Papa Pilgrim
In the summer of 2004 Taylor and I celebrated our 1st anniversary by embarking on an unforgettable adventure. It took some convincing, but Taylor grew warm to my anniversary adventure rather quickly: explore the north by truck.
After throwing a thin mattress, our down comforter, backpacking gear, books, and a big knife into the back of my pickup, we were off. For the next 30 days we drove my 4×4 from San Francisco, through the Canadian Rockies, into the expanses and corners of Alaska, all the way to the shore of the Arctic Ocean, and then we drove back. (Guys, I know, God has been kind to me to give me a bride who was actually willing to do this).
Along the way we had many mini-adventures. One of the most memorable was two days of backpacking through Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest National Park in America. I won’t tell you our stories about the grizzlies, the glacier, the mountain rescue, or the mine. Instead, I want to point you to a different story.
On our final day in Wrangell-St. Elias, Taylor and I hiked through the small (year round population of 50), extremely hard to get to town of McCarthy. There we met a few teenagers who dressed, acted, and talked in a very unusual manner. When introducing ourselves, the girl told me her name was “Jerusalem.” Her siblings’ names were also biblical and unusual. She told me she had a total of 14 siblings.
Later, I asked other locals about these people and they told me strange stories of “the Pilgrim family” who lived far up in the mountains in an old mine. Taylor and I were deeply intrigued and somewhat disturbed by what we saw and what we were told about the pilgrim family.
Five years have passed since that encounter in a far corner of Alaska. But, a few days ago I was reading Outside magazine and was stunned when I came across an article that tells the true story of the pilgrim family. I think many of you would be interested in reading this story, The Darkest Place, by Mark Kirby.
Here’s the lead in:
frontier, a man can hide his sins. Robert Allen Hale—a.k.a. Papa
Pilgrim—bought a homestead outside the remote town of McCarthy where he
imprisoned his family and conned the world with tales of a simpler
life. But for the 15 children living the nightmare, the only choice was
escape.
Read the whole thing (and take note, it is a man who truly knows Jesus who helped bring truth and rescue to this family).
I read the whole thing. I felt like when the girls were trying to escape and nothing was working, it would be so natural to doubt God. Like God are you serious? But He came through.
So crazy that you met them though
It is wild you ran into this family; I subcribe to Outside and the story intruiged me when I originally read it – great example of evil, and the opposite of how God’s family functions.
What a wife you have! I set off on a similar adventure, prior to a wife, with my brother – we ended up working in an Alaskan logging camp for three months.
So if you were there in 2004, that means you met them just before they tried to escape. Is that right?
I’d be curious to know more about how you encountered them. Did you hike through their property? Or did you meet them in town? I find this extremely crazy and alomst terrifying! And I’m not the one who experienced it! I can’t even image what you must be thinking….
Another holy man who murded his first wife at 18, and went on to rape, torture, and hold hostage his entire family. This is another reason why I am not a christian.
