We followed the blue-blazed Buckeye Trail throughout this stretch. While often an actual trail through the woods, the Buckeye “Trail” also followed both improved and unimproved roads as well. This provided us the opportunity of encountering both natural and cultural features throughout the day. In addition to the roadkill and mailbox calendars I already conceived for the future, this stretch gave me ideas and material for future barn, small church and cemetery calendars.
As we weaved on and off the improved roads of this section, Ky occasionally picked us up and transported us to sleeping arrangements she made that were off the trail. The first off trail arrangement was in the home of a pastor who recently changed parishes in order to care for her mother at home. I stayed up well after Cindy went to bed to chat with the pastor, not about kindness and community, but because we both cared for our mothers who had Alzheimer’s.
The pastor recounted that her mother had good days and bad but, even though incapable of simple tasks, always wanted to pitch in to help with the household chores. This reminds me now of a memory with Cindy that occurred years afterwards. Because of her physical decline, we started taking the ramp instead of stairs when visiting the post office. I claimed we were getting extra exercise and should consider running marathons again someday. As I held Cindy’s hand guiding her down the ramp she enthusiastically agreed with the idea, fully believing in the possibility. I find this a comfort, these many years hence, that reality need not ruin perception or confidence in oneself.
Ky shuttled us to a United Methodist Church in Blue Creek for a couple evenings. We arrived too late for their monthly potluck after church service that day, but they saved us a couple of plates full of food nonetheless. I interviewed one of the parishioners about kind stories she witnessed as a youth and family mediator for the court system.
We spent our last evening on this stretch with Jim and Beverly MacKenzie, who lived near the prominent Serpent Mounds. Besides granting a right of way through their property for the Buckeye Trail, the MacKenzies were heavily involved in a variety of community activities. Their kitchen gave out an aura of community bakes and homemade goods. We intended to set up a tent in their yard, but they insisted we stay in their guest room as another powerful storm swept through the area.
We had snowshoes stored in the support vehicle with the intent that the Buckeye Trail in February would call for their most likely use, but that did not come to pass. We hiked on trails cold enough not to have turned muddy from spring melt, yet void of any snow. We experienced a few days of below freezing temperatures, with light snow on one of them. We arrived amongst flurries at the mailbox of Bonnie Brigss just as she was retrieving her mail, who in turn invited us inside for hot chocolate and some warm conversation with her and husband Ronnie about hiking.
We backpacked and camped out a couple of nights on the Buckeye Trail as well. We were now two months beyond the solstice, with enough light to prevent me from going stir crazy in the middle of the night. A photo reveals that Cindy spent some of the evening writing in her journal, aided by the innovative Technical Lighting Solutions flashlights given to us by the proprietors of Gearheads in Moab, Utah. Unlike her journal writing during the western part of our journey, Cindy no longer asked me for help recalling recent events, which I interpreted as an encouraging sign of her recovery at the time.
