The Family from the North
What is your opinion of this hike? Do you think this was the right thing for the children? Is the trail the right place for kids to be with out their say?
I sometimes wonder when parent's take their children out on the trail how much of a joint decision it actually is. I think it's the parent's idea for the most part...and kids look up to their parents so naturally want to come along. It's probably not the best environment for children, although what is these days? They can get shot in their own school.
I have the sincere privelege of having hiked on and off with The Family from just north of the Kennebec down to Gorham. They were happy, healthy and some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. They may not live the way we are told we're suppose to by what ever unwritten doctrine or agenda has been set before us, but I know that they are true to themselves and to the people they come in contact with.
I think it's a shame that more families aren't capable of letting go just a bit more and realizing what and where thier current path is taking them.
Everything is exactly as it should be. This too shall pass.
A couple of years ago on Trailplace, Wingfoot and others totally SLAMMED the family. He said they didn't belong on the trail, they were using people as they made their way down the trail, etc.,etc.
And he admitted to never meeting them.
Now that you mention that, I remember it. There were a lot of people that never met them trashing them and it seemes if I remember it, everyone that had met them were very supportive.
I'd like to meet them. It seems not much different than home schooling, just a better location to do it in LOL. As long as they weren't trying to impose on other's hikes, the more power to them. It's what makes this country srong. At least they won't get stoned to death here.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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NO SNIVELING
Many, many people went out of thier way to help the family on thier journey south, but not once did I ever see them ask for help of any kind. They were always sincerely polite and caring about everyone around them. All around great people who, through the simple life style they choose to live, were not, nor will they probably ever be understood by todays society.
Everything is exactly as it should be. This too shall pass.
well i guess being one of the youngest representatives on this board i should say somthing about my opinions of taking children on the trail. i would have loved to have had the experiance to have been takin on the trail through my childhood. i dont see it as anything but a mind opening experiance for any child. i think it would encourage thoughtfull thinking about the environment and modern culture. kids today dont appreciate the outdoors anywhere near as much as they did not even ten years ago. when i was a young child i remember going out every evening to play in what little woods there were near my house in the suburbs. today youd be lucky to see a child out of doors after school. there are so many modern electronic distractions that keep kids inside and their minds closed. i recognize that some vidio games and television and things like that do provide some education and valuable learning experiances, but the truth is, most dont. the entertainment industry has grown increasingly vulgar, with increasing levels of sex and violence every day. i think its much better to take your kids out and show them the real world, a world kids are losing contact with. ofcourse there is a line, pushing children too hard isnt a good thing, but i highly doubt this family did that, although i know very little of their hike. i believe they had the right idea to take their kids on a hike though. there is much to learn about life and the way people are on a hike, whether its a day hike or a thru hike. im sure your kids will appreciate it in the future if you take them out hiking now and give them experiances they will never forget. perhaps they will catch the bug too.
"Do what you Love, Love what you do"
From what I heard about this family, the kids pushed the parents, not the other way around. The kids would hike for hours on their own and wait up for their parents at different points on the trail.
There were several hostels owners that mentioned them on my hike this year. They said that they would watch out for them, to make sure the kids were ok. But the kids were doing better than the parents and having a great time.
There were several families thru-hiking the trail this year as well. The two that I met were very considerate of their kids input on how far they wanted to go, and stops they wanted to make. There seemed to be a lot of communication between the kids and parents. It was great to listen to them talk to each other.
Kids are more resilient than people give them credit for. Yes, they can't carry all the gear that they need, so their parents have to take on a little extra gear.
When families go on a long hike like this, suddenly a lot of people raise their voices in protest. But these kids were at a similar age to when Scouting groups start taking kids backpacking. Yeah, scouting groups don't go out for months at a time, but I have heard that most people try to think of a thru hike as a series of section hikes that are one after another anyway.
Most of what I heard was that they "bummed" their way along the trail. It's nice to get some positive perspective of them!
Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.
FFTN
I was lucky enough to meet the Family and spend a couple days with them just as they were finishing their hike in 2001. Having read the lies about them on-line for the previous months I was amazed at how down-to-earth, sincere and loving the parents were and how smart, self-sufficient and wonderful the kids were. We could only hope to have more like them around.
Funny thing was there was thruhiker from my town that year whose wife was typing up his journal and sending copies of them around to friends. My mom got a copy and passed them on to me. This guy was wondering if someone should call child protective services, making claims that the children were half-starving and all frozen, and had his family and friends here praying for the kids safety. Not surprisingly, he'd never met or seen the Family, he just had it on good information what was going on.
Just one more reason to hike your own hike, Joel From Flint
Any update on what happened to these folks? I'm reading the Barefoot Sisters book Southbound, when they hiked with them in 2000-01.
Originally Posted by Easyhiker
Sounds like a great adventure. Turn the time machine back a few hundred years and how are the living conditions substantially different?
didn't see that this thread was originally from 2002
I just read this book a few weeks ago--kind of long, but I thought it was interesting. Going to read the follow up book in a few weeks.
I'm 40 pages from the end of Walking Home, the sequel to Southbound by The Barefoot Sisters. I really enjoy their writing style and the way they pass the baton back and forth.
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
i think its great my father introduced me to the outdoors when i was very young i still have good memories about the times we had -each to their own as long as they hike their own hike
I think in the Barefoot Sister's book Walking Home they said the family was living in the Carribbean, at that time.
My Family was the Family from the North... my trail name was Shortcut. I hiked with my whole family mom dad baby sister two step brothers and step sister. I was only eight then so all the details are a little fuzzy but at the time I hated it however looking back now at 18 years of age I am proud to have hiked the AT thru. I am really wanting to get information on our family and the hike now that my parents are split we dont talk about it. If anyone has documents or articles about our family hike that would be great. And in respone to some of the upove comments us kids didnt have a say, we all hated it. We where hungry all day and during the winter we froze, the first cold night by boots actually froze and the next morning I had to wear them until they thawed. Their where times that felt like hell but like i said im glad that I have had that experience. And at some point would love to do some section hiking.
Wow this is really neat. Thanks for sharing
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