Prolonging the Hiking Memory Through Your Kids

The Concord (NH) Monitor of 11 June 2007 has an interesting piece by Mike O'Reilly titled "What's in a name? Liam Appalachian, Skylar Daven and Seamus Katahdin." The newspaper asks readers to share interesting stories about the origins of their own names or names of family members. O'Reilly writes that he thru-hiked 15 years ago, and met his future wife at Davenport Gap in the Smokies, "a beautiful blond-haired woman who was also thru-hiking." And then,

"the following September in 1993, we were married in St. Louis and shortly thereafter settled in Bow. As we began to start a family, we agreed to share the incredible experience of the trail with our children. We have been blessed with three wonderful boys, each named after a portion of the Appalachian Trail: Liam Appalachian O'Reilly, Skylar Daven (after Davenport Gap) O'Reilly, and Seamus Katahdin O'Reilly."

Wow, one only hopes that the boys (whose picture accompanies the little article) take up hiking.