It's been a few months since we've heard from the Quirins, the family hiking the Appalachian Trail with their one-year-old, Ellie – and boy, have they made tremendous progress. In today's blog post, Bekah shares the best, and most challenging parts of their adventure so far. Check it out!
800 miles down, and a whole lot more to go! We've officially backpacked the southern third of the Appalachian Trail (Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia) with a 1-year-old. So far, so good! We flipped up to Maine about a week ago to stick around the good weather patterns and we're hiking back to Virginia where we started.
Maine. Oh, Maine. Why are you so difficult? This is where it gets real. The bugs want to eat us alive, the rain wants to drown us in a puddle, the rocks want to break our ankles, the humidity wants to melt us like a snowman, and the terrain wants to kick our butts. Not to mention, Ellie's molars are coming through! Even though this is the most difficult section so far, we're pressing forward. We understand that every day may not be rainbows and sunshine through grassy fields and it's just all a part of the big picture of thru hiking. The big picture is what we have to keep in mind during the rough times. And it will get easier, we know it!
For now, we're trying to soak up the beautiful new territory. We've never spent any time in the Northeast until now! We've seen moose, swam in mountain lakes, hiked above the tree line, and watched nature unfold as Spring turns to Summer. Most of the South-bound thru hikers all started within the last 2 weeks, so new friends have been made along the way.
It's been quite a journey already, and we still have 1,300 miles to go!
Until next time!
Bekah, Ellie and Derrick
800 miles down, and a whole lot more to go! We've officially backpacked the southern third of the Appalachian Trail (Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia) with a 1-year-old. So far, so good! We flipped up to Maine about a week ago to stick around the good weather patterns and we're hiking back to Virginia where we started.
Maine. Oh, Maine. Why are you so difficult? This is where it gets real. The bugs want to eat us alive, the rain wants to drown us in a puddle, the rocks want to break our ankles, the humidity wants to melt us like a snowman, and the terrain wants to kick our butts. Not to mention, Ellie's molars are coming through! Even though this is the most difficult section so far, we're pressing forward. We understand that every day may not be rainbows and sunshine through grassy fields and it's just all a part of the big picture of thru hiking. The big picture is what we have to keep in mind during the rough times. And it will get easier, we know it!
For now, we're trying to soak up the beautiful new territory. We've never spent any time in the Northeast until now! We've seen moose, swam in mountain lakes, hiked above the tree line, and watched nature unfold as Spring turns to Summer. Most of the South-bound thru hikers all started within the last 2 weeks, so new friends have been made along the way.
It's been quite a journey already, and we still have 1,300 miles to go!
Until next time!
Bekah, Ellie and Derrick
