderness.

My wife and I began camping out in about 1967. I was in the Navy at the time and had a good buddy and his wife from Idaho who enjoyed the backcountry, the Rudy's. We packed in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine together we were stationed in Rhode Island. What a lot of fun, still using my US Army gear such as it was. Cooking by woodfires only. I remember one weekend far north in Maine when we woke up and the walls and roof of the tent were sagging in. I looked over and my wife was shivvering with tears in her eyes. So me and Kent, the guy from Idaho, got a fairly big fire going and got the girls warmed up. Lifelong memories that none of the 4 of us will ever forget.

After getting out of the Navy I did my scoutmaster duty with several troops in Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Ohio. Moved up in equipment over these years to a frame backpack and better cooking devices, much better sleeping bags. My troops were trail blazers though as with my childhood scoutmaster Rev. Barber. We'd go to remote areas, study topos, and create a trail wherever we wanted to go. If you haven't done this, well, it can be a lot of fun.

Fast forward to the 2000's, getting older, mostly day hikes.

So along comes 2010, I retire from being a project manager. My wife is a schoolteacher and is trying to decide just when she will retire. We have a lot of fond memories in the backcountry and decide that we want to get back to being in the wilderness. Many dayhikes in the wilderness brings back the memories and frosts the cake.

We'd like very much to move to Idaho. Both of us think that today, backcountry backpacking begins at the Rockies. So we have been restructuring our backpacing equipment. We bought a North Face tent with plenty of room. ArcTerex backpacks. And all of the modern technology for backpacking. Right now we are planning adventures from June through the end of August. So the summer of 2011 is planned for a lot of adventure. Hope this forum has a lot of advice for trails we've picked out. Boy have we got some cool places to go. Wilderness areas in Idaho, Montana and Wyomoing have our attention.

2012 we'll head to Alaska. Who can resist? Hope I can stand the mosquitos.