Date: 2022-10-23
From: VA 42, Bear Garden Hostel

To: Lindamood Schoolhouse
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

Our adventure has been drastically changed by Baxter¢s injury. We are a family who does ¢together¢. We enjoy each other¢s company and are fueled by one another¢s energy. The idea to at we¢d split into 2 different teams is way out of the norm.Baxter and I really do enjoy one another. I¢m sure the trail crew would say the same about each other. But it is hard for he and I to not miss our trail friends.Thankfully, I think we are as prepared as we could possibly be for this new adventure. We have spent hundreds of summer road-trip days living out of our van. We¢ve also spent hundreds of nights camping and backpacking in the backcountry. We have (very recently) spent 140 nights thru hiking the AT together. All this ¢practice¢ has left us well prepared for this most-unlikely adventure.I am thankful for all that ¢practice¢.Joni is the hero of all this - the MVP. I know many families in which the father could, and would,live the van life with his kid for 6 weeks. I know many boys who would eagerly leave life and try the thru-hiking adventure. By contrast, I know only 1 or 2 moms who might be willing to hike 30+ days through 450 miles of mountainous forest with 2 of her sons. ¢No thanks¢, would be an understandable answer to the proposition. But, instead of folding, or finding an ¢easier¢ way to do this, she went all in and is really killing it. We are living reversed roles during these weeks and I¢m playing keep-up to her pacesetting.All in all, we are still having a great time. This is still a fun adventure with valuable lessons and lasting memories for all of us. The time we¢ve been able to spend as a family can¢t be matched in ¢normal¢ life. We¢ll keep to the plan and see this through to the end.Baxter and I, perhaps Grayson, too, get to come back next summer and do a long-distance hike again.The trail crew got off around 7:40 after what turned out to be a harried morning trying to get out of our little house. I squared up with Birdie in the bunkhouse at 8:00 and got directions to her church. Baxter and I planned on joining them in Bland for Sunday school and worship. He and I pulled out early in the van headed east on 42 towards Bland.As we got to town, Little Calves texted:¢Hey skipper, I have gotten some sort of tonsil infection that has progressed to the point that I can¢t eat solid foods, so I¢m heading to the nearest highway at Dickey Gap, VA650. Is there any chance you are close by, and could help me get to an urgent care?¢I called Birdie to let her know we wouldn¢t be at church and Baxter and I pointed the van south towards Dickey Gap - a 40ish minute drive east and south.We spent much of the day in Abingdon - after discovering the urgent care in Marion had closed - waiting for LC to be seen and diagnosed. Walmart, Subway, and a shady bench at Abingdon High School passed the time. We tried our hand at whittling using bars of Ivory soap and butter knives with satisfying results.LC got a prescription and elected to stay with us for the night at Lindamood School House. The pain in his mouth is getting worse and he¢s like to see if the antibiotics are able to make any progress in the coming hours before getting back in trail. The AT between Dickey Gap and Damascus turns south, away from the interstate and the towns of Marion and Abingdon. It would be a tough place to be stuck with an infection for 3 days.We arrived at Lindamood Schoolhouse about 4:45. The trail crew was there along with Twiglet. The schoolhouse is part of The Settlers Museum, a collection of farm buildings from the 1890s. The community of volunteers allows hikers to stay in the schoolhouse and camp in the adjacent yard. We set up tents and I started a pot of soup on the Coleman stove. We whittled, map-checked, and relaxed until the sun set and the stars shone brightly.