Williemakeit@omg
To be clear, in the latest video the father did flick the 2 year old in the mouth (hard enough to break skin) because the toddler wouldn't stop crying. That's abuse. They had the toddlers pant legs tied off to try and keep the child's feet warm causing the pants to fill with moisture while walking all morning in the rain. A 2 year old can't express pain or exhaustion properly and hypothermic reaction just looks like a sleepy baby to these people. Then, when the trail is too much for the kid to handle, crying leads to being punished in a painful way. That's endangerment. I ever see someone treat a 2 year old child the way these people are and I'm going to loose my cool real quick.Originally Posted by FrogLevel
Sure is abuse ... that's terrible. I didn't see that part.
That is terrible.
Very prescient, Day 5 report.... three kids are throwing up.
“For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”
John Greenleaf Whittier
When the kid won't stop crying, you'd think you'd stop and find out why. There is a warning on the hand warmer packages saying not to use with infants or others who can't feel heat or express discomfort. And he had one sealed in each extremity.
The weather is what will do them in. Looks like it could be a stormy start this spring.
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
I wonder about the 2 year old's development. He should be developing motor skills. How much of that is he getting riding in a carrier all day. Maybe they are getting him out to run and play and we just aren't seeing it. Mom complains about being cold while she is hiking. That kid is just riding along, unable to generate any extra heat. In some of the shots he looks completely spaced out. Maybe bored or tired, but maybe early stages of hypothermia?
I don't worry much about the older kids. They'll survive and either they will appreciate this experience or not. They can keep on hiking or bow up and refuse. That toddler has exactly zero options.
5 days is even faster than I would have even guessed it would happen, but it was inevitable. Wait until one of the parents get sick, maybe it'll be a reality check.
I've watched the first few minutes of the first video and some of the one where guy flicked his son in the mouth after seeing it mentioned comments. I really hesitate to say hiking with a 2 year old is abuse, because I don't think that they intentionally want to harm their kids in any way. Except for the fact that it sounds like they are already losing their temper and getting frustrated and then taking out their frustrations on a 2 year old instead of listening to the signs of a child's distress. What this is is 2 adults being selfish instead of caring for the needs of their youngest child.
I don't know what it is about people like this that rubs me so wrong, I can't describe it.
Common sense. Some people just don't have it.
I finished watching their most recent video. It just blows my mind that this guy would post a video for the world to see admitting to busting his 2 year old in the mouth for crying about being cold. This poor kid has only one way to tell you that something is wrong. It sounds like they know that the kid is suffering and just keep on keepin on with their own selfish agenda. Guy needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. The mother too for that matter.
I feel like I'm being judgy, so I'm sure I am, but they are obviously attention seekers who put themselves out there for it. And for some, any attention they receive is better than no attention, even if its negative.
Sometimes being judgy is called for. This is one of those times.
"It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss
I watched some of their other videos. (There are almost 600 to choose from.) They definitely seem like attention seekers, but they just aren't that interesting. I can't figure out who their target audience might be, and they only have 9000 subscribers so it doesn't seem like they know either. They have added about 1200 subs in the last 30 days so it looks like they are getting a bump for the trail vids. All of it seems like an extended audition for some reality show.
Their gimmick has worked though. I've subscribed just to watch the slow motion train wreck. Who knows, maybe I'm too cynical and they'll make it.
I also subscribed out of sheer curiosity but you are right, it does seem like a setup for a reality show.
i wasn’t going to be over judgey till I read this...total d-bag.
They hiked the Wonderland Trail in 2015 with 5 kids and 4 months pregnant. I can't see why they seem so clueless now. I don't think they are prepared for an early start on the AT, and the toddler adds another challenge, but it feels there's something else going on that I can't figure out.
Because it has been mentioned by others, here is the point in which the dad explains popping the 2 year old in the lip, hard enough to make it bleed. You can scroll to Minute 6:45 where it starts
As well, aren't drones banned on the AT lands and National Parks?
Last edited by Gambit McCrae; 03-20-2018 at 08:13.
Trail Miles: 4,980.5
AT Map 1: Complete 2013-2021
Sheltowee Trace: Complete 2020-2023
Pinhoti Trail: Complete 2023-2024
Foothills Trail: 47.9
AT Map 2: 279.4
BMT: 52.7
CDT: 85.4
Made it through one and a half videos, couldn't watch any more. Yes, the lip flicking and foot treatment of the toddler bothers me, but few of the other kids seem that jazzed to be there either. Cold, rainy/snowy weather doesn't help, but no way to avoid that; you have to be prepared for that no matter when you start, either at the start of the trail or the end (or both!).
Lots of other judgy things in my head, similar to what has already been posted. Just my 2c, but looks more like a determined dad who is going to push through anything, regardless of the circumstances or risk...and that worries me. I hope they've also budgeted for a medivac.
The lip flicking incident is troubling not so much because he made the kid bleed but because there were any number of reasons that toddler could have been screaming non stop (discomfort from the heating packs, circulation issues from being in the pack, cold, bored, tired....) and to me that puts it in the category of abuse. They are endangering this kid by dragging him on a stormy spring hike.
Then, when I think about the people who will bitch endlessly because I choose to hike with my well behaved dog, then think that these people are hiking with 6 kids, some of whom are not old enough to use their inside voices and the fact that they are also apparently traveling with a drone really frosts me. I put off a March 7 start due to weather and here I sit, reading about this family I think has made me really start to reevaluate a new strategy with regards to how hard I work to avoid any part of the bubble. And whether I need to carry any anti-drone tools.
Editing... They actually hiked the trail in 2009 with 4 kids and pregnant with #5 according to an old blog.
Apparently they don't believe in birth control, so she'll probably be pregnant with #7 soon.
Anyway, if they expect to get very far they will have to send the two youngest to foster care or go home for a while and wait for the weather to improve.
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
just like with dogs, it’s not the drones fault...pilot error.The lip flicking incident is troubling not so much because he made the kid bleed but because there were any number of reasons that toddler could have been screaming non stop (discomfort from the heating packs, circulation issues from being in the pack, cold, bored, tired....) and to me that puts it in the category of abuse. They are endangering this kid by dragging him on a stormy spring hike.
Then, when I think about the people who will bitch endlessly because I choose to hike with my well behaved dog, then think that these people are hiking with 6 kids, some of whom are not old enough to use their inside voices and the fact that they are also apparently traveling with a drone really frosts me. I put off a March 7 start due to weather and here I sit, reading about this family I think has made me really start to reevaluate a new strategy with regards to how hard I work to avoid any part of the bubble. And whether I need to carry any anti-drone tools.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
