Extreme Family Adventure with Ben Crawford
Imagine hiking for 5 months straight, covering 2,000 miles of harsh terrain. Now imagine doing it with your wife and 6 kids. Yes, 6 kids. Today’s guest is Ben Crawford who set the record for the largest hike through the Appalachian trail with his family. His book, 2,000 Miles Together tells the story of this extreme family adventure, the physical challenges they faced, as well as the public ridicule that threatened their journey.
Ben explains how incorporating kids into our adventures teaches them ownership, cooperation, and pride in contributing to a shared goal. He shows us how to challenge the status quo and raise our family according to our values. He also talks about how to keep the family morale up when all the chips are down.
This story is as insane as it is inspiring. Get ready for extreme family adventure!
The more I’ve learned to let go, the happier I’ve been, and, I believe, the better our parenting has been.
Ben Crawford
Ben Crawford is an entrepreneur, influencer, and best-selling author of 2,000 Miles Together, who, along with his wife, Kami and their six children, set the record in 2018 for the largest family and youngest female (7-year-old Filia Crawford) to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. His greatest goal is to discover the full potential of the human family, and to empower people to find freedom by questioning the status quo. Ben’s previous book, Unleash Your Family, details the Crawfords’ approach to turning the chaos of quarantine life into structured creativity. On his YouTube channel, Fight For Together, Ben aims to challenge existing perspectives on marriage, family, parenting, and self-awareness–through everything from running ultramarathons with young children, to experimenting with authority by living a year with no rules. The Crawfords live just outside Cincinnati, where they are currently planning their next adventure.
2,000 Miles Together
As his six children slept on the dirty floor of a women’s restroom while a blizzard howled outside, Ben Crawford had one thought: Have I gone too far?
The next morning, Child Protective Services, along with an armed sheriff, arrived to ask the same question.
2,000 Miles Together is the story of the largest family ever to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, defying skeptics and finding friends in the unlikeliest of places. On the trail, Ben Crawford battled not only the many dangers and obstacles presented by the wilderness—snowstorms, record-breaking heat, Lyme disease, overflowing rivers, toothaches, rattlesnakes, forest fires, and spending the night with a cult—but also his own self-doubt. In an effort to bring his family closer together, was he jeopardizing his future relationship with his kids? When the hike was done, would any of them speak to him again?
The Crawford family’s self-discovery over five months, thousands of miles, and countless gummy bears proves that there’s more than one way to experience life to the fullest. You don’t have to accept the story you’ve been shown. By leaving home, you’ll find more than just adventure–you’ll find a new perspective on the relationships we often take for granted, and open yourself up to a level of connection you never thought possible.
What You’ll Learn
- Why Ben has a tattoo of his 4-year-old’s eyeball on his hand
- Ben’s #1 patience hack to keep calm with 6 kids
- How to stop being bitter about all you didn’t receive from your parents
- Rescripting the way you feel about your parents’ shortcomings will lay the script for the way your kids frame you (and your shortcomings).
- How Ben and his family’s 161 days of hiking began
- They started their extreme family adventure in winter and ended in summer.
- They clocked 13 miles a day, taking turns carrying their 2-year-old.
- Kids are capable of so much more than we think, and adventures are more fun with them.
- Ben’s daughter ran her first marathon at age 6.
- The authorities threatened to take Ben’s kids away for taking them on the hike.
- Don’t overthink raising your kids. Think about how many learning experiences you block by preventing them from doing things you think they’ll fail.
- Survival is boring in America. We are not challenged.
- A family bonds over a goal they all believe that is greater than any one member can accomplish alone.
- There is less fighting and more excitement in a survival situation.
- Find something your kids value to get them onboard.
- If we, as parents, hate washing dishes, our kids will to. We have to find joy in these chores as well.
- How to keep your head up when the world is against you
RELATED EPISODES:
#DoEpicShit – Sharing Amazing Experiences with Your Kids
Creating a Rite of Passage Experience for Your Son
Modern Rites of Passage for Today’s Boys
Ben Crawford’s Links
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