ost Saturday nights this summer, the rocking chairs on the front porch will be full. The grassy sites up the gravel road will be dotted with tents. The campfire lit. The amps turned on, the guitars plugged in. The kitchen will be stirring up a scratch-made dinner. And the crowd - many of whom live within 100 miles of this 500-acre backcountry - will be stoked to have this slice of Southwest Virginia as its destination for the weekend. It wasn't always this way. For 30 years, Wilderness Adventure at Eagle Landing was reserved for kids enjoying a week at camp or corporations who flew employees in for teambuilding. In spring and fall, private schools from across the country shuttled students to learn new skills and appreciate the outdoors. But rarely did Roanokers zipline through the treetops or canoe Craig Creek or pedal over roots and rocks. That wasn't what Wilderness Adventure did. " There's so many people that don't even know we're here, " says Dustin Eshelman, who first connected with WAEL as a 23-year-old trip leader. " We had never been open to the public to come out and stay. " But - as for so many small businesses - 2020 changed everything. Beautiful mountain backdrops surround Wilderness Adventures at Eagle Landing TheRoanoker.com JULY/AUGUST 2021 77http://www.TheRoanoker.com