Big whoop...children don't have memories of anything until they are at least 4 years old. None of this will mean nothing to her at all.

About a year ago, took a trip to the UP of Michigan after labor day. Only really ran into one family with kids. Otherwise, it was so peaceful.

Neat story. Unfortunately, I have to agree with Thumper, people don't remember back to that age. I still think it will be in her nature to be adventurous because of this as she gets older. Question I have is how can this young couple afford to take 6 months off at that age to do something like that? I must be doing something wrong?

I think the point isn't that the daughter will remember this trip but that her parents will always remember it.

What a great adventure! We are looking forward to seeing their presentation next week.

You may not have memories from when you were very young, but those experiences shaped you. As a backpacker with a new baby, I look forward to hearing their insight on bringing a baby into the backcountry.

Hey, great for them but my idea of roughing it is staying at a hotel without a bar.

When our child was a year old we both had jobs and were just trying to make sure she had a roof over her head and some food on the table. Nice to see that a couple of "grad" students can take 6 mos. off to vacation. Of course in a couple of years it won't be fair that they have to pay their student loans back.

Did it occur to these people that their child might die out there with no medical facilities available? Kids the age of this child can get sick and become critically ill in a very short period of time. What immature and irresponsible parents. I know someone who is an extremely experienced hiker who has hiked that trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian border over the course of four months. There are people on any rugged trail who are not necessarily benign. The Liechty's took a gamble. I'm happy for the sake of their little girl that they completed their trip without a disaster.

I am seriously disheartened by the negativity of the comments on this board. The #1 priority of the Liechty's was their daughter. How ridiculous to judge them as parents based on a three paragraph story. Attend their talk this coming weekend and ask them some of the questions you assume you know the answers to. They planned this trek for over a year and had many speed bumps in the process. They lived frugally while saving in order to have this experience. If you took the time to look at their blog, you would see a child who loves being outside and who adapted quite well to the environment. Trust me when I tell you, David and Rachel have plenty of family members who questioned all of the dangers of the trip (I am one of them). However, I fully support everything they have done, and they have an amazing story to tell others who are interested in having a more active lifestyle. I myself dont think I could ever do what they did, but that doesn't mean I reserve the right to judge them based on my lifestyle. They prepared themselves well for the trip. To ask if they considered the dangers of the trip is short-sighted, at best. They did not make this trip on a whim, they planned, trained, and saved money to make it happen. I hope those who are proud of Rachel and David far outweigh the negativity that is on this comment board.