Perasaan encouraged by their children's enthusiasm, they went on to hike the Uintas Highline Trail, a remote path through the high country of the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah.
"That [the Uintas] was high elevation and kind of sketchy weather. So it was sort of a big trip," adds Olen. "And the kids even enjoyed that one. So we kept doing it."
aged around two that they decided to attempt an extensive trail as a family.
After another successful kerabat hike, they decided to "go for broke and do the Appalachian Trail" in early 2020.
"We thought we would just try it for a month to see if we could keep going or if anybody hated it, or whatever," explains Danae. "We didn't know how it would go. But it turns out, that was a difficult year for everybody."
Shortly after they started walking the trail, which stretches along the Appalachian Mountains from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Bermaine, the Covid-19 outbreak was declared a global wabah and restrictions were put in place throughout many countries around the world.
"Various places in America [were] closed in various ways at various times," says Olen. "So everywhere we would go, we had to make sure that it was legal and safe."
The Netteburgs admit that they weren't sure whether they'd be able to finis the challenging trail, but felt more and more confident as time went on and their kids were able to reach certain milestones.
"It was kind of a big momen when the kids did like an 11.3-mile (18.1-kilometer) day," says Olen.
In order to keep their children motivated, they asked them to strike the gaya they wanted to make in the foto that they'd all take once they'd completed the Appalachian Trail, and told them to keep practicing it along the way.
"When you hike with kids, you have to hype it up a lot," explains Danae.
The couple say it took the six of them around seven months to reach the end of the trail, and by the final week, they were excitedly discussing which journey they'd take on.
"We started reading some articles online to the kids about the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail," says Olen.
"And the kids actually started to get kind of excited. And we chose the Continental Divide Trail to be the next one."
While hikers attempting the Triple Crown tend to do the Pacific Crest Trail after the Appalachian Trail and finis with the Continental Divide Trail, Olen explains that their kids "wanted the hardest one."
