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- [00:01]
Dave Cawley
Guess what? Discover is accepted at 99% of the places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard right, 99%. If you don't think so, maybe it's time to face facts. You're stuck in the past. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard Two young fathers are shot to death outside an iconic Utah restaurant.
- [00:21]
Amy Donaldson
I said, your dad has been hurt really bad.
- [00:24]
Dave Cawley
The grief was disorienting for those left behind. Until one choice changed everything.
- [00:30]
Marilyn Khulstra
I just remember writing this letter, and it wasn't me writing it.
- [00:34]
Dave Cawley
Can a personal decision shape generations?
- [00:37]
Amy Donaldson
We're all falling for this guy's trick. I'm Amy Donaldson.
- [00:41]
Dave Cawley
Season 2 of the Letter Ripple Effect is available now. Follow us@theletterpodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:50]
Eric Robinson
Lemonade.
- [00:59]
Marilyn Khulstra
Driving rain has a beauty of shape and movement, but there is a kind of rain without beauty when air and ground are sodden, sullen black rain that invades body and soul alike. Then the desolation of these empty stretches strikes at one's heart. The mountain becomes a monstrous place. Nan Shepard the Living Mountain.
- [01:28]
Amy Donaldson
Autumn arrived in Aotearoa carrying a gift of rain.
- [01:31]
Marilyn Khulstra
And when it rains in New Zealand, it rains.
- [01:35]
Amy Donaldson
Drought busting storms descended on Tai Waipounamu, the South island of New Zealand, at the beginning of March 2008.
- [01:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
How it rained and it rained and it was very wet.
- [01:48]
Amy Donaldson
Eric Robinson was a few days into what was supposed to be a month long vacation, trekking or tramping, as the Kiwis would say all across New Zealand. He planned to tackle several ambitious routes. First on his list, Cascade Saddle, a long walk through some of the most beautiful terrain New Zealand has to offer. Think of those sweeping shots of snow capped peaks from the Lord of the Rings movies. Those were filmed in this part of New Zealand. Eric started from the sheep herding town of Glenorchy, going up the braided meanders of the Ries river through a grassy valley bounded by towering mountains. The water of the Rees flowed a brilliant robin egg blue, burdened with sediment from glaciers on the slopes far above. At the top of the Ries Valley, Eric ascended a pass and crossed into the neighboring valley of the Dart river, home to a cheeky, kleptomaniac breed of parrot called Kea. It's a beautiful, exotic, wild place. Eric stayed a night in a hut along the Dart river, kind of like a hostel for hikers. The following morning he struck out for the Cascade Saddle, a steep, exposed stretch between the head of the Dart and Matukituki river valleys. This section becomes dangerous when it rains because the slopes on the Matukituki side are covered with grasses that become slick when wet. Multiple people have died while attempting to cross Cascade Saddle. Eric didn't mind a little bad weather. He had a saying, there's no such.
- [03:21]
Marilyn Khulstra
Thing as bad weather, just a poor choice of clothing.
- [03:25]
Amy Donaldson
That's the voice of Eric's wife, Marilyn Khulstra. Eric and Marilyn lived in Australia, in the suburbs of Melbourne. Eric was a few weeks shy of his 61st birthday and he had just retired.
- [03:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
That desire to retire at 60, I always thought was too early. But to achieve the walks and the places that he wanted to go, that was necessary.
- [03:46]
Amy Donaldson
With his newfound free time, Eric pursued his one aspiration, to walk the world's greatest trails.
- [03:53]
Marilyn Khulstra
And his mantra was, I'm going to do as many walks as I can for as long as I can carry a backpack.
- [03:59]
Amy Donaldson
Eric's got this list of places he wants to go. You probably don't even know half of all the places in his mind, you know he's gonna walk before you.
- [04:07]
Marilyn Khulstra
Oh, there's a book out the back I could check. A thousand places to see and do before you die.
- [04:12]
Amy Donaldson
Eric didn't intend to die anytime soon. He and Marilyn were in the prime of their lives. Both figured death lay far, far in their future.
- [04:21]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yeah, we did expect to spend a long retirement together, traveling and doing things.
- [04:26]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn, at age 55, wasn't yet ready to retire. She had a job she loved. It made it difficult for her to get away with Eric for the long walks he wanted to take. So Eric often went out alone.
- [04:38]
Marilyn Khulstra
We had an understanding. If he wanted to go and hike somewhere, he would do that.
- [04:44]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn remained at home in Australia while Eric went out adventuring in Althea roa in early 2008. No sooner had he left for New Zealand than she received a delivery.
- [04:54]
Marilyn Khulstra
The beautiful bunch of flowers that he'd always organised before he left on any trip. A loving gesture, but also the appreciation that I didn't tie him to the relationship, that he couldn't go off and do things himself. It was a very strong partnership in that way.
- [05:10]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn placed the blooms in the same spot she always did, in the Edinburgh.
- [05:15]
Marilyn Khulstra
Crystal vase that was given to us.
- [05:17]
Amy Donaldson
For a wedding present, a symbol of Eric's love, respect and devotion. The flowers were still there in that crystal vase when Marilyn arrived home from work a few nights later. She was in her evening routine, making dinner, maybe decompressing with a little tv, when her phone rang. She answered, and on the other end came the voice of Alan Beck, a friend and former co worker of her.
- [05:41]
Marilyn Khulstra
Husband'S, which was most unusual, and he said, I don't want to alarm you, but Eric is overdue.
- [05:50]
Amy Donaldson
Alan was in Wanaka, a resort town on the south island of New Zealand. Wanaka was also where Eric planned to stay after his Cascade Saddle hike. He'd made plans to meet Alan there, but Eric hadn't arrived. Allen told Marilyn torrential rains were at that moment pounding the Southern Alps, the mountains that run the length of the South Island.
- [06:13]
Marilyn Khulstra
He said, but I wouldn't worry. It'll be okay. I have a good feeling about this.
- [06:18]
Amy Donaldson
Allen knew the risks of mountain weather as well as anyone. He also knew Eric was a competent backcountry traveler. Still, Marilyn heard concern creeping around the corners of his words.
- [06:30]
Marilyn Khulstra
Alan was worried about his friend, who was a little bit older perhaps than he was, and he said, I I've alerted the Department of Conservation.
- [06:41]
Amy Donaldson
The department is New Zealand's government agency responsible for managing backcountry trails. It would likely launch a search and rescue mission for Eric at first light the next morning.
- [06:51]
Marilyn Khulstra
He said, maybe you want to call DFAT and let them know?
- [06:54]
Amy Donaldson
DFAT is Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs. It's equivalent to the US State Department. Marilyn's mind raced, picturing all the possible scenarios. She pushed the most intrusive out of her head, refusing to believe anything bad could have happened. Eric had gone prepared tent, waterproof jacket, extra food, all the essentials. But Marilyn knew none of that would make any difference if he lost his footing on soggy grass and somersaulted over the edge of a cliff. She hung up and glanced across the room at the flowers in the crystal vase part, pausing to wonder if they might be the last she would ever receive from the man she considered her soulmate, Eric Robinson. Then Marilyn picked up the telephone again, dialed dfat, and reported her husband missing. You're listening to Uinta Triangle, an audio documentary from KSL Podcasts about the disappearance of Eric Robinson. This is the first episode and it's called Overdue. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning from the flight deck. Three arrow joins each other and descent into the Melbourne area in about 15 to 20 minutes. My legs are killing me. I haven't moved from this economy class seat for 16 hours minus one brief trip to the lab. Right now we're looking at a touchdown about 9:50 local time in Melbourne and we'll get to our gate as soon as we can. My name is Dave Cawley and I boarded this plane bound for Australia in January of 2024. I want to thank you for flying with us today and look forward to seeing for these guys again soon. I'm an American and a journalist. I decided to fly partway around the world because I'm trying to solve a mystery about what happened to Eric Robinson. I first learned about Eric's story more than a decade ago while working as a radio news reporter. It left me with so many questions like what drove a man in his 60s to hike alone on challenging or even treacherous tracks with no way to call for help? How could someone as experienced and well prepared as Eric just disappear? My search for answers led me to Eric's wife, Marilyn. I first spoke to her in 2016. Eric was a guy who obviously knew what he was doing and was prepared to be where he was.
- [09:27]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yes, he would plan in detail the hiking before departure. He was a minimalist person, but not minimalist on safety.
- [09:40]
Amy Donaldson
Now, I've talked to Marilyn many more times since, but our conversations were always over the telephone across time zones. Every call left me feeling there was more to the story, some deeper truth I could sense but not quite grasp. That's why I finally decided to fly to Melbourne and meet Marilyn in person.
- [09:58]
Marilyn Khulstra
I was excited to have somebody come to expand upon the story of two people who met later in life and enjoyed passions and places together.
- [10:09]
Amy Donaldson
The story Marilyn shared launched me on an even deeper journey of discovery.
- [10:14]
Marilyn Khulstra
You know, it's story of a missing person, but it's also a legacy to that person for the love of what they did.
- [10:23]
Amy Donaldson
I soon found myself on another plane crossing the Tasman Sea, going to New.
- [10:28]
Marilyn Khulstra
Zealandrails and remain on the outside of.
- [10:30]
Amy Donaldson
The markers on the tarmac to follow Eric's footsteps. And I'm about halfway up to Cascade Saddle on the Dart river side. I traveled solo just as Eric did, with all the risk that entails. I'm just apparently I'm just falling down a hill because I wanted to learn what compelled Eric to adventure in wild places alone. And to answer the question why one time he didn't return.
- [11:10]
Dave Cawley
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you are stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the Now It Pays to Discover. Learn more at discover.com creditcard pay based on the February 2024 Nielsen report My.
- [11:38]
Amy Donaldson
Life Seems to Straddle Two Extremes Am I in the office or in the mountains? I might need a sun hoodie one day and a sports coat the next. Now I'm not overly trendy, but I do want to wear stuff that's good quality and ethically produced. I recently placed an order with Quint's because their summer lineup has that good balance of luxury appearance and feel without the markup of other brands. One of the Quince pieces I'm looking forward to wearing is a merino wool T shirt that should be a perfect base layer for an afternoon hike. I also ordered a soft shell fleece lined vest so if the temperature dips during an evening out to dinner afterward, I can easily add a layer. Everything from Quince is like half the cost of a comparable piece from some other brand and that means more money for me to invest in my next adventure. Stick to the staples that last with elevated essentials from quince. Go to quince.comuinta for free shipping on your order and 36065 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.comuinta to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.comuinta Eric Robinson met Marilyn Kohlstra at.
- [12:50]
Marilyn Khulstra
The Perfect Time, 1994. We met in May.
- [12:54]
Amy Donaldson
And how did you meet?
- [12:55]
Marilyn Khulstra
Eric didn't like to talk about this, but I was at a professional meeting and a lady spoke. She was part of an introduction agency and I signed up.
- [13:07]
Amy Donaldson
An introduction agency is a dating service.
- [13:09]
Marilyn Khulstra
And our first conversation was over the phone, where we arranged to meet for a coffee at a little pizza place near the Rivoli Theatre in Camberwell, which is iconic.
- [13:22]
Amy Donaldson
The Rivoli Theater is an old art deco building with neon signs and a facade of orange brick. The pizza place sat right across the street. That's where Eric and Marilyn first met face to face.
- [13:32]
Marilyn Khulstra
What stood out to me were his sparkly eyes and his Scottish accent, which he vows and declares is quite Australian.
- [13:41]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn asked about the accent. Eric said he had grown up in Scotland physically.
- [13:46]
Marilyn Khulstra
We were sort of of a similar height, you know, and fit.
- [13:50]
Amy Donaldson
Both were a bit shorter than average. Marilyn was 41 years old and just dipping her toe back into the dating pool after separating from her first husband a few years earlier. She wore her hair in a pixie cut. Eric was 47. He had a broad smile and deep set blue eyes. He was balding on top and going gray, giving him a bit of a Jean Luc Picard look. Marilyn found him attractive, but the conversations.
- [14:16]
Marilyn Khulstra
That we had were the attraction to, you know, experiences, travel, reading, books, enjoyment of theater and film.
- [14:25]
Amy Donaldson
Eric's face lit up when Marilyn said she enjoyed hiking. Eric loved to hike. At the end of that first date, Eric asked Marilyn if he could take her out again.
- [14:34]
Marilyn Khulstra
And I said, well, I'm on school camp. I'll call you when I get back.
- [14:39]
Amy Donaldson
School camps are a part of Australian culture. They allow kids to build skills and experience in the outdoors under the supervision of their teachers. Marilyn was teaching sixth grade at the time and was going to be unavailable while with her students at camp.
- [14:51]
Marilyn Khulstra
And so, dutifully, maybe three weeks or so later, I called him and he said, oh, well, how about we go and see a movie? And I said, oh, yeah, I'd like to see that movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral. You know, I hear it's pretty good. And he goes without hesitation. Yes, that'd be great. And we arranged to go on a Sunday night, and so we met at the Rivoli Theatre. It turned out that it was the third time that weekend that he'd seen that same movie. Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night with me.
- [15:28]
Amy Donaldson
Eric had hedged his bets while Marilyn was at camp, lining up three dates with three women on three consecutive nights.
- [15:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
And I was the third woman that he'd seen. Seen that movie with.
- [15:38]
Amy Donaldson
And he didn't let on.
- [15:39]
Marilyn Khulstra
He didn't let on. He never told me the story.
- [15:43]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn only learned of this later from some of Eric's friends. But whoever those other two women were, they didn't leave a lasting impression on Eric. Marilyn did. And she soon canceled her account with that introduction agency because she was falling for Eric. Starting a romantic relationship in your mid-40s can feel a lot different from falling in love in your early 20s.
- [16:08]
Marilyn Khulstra
Unlike when you're young and you fall in love, you know, first sight, so to speak. This was a longer, sort of more gradual process, you know, as we spent time together, developed our interests, got to know each other, and it just evolved over 12 months.
- [16:28]
Amy Donaldson
As their conversations deepened, Marilyn learned Eric had been married before as well, and he was a single father to a teenage son.
- [16:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
Eric had a son who they'd moved house after his wife died, and he lived in the green, leafy eastern suburbs. You know, very natural bush around.
- [16:49]
Amy Donaldson
Eric had built this new house In Heathmont, about 30 minutes outside of Melbourne. The yard backed up to Dandenong Creek, a natural waterway surrounded by tall trees, thick brush, and several walking paths. Eric could sit out in his garden and listen to the cockatoos and kookaburras. Marilyn shared an old home movie with me where Eric showed off a bit of his garden. Maybe Marlon can pan across the garden. That's Eric's voice. This is Banksia borei, but it's commonly known as the koala banksia here, so the flower is soft and cuddly. Marilyn didn't at first understand the significance of this garden. She didn't realize for Eric, nature was a sanctuary, a place where he found comfort from the three great losses of his life, the early deaths of his father, his mother and his first wife. Eric and I are very different people, but I feel a sense of kinship with him over this. He has his wounds and I have mine. I grew up a long way from Australia in the mountains of the western us Our Yellowstone trip. We're at West Thumb at the geyser area. My family went on camping trips every summer when I was a boy. Mark and David are excited about this one. Looks like a volcano. My dad would haul this giant VHS camcorder around on his shoulder. Finished our little walk around the geyser basin. About four miles. I think I'm about five years old in this video with blonde bangs, chubby cheeks, and a habit of wandering off on my own. Find ourselves here at Isa Lake. There goes David. We lost him already. It's hard for me to watch these old home movies knowing that curious little boy is about to go through abuse at the hands of someone he trusts. No one around me knew it was happening. I carried the burden of that abuse through my childhood alone. Life didn't get easier as an adult. Doctors discovered a tumor in my chest when I was 21. They sawed my rib cage open to remove it. I felt physically and psychologically shattered. At some point during this dark stretch, I thought back to how I had loved hiking as a kid. I hadn't been out in years, so I bought some boots and a backpack and started exploring. I went to the mountains or the desert, often alone. Soon I learned a wild river. And the song of a canyon wren helped calm the chaos in my head. I've hiked in some amazing places over the years, and by the time I went to New Zealand to follow Eric's footsteps, I wasn't intimidated at the idea of going alone. But it turns out the Southern Alps of New Zealand are quite different from my home turf in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The seasons are backward. The night sky doesn't look right and the climate's all wrong. So is the wildlife. You might be able to hear some squawking. I'm pretty sure that's kea birds. Notorious for their inquisitiveness and also willingness to destroy tents, steal gear, and generally harass hikers. The way to Cascade Saddle is well marked, but I did lose the trail a time or two and had to rely on my skills and experience to get back on track. Man, that's like, vertical. All right, hands engaged. There's the track. Look at that. Where did I miss it? Ah, well, I found it. In any case, problem solving is part of what I enjoy about hiking. Some problems, though, are worse than others. A couple hours into my hike, I looked down at my phone and saw a notification. The phone had dialed emergency services using satellite because I had supposedly pressed and held the power and side buttons together for, like, five seconds. Whatever that setting is, it seemed I'd made a butt dial to space, calling for a rescue I didn't need. I couldn't see any way to cancel it. So that's frustrating. And hopefully there's no big search and rescue happening, because again, I am fine. It was the middle of the night back home in the US I wondered if my emergency contacts were waking to pings on their phones telling them I was in trouble. I don't like this feeling of anxiety over whether or not somebody at home is worried about my work welfare. Worse yet, I realized Marilyn might be receiving a phone call telling her I needed rescue from the same place as Eric. I felt terrible at the thought of putting her through that. When I first sat down to interview Marilyn for this story, she held her hand out to show me it was trembling.
- [22:09]
Marilyn Khulstra
Look. See?
- [22:10]
Amy Donaldson
Yeah. Yeah. So deep breaths. I understood why she felt nervous. We were about to relive the worst moments of her life. But you might have noticed by now, Marilyn has an almost British stoicism about her.
- [22:25]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yeah, gosh, right.
- [22:28]
Amy Donaldson
She keeps her emotions in check. I needed to pierce that shell. We recorded hours of interviews and have spent many more hours in unrecorded conversation about some very personal stuff.
- [22:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
You know, childhood memories, family memories, things growing up, all sorts of memories.
- [22:51]
Amy Donaldson
The story of Eric's disappearance is Marilyn's story, too. To tell it right, I need to share a bit of what she said when the tape wasn't rolling. Marilyn grew up with an authoritarian father in a family where young ladies were expected to follow the rules, no questions asked. She didn't get her first taste of independence until she reached college. She joined a hiking club and started taking trips with the other members to destinations outside of Melbourne, Wilson's Promontory, the Grampians.
- [23:24]
Marilyn Khulstra
You know, Southwest coast of Victoria.
- [23:27]
Amy Donaldson
Don't worry if you're not familiar with this geography or any of the other places we will visit throughout the story. What matters is how it made Marilyn feel. She loved visiting new places, but those opportunities dwindled when she married a man who had no interest in hiking. They soon had a couple kids, a son, Marty, and a daughter, Rachel. The demands of motherhood and the disapproval of her husband stifled the sprouting seeds of Maryland's independence. Her only real outlet during this period was her job. She worked as a primary school teacher, specializing in literacy. But even that career was derailed. After only a few years, Marilyn lost a pregnancy at full term. That loss devastated her. She was consumed by grief, unable to work. As a result, she became entirely dependent on her husband. They had two more kids in the years that followed, Jonathan and David, making a total of four. Marilyn believed she had done everything she was supposed to, but fractures were forming in her marriage. Her husband started drinking more and staying out late. She told me one time he came home drunk after the children's bedtime. He wanted to wake them. She tried to stop him. The next day, a purple bruise showed around one of her eyes. Marilyn's husband soon told her he was leaving for another woman. They separated in 1990. After two decades with a patriarchal spouse, Marilyn suddenly had her independence restored. It was a struggle.
- [25:15]
Marilyn Khulstra
There were four children, aged from 8 to 18, in various stages of education. There were severe financial restrictions. We had to sell the family home. You know, I was renting for a while.
- [25:29]
Amy Donaldson
She went back to work, resuming her teaching career. The kids pitched in too, taking turns preparing meals.
- [25:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
No matter what was happening, every night we sat down for dinner and we had dinner together. You know, it wasn't an easy time, but it was a time that gave all of us different strengths whilst being very emotional and challenging.
- [25:52]
Amy Donaldson
Eric was also going through a difficult period at this same time, following the death of his first wife.
- [25:58]
Marilyn Khulstra
Helen died about the same time as my marriage broke down. So we were sort of, you know, timing pacing together in that grieving process and, you know, getting your life back in order and sort of moving on.
- [26:13]
Amy Donaldson
By the time Marilyn met Eric, she had resolved to never become so dependent on another man. Eric saw that as a virtue he.
- [26:22]
Marilyn Khulstra
Enjoyed, and he loved the fact that I was independent and not just in a relationship for support or, you know, financial support.
- [26:36]
Amy Donaldson
Eric and Marilyn were opposites in many ways, but they complemented each other where it mattered most.
- [26:43]
Marilyn Khulstra
He was wrapped that I loved walking.
- [26:46]
Amy Donaldson
But she didn't yet comprehend just how deep Eric's passion for hiking went. So let's talk about how that passion came to be and those three wounds that shaped it. Eric's roots trace back to the uk. His father, Victor, was English and served as a private in the Royal army during the Second World War. Here is something of the gigantic naval armada assembled to transport the Allied armies across the English Channel. Eric's mother, Margaret, was the daughter of a Scottish coal miner. She had taken a job serving coffee to soldiers and sailors. That's how she met Victor. Their romance played out during a pivotal moment in history.
- [27:30]
Marilyn Khulstra
Another of the great decisive battles of.
- [27:32]
Amy Donaldson
World history has been joined. This is the day for which free people long have waited. This is D Day. Victor and Margaret married just weeks after D Day. Following the war, they moved to a small village in England. And on March 19, 1947, they welcomed their first and only child, Eric Joseph Robinson. But Victor died unexpectedly a year and a half later. Little Eric was too young to have any memory of it. He only knew his mom. Margaret swept him away to Scotland. She cut Eric off from his father's side of the family, never telling him why. So although Eric was born English, he grew up a Scotsman in a little village called Glencraig.
- [28:21]
Marilyn Khulstra
His grandfather owned a few of the houses and he would go with his grandfather to collect the rent. And, you know, it was not a very wealthy existence.
- [28:33]
Amy Donaldson
Margaret remarried after a few years to a man named William Copeland.
- [28:38]
Marilyn Khulstra
And it was not a happy one. It was alcoholism and family violence.
- [28:44]
Amy Donaldson
Eric's stepfather worked in the nearby coal mines until that industry collapsed in the late 50s. But opportunity was calling from the far side of the world. Australia's government was begging British citizens to resettle there to build up the Australian workforce. So In February of 1963, William, Margaret and 15 year old Eric boarded a plane bound for Melbourne. British emigres were promised work and affordable housing in Australia. All they had to Pay was a 10 pound processing fee and they immigrated.
- [29:17]
Marilyn Khulstra
As what we call in Australia 10 pound.
- [29:19]
Amy Donaldson
Poms Pom is Australian slang for a British person.
- [29:23]
Marilyn Khulstra
So they were offered assisted passage to Australia to join the growing needed workforce here, you know, as skilled professionals.
- [29:33]
Amy Donaldson
Soon after arriving, William signed Eric up for an internship with a manufacturing company. Then William walked out on Margaret, leaving her destitute. Eric hated him for it and I.
- [29:47]
Marilyn Khulstra
Think probably because of watching his mum and the challenges that she had faced, you know, he was a very strong advocate for women's equal rights, independence, respect.
- [30:00]
Amy Donaldson
The apprenticeship taught Eric valuable skills. He trained to be a fitter and turner. That's a technical trade skill, a kind of mechanical engineering. Eric wasn't content to just work and survive, though. He was a young man eager to explore the world around him and inspired by cultural influences like the songs of the Beach Boys.
- [30:21]
Marilyn Khulstra
He was a mad keen surfer. So his first car was a little Volkswagen Beetle. And he'd put the surfboard on the car and sleep in the car down the street each weekend and back again.
- [30:35]
Amy Donaldson
Eric and his mates went to rock and roll dances on the weekends. At one, he met a pretty young woman named Helen. She too had immigrated to Australia as a child, but her parents were refugees, survivors of Nazi oppression in Poland. Eric and Helen shared strong anti war convictions. The Vietnam War was raging and many young men in Australia were being drafted. Eric's number was never called, but he helped at least one friend evade the draft.
- [31:04]
Marilyn Khulstra
So he was an anti conscription campaigner, protester, a hider of people who would not join up.
- [31:14]
Amy Donaldson
Eric and Helen dated for three years, then married in August of 1969. The wedding had an unintended consequence. It isolated Eric's mom, Margaret. She lived alone with no other family in Australia and soon decided to move back to Scotland. Eric escorted her to the dock on the day she left, waving as she boarded an ocean liner. Not realizing it would be the last time he ever saw his mom, Eric applied for a job with a company called Dynavac at the start of 1970. He showed up for the interview in surfer attire, shorts and a blue tank top. The guy who interviewed him, a young man named Russ Inkle, looked past the casual outfit.
- [32:10]
Eric Robinson
The clothes don't make the man. It was clear that he was a very intelligent guy.
- [32:15]
Amy Donaldson
Eric felt drawn to this company because it prioritized the rights of its workers. Russ hired Eric and they became fast friends.
- [32:23]
Eric Robinson
I'd have to say Eric would be my best friend and we were pretty much in sync. Two young left wingers, you could say.
- [32:33]
Amy Donaldson
Eric pinned a note to a corkboard in the Dynavac break room one day, inviting his co workers to come along on a camping trip over an upcoming holiday weekend.
- [32:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
Cup weekend. It's the only place in the world, I think, where the whole nation stops for a horse race.
- [32:48]
Amy Donaldson
Eric wasn't interested in the Melbourne Cup. Instead, he, Russ and several others drove out into the bush. They spent time around a campfire, talking, relaxing and enjoying nature. And cup weekend camps became an annual tradition for Eric and his friends.
- [33:03]
Marilyn Khulstra
They had trips across Australia, through the Simpson and the Tanami Desert, up into central Australia. All kinds of off road experiences.
- [33:14]
Amy Donaldson
Another of Eric's work friends was a guy named John Sidwell. John and his wife Jeanette joined Eric on several of these off roading adventures.
- [33:22]
Eric Robinson
Oh, look, he loved his bush. Yes, yes. He loved getting out into the bush and wasn't afraid to be out on his own.
- [33:30]
Marilyn Khulstra
He was a good bloke. Although he still always thought of himself as a Scotsman.
- [33:35]
Amy Donaldson
These camping trips left a deep impression on Eric. They were the foundation for a growing sense of environmentalism.
- [33:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
And he became a protester. He tied himself to a tree, got arrested.
- [33:48]
Amy Donaldson
The intensity of his budding passion sometimes surprised his friends.
- [33:53]
Marilyn Khulstra
I guess I could see what his love for it was. And it was love for it. You know, he couldn't help himself. That's where he wanted to be.
- [34:04]
Amy Donaldson
Eric became an Australian citizen at the end of 1973. He and his wife Helen planned to fly to Scotland a few months later to visit Eric's mom. But Margaret died unexpectedly from stomach cancer. She was just 51 years old. Instead of visiting his mom, Eric flew to Scotland to bury her. He couldn't afford a headstone, so Margaret was interred in an unmarked grave. Growing up, Eric had never pressed his mom for the story of what happened to his father. Now that he was an adult, eager to understand her death deprived him of an opportunity to ask. By age 26, Eric had lost his father, stepfather and mother. His wife Helen was all he had left. But even that relationship started to fray.
- [34:57]
Eric Robinson
Helen and Eric's relationship was very volatile. So they would yell and shout at each other, really yell and shout.
- [35:05]
Amy Donaldson
They didn't expect to have kids. Helen was diabetic and doctors told her the odds of her getting pregnant were one in a million.
- [35:13]
Eric Robinson
One day we were at playing cricket in the backyard and someone said to Helen, oh, you got quite a tummy, Helen. And it turned out she was pregnant.
- [35:23]
Amy Donaldson
It was a complicated pregnancy. Helen delivered at 26 weeks, giving premature birth to a boy they named Glenn.
- [35:31]
Eric Robinson
Glenn was born and it was the size of a pound of butter. Just this tiny little thing.
- [35:37]
Amy Donaldson
The pregnancy worsened Helen's diabetes. Her kidneys were compromised. She went on dialysis. Still, all through the 1980s, she joined Eric and their little boy Glenn on camping trips. Russ Inkle told me Eric was an enthusiastic but impatient dad.
- [35:53]
Eric Robinson
We were away camping. Glenn's helping him pull out 10 pegs or some bloody thing. He wasn't doing a particularly effective job. And Eric yells at him, you're as useless as tits on a ball, Glenn. This is a seven year old kid.
- [36:08]
Amy Donaldson
Yeah. Eric wasn't going to Win father of the year. Losing his own dad so young had deprived him of a strong example.
- [36:16]
Eric Robinson
Eric didn't have the role model.
- [36:20]
Amy Donaldson
Helen went to the hospital in May of 1990 for treatment of peritonitis, an inflammation of the abdominal wall. She had an infection. It turned septic and killed her in a matter of hours. She was only 44 years old. Helen's death came just weeks before her son Glenn's 12th birthday birthday and Eric was reeling.
- [36:45]
Eric Robinson
A couple of months after Helen died, Eric was not in a good place.
- [36:52]
Amy Donaldson
Russ and his wife Marg were planning a long road trip through the Simpson Desert up the Kakadu national park at the far northern end of Australia. These were familiar and favorite places for Eric. Russ invited Eric and Glenn to come along, hoping to take their minds off Helen's death.
- [37:09]
Eric Robinson
It was a really wonderful holiday, just the four of us.
- [37:14]
Amy Donaldson
Eric spent those evenings peering into the.
- [37:16]
Eric Robinson
Campfire and you're looking out on this amazing array of stars in the sky.
- [37:23]
Amy Donaldson
I don't know what went through Eric's mind, but I imagine the beauty of the desert drew his thoughts away from his grief. Eric's friends John and Jeanette Sidwell also invited him on a trip. In the morning wake of Helen's death, he joined them on a trek in Tasmania.
- [37:38]
Marilyn Khulstra
We did the overland track in Tassie with him and it was just amazing.
- [37:44]
Amy Donaldson
The overland track crosses through scenic wilderness and it's usually done over several days. Eric hadn't done many long multi day hikes like this before, carrying all his food and gear on his back. But he loved it.
- [37:56]
Eric Robinson
Yeah, and that probably was the first walk that got him back into it, got him going again and from then on, yeah, he was off.
- [38:05]
Amy Donaldson
So look, I don't want to oversimplify by suggesting a couple campfires and one long hike completely closed the wound of Helen's death. They didn't. But these experiences taught Eric nature wasn't just a place to play. It held a healing power, an ability to soothe his sorrow. This helps explain why soon after Helen's death, Eric sold the house they had shared and bought that small plot of land a bit farther out in the suburb of Heathmont where he built his new house on a secluded dead end street next to a nature preserve.
- [38:48]
Marilyn Khulstra
After he built the house and he worked on the garden, that's always good therapy. And the back living area overlooks the garden which seemingly goes on forever because it has a chain mesh fence that allows the outside natural bush in.
- [39:04]
Amy Donaldson
I mentioned this garden once already. It became Eric's hideout. A Haven, where he went to heal when he couldn't escape to the wilderness. Marilyn quickly learned her new boyfriend, Eric took every opportunity to get outside. And he brought her along as often as her work schedule allowed.
- [39:24]
Marilyn Khulstra
Every school holidays, he would plan to maybe take a long weekend.
- [39:29]
Amy Donaldson
They traveled all over eastern Australia, road tripping in Eric's 4x4.
- [39:33]
Marilyn Khulstra
I learnt a four wheel drive from Eric.
- [39:36]
Amy Donaldson
He took Marilyn up past Brisbane one time to a place called K' Gari, also known as Fraser Island. To get there, they had to ferry the 4x4 across the water on a barge. Eric was out of the car when the barge landed on the sandy beach. Marilyn was at the wheel. He had taught her to keep momentum when driving on sand, so she floored it.
- [39:58]
Marilyn Khulstra
I drove off and left him there, most indignant about that. He shouldn't have taught her to drive.
- [40:06]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn knew how to take Eric's sarcasm and dish it right back.
- [40:10]
Marilyn Khulstra
We did bring a change of clothes just in case we got wet. We Robinson?
- [40:15]
Amy Donaldson
Yeah, I forgot to bring yours.
- [40:17]
Marilyn Khulstra
I brought my own.
- [40:18]
Amy Donaldson
Oh, right, okay.
- [40:19]
Marilyn Khulstra
I wouldn't rely on you for my change of clothes.
- [40:22]
Amy Donaldson
They were well matched in this way.
- [40:24]
Marilyn Khulstra
Now, if you want to say something, Eric, shout, shout. Sorry. I laughed.
- [40:32]
Amy Donaldson
Eric and Marilyn hiked all over New Zealand together.
- [40:35]
Marilyn Khulstra
We walked the Heathy track and the Wongapeka and it's a beautiful country.
- [40:41]
Amy Donaldson
Derek even took Marilyn and a couple of her kids to Tasmania, one of the places he had confronted his grief after his first wife Helen's death. He led Marilyn up a ridge.
- [40:52]
Marilyn Khulstra
Eric said to me, come and look at this. This is magnificent. So I traipse up behind and across the valley below were many, many. It was called the Thousand Lakes. And I said rather glibly, flippantly, oh, look at all the puddles. And he was, they're not puddles, they're lakes. We just laugh, laugh, laugh. And then forever after, I've been stuck with the nickname Puddles.
- [41:23]
Amy Donaldson
The pet name was a sure indication Eric was in love.
- [41:27]
Marilyn Khulstra
I'd never had a nickname.
- [41:29]
Amy Donaldson
Eric gave her a different nickname name in private Hen, a Scottish term of endearment. He used it whenever he most wanted to show his affection. Good morning, hen. You can do it, Hen.
- [41:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
It was a development of respect and understanding and shared interests and the time spent together.
- [41:49]
Amy Donaldson
They daydreamed of the future they might share. Growing old together, traveling the world, hiking side by side.
- [41:58]
Marilyn Khulstra
That love of walking, I think, really drew us into a lot of activities together.
- [42:04]
Amy Donaldson
Eric introduced Marilyn to his friends who went months thinking her name was Marlin. Like the fish. Because of how Eric's Scottish accent squashed the middle syllable in Marylin. His best friend Russ Inkle told me Marilyn changed Eric for the better. He seemed happier with her than he had ever been. Eric's closest friendships were all born at work at that company, Dynavac, I mentioned earlier. So it hurt Eric when he lost that job in the late 90s.
- [42:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
His original workplace was sold and everybody moved on.
- [42:40]
Amy Donaldson
Eric bounced around for a bit, eventually landing at a factory that packaged toilet paper for the Aussie brand Sorbent. Not the most glamorous gig, but an important one because it's where Eric made a critical new connection.
- [42:55]
Marilyn Khulstra
There was a New Zealander, Alan Beck.
- [42:57]
Amy Donaldson
Who liked walking and Eric's new co worker. Alan loved climbing mountains.
- [43:05]
Marilyn Khulstra
And so the two of them over lunch breaks would conjure up places that I want to go. Because Alan's wife didn't like doing those.
- [43:13]
Amy Donaldson
Kind of adventures, they began going on hikes together and bonded over their love of the outdoors. Over the next decade, that friendship would take the two men around the world and lead to a tragedy neither of them saw coming. Because this is the same Allen who would eventually call Marilyn with the news, Eric was overdue. The historical society in Heathmont, where Eric Robinson lived, profiled 200 of the suburbs residents in the year 2000. Eric contributed a brief autobiography. He introduced himself and his son Glen. One of the reasons we chose to live here is the diversity of flora and fauna in the area, Eric wrote. Our garden is planted out with Australian natives. You've already heard him showing off. The garden in this home video recorded by Marilyn. Grebellius are still flowering. As you can see. This one's just about ready to break up. The strategy is to have shrubs and trees flowering as well as seeding all all through the year to encourage birds. Eric wrote Eastern Spine Bill in the grevillea just here. Got nothing to fear. Cute, innit? Marilyn had bought her own house in East Bentley, about 40 minutes away from where Eric lived in Heathmont. A year into their relationship, I felt.
- [44:54]
Marilyn Khulstra
Very independent and proud about that and it was close to where I worked.
- [44:59]
Amy Donaldson
So they lived separate lives during the work week.
- [45:02]
Marilyn Khulstra
We each maintained our own households.
- [45:05]
Amy Donaldson
Life had taught Marilyn not to surrender her hard fought independence.
- [45:09]
Marilyn Khulstra
I'd always jokingly said, well, I don't cohabit, it's marriage or nothing. And he just goes, oh, I don't know if I want to get married again.
- [45:17]
Amy Donaldson
Eric's reluctance had a lot to do with the problem of integrating his and Marilyn's families. Marilyn had introduced Eric to her kids early in their relationship.
- [45:26]
Marilyn Khulstra
It's baptism by fire with four kids because they all had, you know, very vibrant personalities.
- [45:32]
Amy Donaldson
Eric had built bonds with each of them. Marilyn had likewise tried to connect with Eric's son Glenn, but with very little success. I have one of Eric's home videos from 2002, eight years into his relationship with Marilyn. It shows them at Eric's house celebrating Glenn's 24th birthday. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear Glenn Happy birthday.
- [45:57]
Marilyn Khulstra
To you hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
- [46:03]
Amy Donaldson
Glenn cutting a birthday cake. Glen still lived at home with Eric, and the two of them didn't always get along. Eric disliked his son's friends and suspected Glen was using drugs. Marilyn wasn't willing to move in with Eric so long as Glen lived there. And Eric wasn't going to move in with Marilyn because that would require kicking his son to the street. They were at an impasse. This same home movie includes another bit where Eric and Marilyn travel to Yarra Ranges national park with some friends.
- [46:36]
Marilyn Khulstra
And we're doing a rainforest walk at Warburton so nay can say something. Hi, Janie. Hi, Janie. Happy birthday.
- [46:44]
Amy Donaldson
Janie was Eric's aunt, his mom's sister in law. Janie lived in England and was about to turn 70. Eric devised a plan to surprise her. He told Janie he was going to visit Scotland to go trekking in the Cairngorms, the highest mountains in the Scottish Highlands. Catching the ferns on the tree.
- [47:01]
Marilyn Khulstra
I got the ferns on the tree.
- [47:03]
Amy Donaldson
Eric don't get that in Scotland. In reality, he was going to drop in on Janie unannounced to wish her happy birthday and give her a copy of this video.
- [47:13]
Marilyn Khulstra
Here we are at the top of Mount Donabuang, and just like I said to you during the week, we've had our first, first fall of snow. This is the the lowest area in Victoria that you find snow and it's just little smatterings across the ground.
- [47:28]
Amy Donaldson
Australia's mountains just don't rise that high. Donna Boing tops out at 1,245 meters above sea level, or 4,100ft. Marilyn noted that's just as high as Cairngorm in Scotland, where Eric did plan to hike after dropping off the surprise birthday video to his Aunt Jack.
- [47:46]
Marilyn Khulstra
By the time you get to see this video, you'll know that the whole story of Eric trekking has been a hoax and the whole surprise for you will have happened. But we've joked about bringing him up here to Acclimatize him for the weather. Back in Scotland.
- [48:04]
Amy Donaldson
Eric had spent his whole life wondering why his mom cut him off from his father's side of the family. Since he was already going to the UK to deliver this birthday video to his Aunt Janie, he decided to also go in search of his lost Robinson relatives. And he was able to find them.
- [48:19]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yeah, he did. Yeah.
- [48:21]
Amy Donaldson
Eric's birth certificate listed his father's occupation as painter. And it had the address where Eric was born in the town of Ross on Wye. So Eric went to that town while in England and stopped at the local library to get directions to the house. While there, he saw an ad for a business called Robinson Painters. It couldn't be a coincidence. Eric went to that business and knocked on the door. A young boy answered, took one look at him and shouted over his shoulder, it's cousin Eric. Eric had found his long lost family. In the conversations that followed, he learned the heartbreaking story his mother had never told him. The story of his father's death. On an August evening in 1948, Victor Robinson walked home from a movie with his dad and brother. The three men could hear a motorcycle in the distance, wending its way down some distant path. The rumbling seemed to come and go due to tall hedges along both sides of the laneway that sometimes blocked the sound. The Robinson men were nearing home when all at once, the mother motorcycle sound roared into their ears from directly behind. The bike whipped around a bend and plowed into Victor, hitting him square in the back. He never regained consciousness and died at a hospital two days later. An inquest placed blame for the accident on Victor and his father. They had been walking on the wrong side of the road. And that might explain why Eric's mom, Margaret, rushed back to Scotland so soon after her husband's death, cutting young Eric off from his Robinson relatives. I suspect she blamed her father in law for what happened. Eric returned to Australia with a newfound respect for the transience of life. It could end at any moment, so don't waste a single day going forward. He intended to seize every opportunity to venture into the wild. Eric yearned to travel the world with Marilyn, taking on longer and more challenging treks in exotic locales. But Marilyn had received a promotion at work, becoming principal of Volkstone Primary School.
- [50:49]
Marilyn Khulstra
And I was not able nor willing to take time out of work. I was happy to travel in school holiday times, which he was not happy about because being the canny Scotsman, that was more expensive.
- [51:02]
Amy Donaldson
So instead Eric turned to his work friend, Alan Beck.
- [51:06]
Marilyn Khulstra
You know I think they had a bit of a reputation in the lunchroom and in the workplace of being, you know, those nutter outdoor people. Alan was die hard outdoors.
- [51:15]
Amy Donaldson
Alan was even more experienced than Eric when it came to mountains. He was a rock climber and mountaineer, comfortable in more extreme terrain than Eric was used to traveling. But they'd already done some hikes together.
- [51:28]
Marilyn Khulstra
And they seemed to bond well. And they weren't always walking side by side. As I understand the recount, both men.
- [51:36]
Amy Donaldson
Wanted to take their adventuring to the next level. One of them proposed. Proposed what about Patagonia?
- [51:43]
Marilyn Khulstra
And the next trip was planned to South America.
- [51:47]
Amy Donaldson
They flew to Punta Arenas in Chile in February of 2003, then traveled north along the Argentinian border to Puerto Natales.
- [51:55]
Marilyn Khulstra
The area in Patagonia on the Chilean side was their destination. So they did the Torres del Pani.
- [52:03]
Amy Donaldson
Eric and Alan spent a week trekking for around a mountain group called the Cordillera del Paine, walking a path called the O Circuit. It's a trek of about 120 kilometers or 75 miles. Eric carried a film camera and I viewed the pictures he took. They show gorgeous scenery. Granite towers slicing into puffy clouds, a rainbow breaking across the expansive ice of the gray glacier. There are frames that show Eric and Alan posing on piles of ship, scattered rock and others where they're huddled in tents sheltering from wet weather. They appeared to get along well.
- [52:41]
Marilyn Khulstra
Alan, being younger, would walk faster and taller, had a longer gait, so there would be, you know, space and time to contemplate, you know, not have to consider somebody else.
- [52:53]
Amy Donaldson
Side by side, Alan pushed Eric a bit beyond his comfort zone. During the trip, he scrambled up a steep rocky slope to the foot of a high angle snowfield in an area called the French Valley. Eric hated snow.
- [53:07]
Marilyn Khulstra
Growing up in cold Scotland, he wasn't a skier and he would not even contemplate a skiing holiday. He would prefer not to be hiking through snow or going through snow. He certainly would try to go around that.
- [53:22]
Amy Donaldson
But Alan prodded snow, so Eric braved it.
- [53:25]
Marilyn Khulstra
That was probably the highlight of their first foray into mountaineering. Glacial snow places together. It was a stunning place.
- [53:38]
Amy Donaldson
Patagonia impressed Eric beyond anything he had ever seen.
- [53:42]
Marilyn Khulstra
When he came back, he was so full of this beautiful place because the rock formations, the snow, the animals, the plains, the. The Chilean people. He was waxing lyrical about this for months on end. Eric said, so when I die, I would like you to scatter my ashes. Some with my mum in Scotland, some in the Grampians. In Victoria and get Alan to take some ashes and scatter them in the Torres del Pani National Park. That's how significant that trip and hike up the gray glacier was with him.
- [54:23]
Amy Donaldson
There was just one problem. Eric and Marilyn weren't married. If Eric were to die, Marilyn wouldn't have any authority to carry out this final wish. Eric and Marilyn marked the 10 year anniversary of their first date in May of 2004. They'd both matured during that decade together, but Eric remained reluctant to take the next step.
- [54:48]
Marilyn Khulstra
And he'd always said that he preferred his own company.
- [54:52]
Amy Donaldson
Eric had, by this point, sent his son Glenn off to live more than 20 hours away by car, hoping to break Glenn away from bad influences.
- [55:01]
Marilyn Khulstra
Glenn had moved out, gone to Queensland. And I think he realized that, yeah, okay, your company's fine for a while, but ultimately you're living on your own and there's a relationship happening that maybe it would be much nicer to enjoy that together.
- [55:20]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn's kids were all grown and out of the house as well. So Eric and Marilyn owned two empty nests.
- [55:29]
Marilyn Khulstra
He said, I've had a thought. He said, how about you come and live at my place?
- [55:35]
Amy Donaldson
A prelude to a long overdue proposal.
- [55:39]
Marilyn Khulstra
We were out to a family lunch on a Sunday. We were having Yumcha and it was dripping rain. And underneath a tree in a busy suburban street in Doncaster, he proposed.
- [55:52]
Amy Donaldson
Marilyn said yes. They kept their engagement quiet. Then In March of 2005, they invited friends and family to a garden party at Marilyn's place in East Bentley. Midway through the evening, Eric and Marilyn surprised their guests by standing before a minister and exchanging rings. Their friends John and Jeanette Sidwell were among the guests.
- [56:14]
Eric Robinson
We just went to a party one night and it was actually a wedding.
- [56:19]
Marilyn Khulstra
And Eric wasn't in jeans.
- [56:21]
Amy Donaldson
That's how you know something is up.
- [56:23]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yes.
- [56:24]
Eric Robinson
Yeah, but we knew something was up, but we didn't expect a wedding.
- [56:28]
Amy Donaldson
They exchanged vows and rings. Then Marilyn announced she was moving to Heathmont. No more would she and Eric live apart.
- [56:38]
Marilyn Khulstra
We maintained that lifestyle for 11 years, much to the amusement of family and friends and, you know, what do you two think you're doing?
- [56:49]
Amy Donaldson
They integrated their lives at long last.
- [56:52]
Marilyn Khulstra
You know, it filled that space of companionship and, you know, at the touch and the warmth of another human being.
- [57:01]
Amy Donaldson
They traveled to the UK together later that year and visited the cemetery where Eric's mother Margaret was buried in Scotland. Her grave had sat unmarked for more than 30 years. Eric purchased a headstone and had the words, in loving memory of my Dear Mother Margaret, inscribed in gold lettering. Eric had lost nearly everyone he had ever loved. But he finally found peace in two places. In nature and with Marilyn. We started our story with Marilyn learning Eric was overdue on the Cascade Saddle. That happened in 2008, three years after their wedding. I'm going to take you back now to my walk on that same track. After I accidentally triggered an emergency alert on my iPhone, I kept hearing helicopters in the hours that followed. Hopefully they're just going on a sightseeing tour and not looking for me. They didn't swoop low like they were searching, so I figured the satellite call must not have gone through. The false alarm meant I was free to continue on without worry. I originally planned this walk to be four nights, five days. I came prepared to spend all of that time alone. But hiking is a popular pastime in New Zealand, so I did run into people along the way.
- [58:31]
Marilyn Khulstra
Hello.
- [58:31]
Amy Donaldson
How you doing?
- [58:32]
Marilyn Khulstra
Good. How are you?
- [58:33]
Amy Donaldson
Great. Here. I had paused to take a picture of a sign that read, danger. Multiple fatalities have occurred on this route.
- [58:43]
Marilyn Khulstra
Nice camera.
- [58:44]
Amy Donaldson
Oh, thank you.
- [58:45]
Marilyn Khulstra
What are you shooting?
- [58:46]
Amy Donaldson
Just a sign.
- [58:47]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yeah.
- [58:47]
Amy Donaldson
Yeah.
- [58:48]
Marilyn Khulstra
I also do the same, actually. It's interesting.
- [58:51]
Amy Donaldson
I'll get out of your way. Yeah, we chatted a bit. I said I was going to stay in a tent atop Cascade Saddle. Most trampers don't do that, opting to instead stay in a warm, dry hut.
- [59:02]
Marilyn Khulstra
Oh, my gosh. It would be so nice to go Cascade happening there tonight.
- [59:06]
Amy Donaldson
As long as the weather's good.
- [59:07]
Marilyn Khulstra
Yeah, it's gonna be. I don't know.
- [59:09]
Amy Donaldson
Last time I said it's gonna be quite rainy tomorrow.
- [59:11]
Marilyn Khulstra
But we'll see. See, we'll have an amazing trip.
- [59:14]
Amy Donaldson
You, too. Thank you.
- [59:15]
Marilyn Khulstra
Bye.
- [59:15]
Amy Donaldson
Bye. There are plenty of ways to die out here. Aside from falling, drowning is a risk, too. When heavy rain hits glacier ice, it can cause flash flooding. The track to Cascade Saddle crosses several streams that flash red regularly. I saw a weather report scrawled on a whiteboard at one of the huts I passed. It said heavy rain was on the way. At some point, you have to ask yourself, is it worth the risk? I pressed on, marching up the Dart river under ominous skies. At the head of the Dart, I started up a second steep slope toward the saddle, weaving through tussocks, gaining elevation with every step. Glimpses of blue sky through the clouds goaded me on. But I could see the storm on the horizon blowing my direction. And there's the wind. Okay, right. An echo of what happened to Eric Robinson. I was only about 45 minutes from the top of the saddle where I could shelter in my tent. But how long would the storm last and how high would the creeks rise? If I was delayed more than a day, I'd miss my flight back to Melbourne. I thought about Marilyn. I couldn't make her relive this experience, so I will sign off. I gave up on my goal and retreated to safety, but Eric Robinson did not turn back during his walk over the Cascade Saddle. When our story resumes, I'll tell you exactly how his walk end Uinta Triangle includes immersive field recordings made in real outdoor locations. For the best listening experience, please consider using a good pair of stereo headphones. And if you'd like to build a better picture of the places we visit, you can find maps, photos and video@uintatriangle.com that's uinta spelled uinta triangle.com find us on social media using uintatriangle. Bringing you this story has been an effort years in the making to support this kind of work. Please follow the show and share it with your friends. You can also help us by subscribing to Lemonada Premium right in your podcast player. It gets you access to exclusive bonus episodes. Here's producer Andrea Smarden with a peek at the latest bonus in this podcast.
- [62:09]
Marilyn Khulstra
Dave Colley captures recordings of sliding rocks on talus slopes, flooded trails, and hidden wildlife from the southern island of New Zealand to the Uinta crest of the Mountain West. Check out bonus Episode one to find.
- [62:23]
Dave Cawley
Out the lengths a podcast producer will.
- [62:26]
Marilyn Khulstra
Go so you can experience the wild and beautiful places where our story unfolds.
- [62:32]
Amy Donaldson
Uinta Triangle is researched and written by me, Dave Colley. Andrea Smarten is lead producer and Sound designer, with contributing producers Ben Kiebrick and Jenny Amint. Our main score and original music are by Alison Layton Brown. Uinta Triangle is a production of KSL Podcasts and Lemonada Media. My personal thanks to the following past and present members of the KSL Podcasts team Aaron Mason, Amy Donaldson, Felix Bonnell, Josh Tilton, Nina Ernest and Ryan Meeks. Lemonada executive producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittleswax, and for KSL Podcasts, our executive producer is Cheryl Worsley. Finally, from me to you. Please remember, wherever your life's trail takes you. None of us ever truly walk alone.
- [63:35]
Dave Cawley
Suffering is inevitable and it sucks. But we're still expected to thrive. Everything Happens is a podcast for people who are tired of coffee, monk platitudes and want something with a little more teeth and a lot more heart. Each week, Duke Professor Kate Bowler talks with guests like Glennon Doyle, Sharon McMahan and Coach K about grief, absurdity and the beautiful, terrible days we actually live through. No hustle culture, no silver linings, just real talk and good company. Listen to everything happens. Wherever you get your podcasts.