Episode #57 - Derrick, Bekah, and Ellie Quirin (Sherpa, Kanga, and Roo)

Mighty Blue On The Appalachian Trail: The Ultimate Mid-Life Crisis

Steve Adams

Wilderness, Sports

4.8 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 19 October 2017

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You probably read about the couple who decided to attempt a thru-hike this summer with their 12-month old daughter, Ellie. I was skeptical myself when I read what they were attempting to do. Having found it tough enough to take care of myself on the trail, the thought of carrying an infant for nearly 2200 miles filled me with dread. Yet Derrick and Bekah Quirin were experienced hikers and really prepared for the trip. Ellie was clearly just along for the ride, but they had an adventure that will live with them all forever. Ellie loved to collapse her parents' poles and would often wander around camp with them, much to the amusement of one and all. You can read about their adventure on their blog, Ellie on the AT, which is being updated now that they are home, They also have an Instagram account, where Ellie is the undoubted star. Lynne Savino, in Doc Spot, features the joys of W.A.D. You'll have to listen to find out what that means! I've added destinations to my podcast this week, meaning that there should be more places to find it. You can now get it on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and YouTube. Soon, it will be up on iHeart Radio and Tunein.com. If I can ever work out how to add an iTunes subscribe button to my site then I'll be a happy man.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Mighty Blue on the Appalachian Trail, the ultimate midlife crisis, joined Stephen his guests every week as he staggers from Georgia to Maine.
0:27.2	Hi everybody and welcome back to the show. It's episode number 57 and we've got a
0:32.4	terrific story for you today. Several months ago I was made aware of an extraordinary
0:36.9	through hike attempt. I read that a young
0:39.2	couple, Derek and Becker Quirran, has started an attempt on a through hike of the Appalachian
0:44.1	Trail. Now, that wouldn't normally be particularly noteworthy. However, this attempt was a little
0:50.9	different from the norm. Derek and Becker were bringing a companion with them, as it turns out a very little
0:57.9	companion, and were taking their daughter, Ellie, a somewhat inexperienced hiker who was just
1:04.4	12 months old.
1:07.0	My first reaction was, of course, bloody crazy, I thought, that ain't going to happen. And having found their blog, Ellie on the AT, and committing myself to follow it for the few weeks that it was likely to be up, I kept an eye out for their likely ending. Several weeks later, I noticed that there hadn't been a post for about a month, so I assumed they were off the trail. Still, a couple of weeks was a pretty good effort, I thought.
1:28.8	So you can just imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago, when I saw that not only had
1:33.6	they not quit, they had actually finished.
1:37.0	I was astonished and determined to get an interview with them.
1:40.8	As you're here in a minute, this turned out to be a delightful couple of parents
1:44.2	who went into this adventure with their beautiful daughter,
1:47.3	with their eyes wide open and fully prepared.
1:50.6	I'm often wrong, but I've rarely been wronger, if that is a word.
1:56.4	I don't think it is.
1:58.0	Derek and Becker will be on in a moment.
2:00.9	We've got another dockspot this week, and a word of warn for those of you with queasy
2:04.6	stomachs because that's what this episode is all about.
2:09.0	Queasy Stomocks.
	...

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