Discussion
The Astonishing Ride of the Abernathy Boys
robot-wrangler: > The boys’ father agreed to their cross-country ride and helped them plan the route. Abernathy postulated a few rules before they set out: They could not travel more than 50 miles in one dayI've done very long distance pack-horsing in wild places and these are indeed the big problems. There's this thing like the tyranny of the rocket equations.. a horse can't carry what it needs to drink, so you almost have to follow rivers or know exactly where they are and when you'll hit them. I came from long-distance cycling too where I would think nothing much of 100 miles on a good day even on trails, carrying food and water no problem
jandrewrogers: Quite the contrast from the free-range childhood discourse of today.
A_D_E_P_T: Even today, something quite similar is possible in Europe, though it helps to be of a religious bent. The pilgrim trails, such as the Camino de Santiago, can be walked, or taken on bike or horseback, by children. It happens infrequently, but if a 10 year old wants to go on a long trek, it probably won't get his parents arrested. There are shelters along the route, and fellow peregrines to share the road with.
NoNotTheDuo: The Dollop did an excellent episode on this misadventure, recorded live in Tulsa: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/299-the-dollop-with-dave-anth...
omega3: Why misadventure?
ButlerianJihad: Ironically, here in the “civilized USA”, a child attending Mass with his parents is absolutely forbidden to go alone to the restroom or be unattended at any time, because of the tyranny of Safe Environment policies, not necessarily because there are predators at the gates waiting to snatch them up.In fact, even for large families where it is customary for older siblings to supervise the younger ones, that is also forbidden.
burlesona: Traveling cross-country at age 10 and 6. Amazing that all they needed was a letter saying they weren't runaways, and people seemed to think this was a neat adventure for them.
realo: A hundred years of Societal Progress later what do we have?Mobile phones and Karens.
sueders101: A pair of 9 and 11 year old boys made a similar trip going from Needham MA, to the World’s Fair in Montreal. They did it with a pony/pony-cart in 1967. PBS did a really nice short documentary on them where they're interviewed.https://www.vermontpublic.org/show/made-here/2024-09-05/pony...
17383884: I have owned a hotel in the camino for five years. lol. lmao even. NO.
nkrisc: Wouldn’t it be easier to just have someone monitoring the priest instead?
