… David Kallin, husband, father, and outdoor adventurer describes his family’s extraordinary adventure trekking the 2,185-mile Appalachian trail. In his talk, David describes the challenges and tremendous rewards of watching his young children (ages 8 and 9) navigate the arduous five-month long hike from Georgia to Maine. …

Click PLAY or watch the TEDx Talk on YouTube.

Amanda Zeisset:

Key Takeaways From This Video:

1. Early on, the kids needed help with everything but by the end they had grown and matured.

2. At the beginning, sometimes the tough climbs were too much for their young legs, so their parents would take their packs. But by the end, they were carrying all their own gear – clothes, sleeping gear and even their shelter.

3. Everyone faced challenging conditions – cold rain then sleet then snow then hail. There were freezing nights. At first, it was the adults who would get up early to set up a fire to warm up the socks and shoes so they could get them back on their feet. By the end, their daughter was wringing out her own wet socks the night before, stuffing them into her own pockets. The kids had truly become self-sufficient.

I hope you have been as inspired by David’s story as I have.