#1: [11-Aug-01]

12-Sep-2026 -- As I was in the area teaching at Georgia Tech University and Auburn University, and as it had been since the end of May when I visited my last confluence point, and as all of these university workshops and meetings were focused on location and geotechnologies, I thought that a confluence visit would be the perfect capstone to the week. And so, after completing the writing of my next book in a hotel in Phenix City, I set out to visit 32 North 87 West.

I considered other points in the area, but as I had either visited them or they seemed to require too much time or permission, the only option was 32 North 87 West. I drove west on US 80, southwest on I-85, around Montgomery to US 80 again (I wanted to stop at the state capitol but time did not permit me to do so), then southwest on Alabama State Highway 21. Here is where things really got interesting--small towns such as Hayneville, but mostly green fields, forests, and rolling hills. After over 2 hours of driving, I slowed. At Snow Hill Cut Off Road, after pausing to photograph the abandoned commercial structure to the north of the state highway there, I set off south-southeast along the one lane track. I was disheartened at first to see some lights of a vehicle southwest of this junction from a car parked here: I was hoping to be alone. I did not have the landowner permission letter with me. But, the car stayed put and I drove very slowly on, past a few trailer homes and a large semi truck. I marveled how a semi truck could have made it down this road.

At the stopping point, about 30 meters south of 32 North, there was not much room to pull over, but the lot had been cleared to the east. Thus, I gingerly found a location with a few tires still on the roadway. I gathered my GPS and not much else. While driving to the site, I could not get a new reading on the GPS for quite awhile, so I stood in the field doing so for about 10 more minutes. Finally I had some satellites in view. The land was cleared but still offered many tripping hazards, so I took care in stepping. No signs were present to indicate that the owner would build there someday. Some would say this was an ordinary spot, but to a geographer this was a beautiful location with a short view off to the lower lands sloping off to the northeast. Admittedly it was a bit forlorn with the abandoned trailer off to the southeast. The day was very hot, still in the high 80s, early September, early afternoon; bright hazy day. I walked to the northeast edge of the cleared area and considered calling it good from there, as I was within 100 meters of the point. It was a peaceful spot; I saw no birds, people, or animals; just some humming of insects. I was just thankful a dog from one of the properties along the road was not bounding itself toward me.

During this visit, with each successive stop, I asked myself: Could I get any closer? My first stop was at the northeast end of the aforementioned cleared field. Looking beyond to the east and northeast, spread below me were the thorns and the vines and very thick vegetation. After finding a very faint break in the trees to the east southeast, I thought I could walk a few meters into the forest and take a reading there. Descending the piles of debris and soil mounded there was a bit of a challenge, and I stopped once again. Now that this was successfully accomplished, and I was unharmed, I continued, roughly and very slowly, thinking that perhaps I could get to 87° West and take a reading from there. Successfully accomplishing this a few minutes later, but what seemed like longer, I then walked downhill to the north to see how close I could get to 32 North. I had to make numerous backtracks due to impenetrable vines and thorns, at times crawling on my knees.

Given the very heavy tree and shrub cover, I was surprised to be able to zero out the GPS unit. I took photos and posted a video, at this location on my Our Earth channel. I thought getting back to the field would be easier, but it proved even thornier, requiring numerous backtracks and resulting in scrapes. Fortunately I saw no snakes and there were minimal bugs; I was hoping no ticks were here. After what seemed like a long time, but more likely it was 10 minutes later, I arrived at the cleared field. I hiked to the abandoned trailer to the south of the field and took a few more photos, and a video as I drove north-northwest down the lane, available here. To sum, the point lies in heavy timber, probably not old growth forest, but perhaps had been all cleared in the past, multiple times, and sloping rather steeply off to the northeast. All in all, this point could have been a lot more difficult, if it lay deeper in the forest in any direction or else was in someone's backyard. I was amazed that no one has logged a visit here for 25 years.

I have visited 32 North several times, from Texas on the west to Georgia on the east. I have also stood on 87 West many times from Michigan on the north to 31 North 87 West just to the south of here, in 2005, on the Alabama-Florida border. This was my first Alabama confluence in about 7 years and I was glad to be back. I have most of the state's points visited with just a few more to go. These points are either in water, or on private forest clearance leased land, and so I might not ever visit them. Thus I was doubly thankful to be here, thinking about the Indigenous people and the settlers and surveyors who have lived here in the past, and the hardy souls who remain, who live on Snow Hill Short Cut Road today.

Mission accomplished, I drove northeast toward Auburn University where I attended my very first college football game, so I could watch the university's amazing marching band. Get out there and explore!