Date: 2012-04-23
From: Big Walker Motel, US 52, Bland VA 586.9

To: Big Walker Motel, US 52, Bland VA 586.9
Miles today: 0.0

When we got up it was snowing, and about 35 degrees! It appeared to be a great day to zero in this small trail town! We spent the day getting our mail drop, mailing home a few things, and resupplying. After a gigantic breakfast at the DQ, we walked towards the town of Bland. First we checked out the Dollar General store. It was the biggest store we'd seen so far in Bland, and looked to have everything we needed for the next few days, when we get to Pearisburg, Virginia. We continued on, stopping at the CITGO to look for denatured alcohol fuel. No luck. Once we arrived at the town square, we found the post office, hardware store, and library. (Random note: Since Bland is the county seat, it had a county courthouse and other county offices.) First we went to the hardware store. Low and behold, they had some leftover denatured alcohol from some previous thru hikers, so we obtained the few ounces we needed for free! Next we went to the post office. The two boxes we needed were waiting for us, and had been there for several days! We took out our new shoes (!!) and everything else from the two boxes. There was even a two sided picture of the grandgirls enclosed. I definitely had room for THAT in my front pack! Then we put the few things we were sending home in the smaller of the two boxes, and mailed it back home. The post mistress even said she'd find a home for our old hiking shoes, and recommended a restaurant for lunch! Next, we found the library, a wonderfully bright and new looking building. We stopped at the post mistress recommended restaurant, located in the C-store of the gas station, then continued to the Dollar General store to resupply. As we were paying, a woman stopped to chat, and asked us whether we'd left our old hiking shoes with the post mistress. Apparently the post mistress had given her a description of us: an "elderly couple". We admitted we had, and she thanked us profusely. She and her husband have a "cowboy church" for homeless individuals, and could definitely use the shoes! Now, how often is it that you find out that things you give away find a really good home? We were so glad she had stopped us! (Random thought: In a time of economic challenge we found that even tiny towns had great libraries, and were even building new ones!) (One more random thought: We couldn't hike this thru hike without the help of so many people, many of whom we interact with only once, or perhaps never personally. I'll try to list them: The daughter at home who was taking care of the dogs, house, bills, sending us our mail drops; trail maintainers, who kept the trail in great shape (I always photographed them); trail angels, who always seemed to give us what we needed on tough days; postal clerks, who were so helpful, seemed to know everything from where to eat, to where to find a notary, to who could use some used hiking shoes; store clerks, who were willing to save extra fuel from previous hikers to give to us, rather than have us buy more than we needed; motel and hostel owners, who kept hiker boxes full of leftovers, tolerated our dirt, and who shuttled us to another motel to get a fax; librarians who let us use computers to write our blogs, check email, etc; other hikers who shared their food and water; townspeople who picked up dirty thru hikers hitching into and out of town; restaurants who supplied huge quantities of food at reasonable prices; and even the friendly townspeople we saw in grocery stores who encouraged us and asked us about our hikes. Lastly, we really appreciated the people who read this blog and offered encouragement. We WILL make it to Maine! And we'll have a great time doing it! Thanks to you all!) It's a great YEAR to be hiking the AT, especially with all the great people we've met along the way, and all the people at home offering support and encouragement!