When Derek Markle turns 50
this fall, he won’t be hoping for
a new grill or a fancy watch. He
sees the milestone as the start
of an exciting new chapter in
life, and his son Evan already
gave him a gift to match: a
sunrise hike every month of
the year.
Evan, now 16, started hiking
with his dad at age 8. Derek
oft en took him to the White
Mountains, a few hours from
their Massachusetts home,
and their peakbagging passion
grew. By the time Evan was 14,
the pair had climbed all 67 New
England summits over 4,000
feet. Evan is now working on
52 With a View, New England’s
Hundred Highest, and the
Adirondack High Peaks.
But the most impressive
list is the one only he and his
dad will complete. Call it the
Markle Mountains: 12 sunrise
summits leading up to Derek’s
big day. And unlike when the
pair fi rst started hiking and
Derek led the way, now Evan
chooses the peaks and plans
every trip. (He also details
them on his blog.)
“The toughest one so far was
Camel’s Hump in Vermont,”
says Evan. “We started the
drive at 11 p.m. and had to climb
the snowy trail in the dark with
little sleep. My favorite was
Wittenberg in New York. We
camped below the summit and
the sunrise was very colorful.”
If Evan’s gift doesn’t inspire
every hiker to get outdoors for
his or her birthday, what will?#NoSponsor
Evan Markle
This teenager gave his
dad the best birthday gift
a hiker could want.SUNRISE SEEKER
PH
O
TO
B
Y^
CH
RI
ST
O
PH
ER
B
EA
UC
H
AM
P
Know someone doing great
things outdoors for the love of
it? Tag them #NoSponsor and
tell us why at backpacker.com/
nosponsor.Derek and Evan on
New Hampshire’s
Mt. Monadnock on
April 17, 2019