Ellie’s Adventures Don’t End with the A.T.

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It’s a normal Wednesday morning in the Quirin household. Ellie is trotting around with a banana. Derrick and Bekah are preparing for the day ahead, including a stop in Catawba to drop off a pair of thru-hikers that spent the night in their home.

The Quirins are beginning to settle into a new routine after a historic 6 months thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail with toddler, Ellie. She’s the youngest person to travel the distance of the A.T. and thousands of people followed her trek on Instagram.

The hike, spanning from Georgia to Maine, followed a flip-flop route. The Quirins started just minutes from home near the McAfee Knob trailhead in March and walked south. Then they traveled to Maine and hiked south again to finish back at home on Sept. 30.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy tracks reported hikes and the most famous example of another child on the trail is Buddy Backpacker, who hiked the A.T. with his family at age 5.

And that new routine keeps them on the trail.

“Subconsciously we miss it in enough ways that we go to the trail,” Derrick Quirin said. “We’ve already been hiking.”

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Bekah and Ellie met with the Roanoke Hike It Baby group this week as well for a toddler hike. Hike It Baby is a meet-up group of sorts for people who want to get outside with their kids. You can join the group online.

The Quirins, and Ellie, have been nominated for a handful of Blue Ridge Outdoors Best of Blue Ridge awards as well, including Adventurer of the Year, best Instagram account, and A.T. Thru-Hiker(s) of the Year.

Could Ellie be the youngest Adventurer of the Year as well? (Voting is open through Oct. 31.)

The trail was packed with milestone for Ellie, who spent her days in a backpack. (The Quirins noted that they actually finished the hike ahead of schedule because the backpack was Ellie’s favorite sleeping spot, much like how many parents settle babies by taking them for a car ride.)

She took her first steps.

She said her first words.

She started to show her personality in a big way, as evidenced by an infective smile in various Instagram posts. (You can go back and see the journey by following @ellieontheat.)

“She’s just a magnet toward other people,” Derrick Quirin said. “That really came out on the trail.”

Part of her enthusiasm from people could be from all the enthusiastic greetings bestowed upon her on the trail.

“There was so much support for our hike,” Derrick Quirin said. “So many people heard and spread the word on the trail. When we met people they would see her and say ‘she does exist!’”

Generally, life has been busy after the less urgent pace of trail life. While they haven’t caught up with everyone yet, the Quirins have been reconnecting with friends, hosting thru-hikers, spent the weekend at GO Fest, and are planning how to share their knowledge with others who want to hike with a youngster.

Bekah Quirin plans to get back to her blog and start video blogging.

“It’s a way to teach people how to plan a weekend trip,” Bekah Quirin said, noting she’s kept a list of questions that other parents have asked about the journey from how does Ellie sleep to what does she wear to how do you carry everything. “The vlog will be a lot easier for a mom with kids to watch.”

And they are already thinking about another adventure. Maybe a bike trip.

But definitely hiking. Even if it is just in the woods here in the Roanoke Region.