Robinson's Rest - Marilyn's journey to Allsop Lake

Marilyn Koolstra, accompanied by Mark, Kelvin and Hardy Judd, treks along a bench above Allsop Lake on Aug. 3, 2024.

Uinta Triangle, as originally conceived, was only supposed to span eight episodes. It would cover the story of Eric Robinson’s life, his journey to Utah and disappearance in the Uinta Mountains in 2011, followed by surprise discovery of his remains in 2016. The story was to conclude with takeaways from KSL Podcasts’ independent investigation: the summary that wraps up episode 8.

The idea of adding a ninth, finale episode only arose after Eric’s wife, Marilyn Koolstra, announced plans to travel to Utah again in July of 2024. Marilyn had visited Utah for the search in 2011, but had not returned since. She believed there was no feasible way for her reach the place where her late husband’s life ended.

Marilyn, at age 72, remained energetic.

“I don’t perceive myself as old, but when I look in the mirror, I think there’s a few changes there,” Marilyn said. “Some days I creak out of bed and I think, ‘Oh, that’s a bit sore.’ But I will not give in to sitting on the couch. I will not give in to a sedentary lifestyle.”

Tour of Utah

Marilyn arranged her visit to Utah to align with Eric’s travels, 13 years earlier. She arrived at Salt Lake City International Airport on July 21, and hoped to be at Allsop Lake on Aug. 4, the anniversary of Eric’s fatal fall.

Mariln Koolstra stands on the shore of the Great Salt Lake — Marilyn Koolstra stands at the shore of the Great Salt Lake, in Antelope Island State Park, on July 30, 2024. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

That left a week and a half to prepare physically, and mentally, for the task. To help with this, and to share more of my home state’s amazing landscapes, I organized a “tour of Utah” roadtrip with Marilyn. The plan included several hikes that increased in difficulty each day.

Woman in pink shirt and white jacket stands in front of desert scenery — Marilyn Koolstra stands at Bryce Canyon National Park’s Sunrise Point on July 25, 2024. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

From Cohab Canyon at Capitol Reef National Park, to Escalante Natural Bridge in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, to the Navajo-Peekaboo Trails in Bryce Canyon National Park, Marilyn proved herself a fit and determined hiker.

Woman in pink top, holding a camera, stands high above a desert canyon. — Marilyn Koolstra stands along Utah State Route 12, overlooking Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, on July 25, 2024. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

The tour of Utah culminated with an ascent of Angels Landing in Zion National Park, one of the most iconic trails in the state. A combination of summer heat and steep incline make the route to the top of the sandstone fin an effective stress test.

“There was a time halfway up that first incline where I’m thinking, ‘Can I do this? How do I tell Dave that I can’t do this? I’m not going to tell him that. I’m going to steady my breathing, I’m going to pace myself,’” Marilyn said.

Using chains for handholds, Marilyn made her way to the top of Angels Landing, where she snapped pictures to share with family back home in Australia.

A woman in a floppy hat stands atop a cliff edge in Zion National Park — Marilyn Koolstra stands atop Angels Landing in Zion National Park on July 27, 2024. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

“One of my sons called me the GOAT, greatest of all time,” Marilyn said. “The other children were very impressed.”

The trek to Allsop Lake

Marilyn embarked on her pilgrimage to Allsop Lake on Aug 2., 2024, accompanied by her late husband Eric’s friend, Julia Geisler, as well as members of the Judd family, who located Eric’s remains in 2016.

The full account of the journey to Allsop Lake is contained in the audio of Uinta Triangle episode 9. Here are presented just a selection of moments from that trek, with minimal additional commentary.

A group of hikers and a traveler on horseback gather on a forested trail — Kelvin Judd (right, on horseback) holds his son, Hardy, while Julia Geisler and Marilyn Koolstra navigate a section of the East Fork Bear River Trail. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Julia Geisler stands in a meadow at the edge of a forest wearing an akubra — Julia Geisler wears an akubra, a traditional Australian fur felt hat, gifted to her by her friend, Eric Robinson, prior to his death in the Uinta Mountains in 2011. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

A man on horseback holds a small radio on a forested trail — Mark Judd fiddles with a small radio while headed to Allsop Lake. The Judd family has carried radios in the backcountry every since Kelvin Judd became lost in the mountains as a teenager. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Marilyn Koolstra stands next to a wooden signboard pointing the way to Allsop Lake — Marilyn Koolstra navigates using primitive trail markers in the High Uintas Wilderness. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Two hikers are seen from behind, sitting in a meadow, with one wrapping an arm around the other — Julia Geisler (left) comforts Marilyn Koolstra on the trek to Allsop Lake. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Two women stand on a rock outcropping with flags, below a towering triangular mountain peak — Julia Geisler and Marilyn Koolstra pose with three flags beneath Yard Peak in the High Uintas Wilderness. The Scottish, Australian and Utah flags represent three major chapters of Eric Robinson’s life. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

A group of hikers stand above timber line and below a barren mountain peak — The Cathedral looms over Marilyn Koolstra, as well as Mark, Kelvin and Hardy Judd, during their hike to Eric Robinson’s final resting place. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Marilyn Koolstra and Kelvin Judd sit on rocks on a steep mountain slope — Marilyn Koolstra sits on “Ruby’s Rock” on the slopes east of Allsop Lake, speaking to Kelvin Judd. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

Echos in time

When I visited Marilyn in Australia, to interview her for the Uinta Triangle podcast, I noticed a photo frame tucked into a corner of her home. In it were photos of the cairn she built for Eric in the Uinta Mountains at the end of the search in 2011, of the garden Eric helped create at the school where Marilyn worked and of Eric at a campsite. A small coin Eric’d purchased in Nepal, while hiking the Annapurna Circuit with Marilyn in 2009, hung off one side of the frame.

A picture frame containing four photos representing the life of Eric Robinson sits on a small table — A small photo shrine in honor of Eric Robinson, in the house he and Marilyn Koolstra formerly shared. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

The fourth picture in that frame showed Eric sitting on the deck of a boat in Vietnam’s Halong Bay. Marilyn said the candid shot was one of the last of Eric, before he departed for his final trek.

“That was the last overseas trip that we did together,” Marilyn said. “I am very glad that I persuaded him that that was a good place to go.”

In the image, Eric appeared contemplative, peering into the distance.

Australian trekker Eric Robinson sits on a lounge chair aboard a boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam — Eric Robinson sits on the deck of a boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam on April 21, 2011, just a few months prior to his death. Photo: courtesy Marilyn Koolstra

During Marilyn’s pilgrimage to Allsop Lake, and to the slope where Eric’s remains came to rest, I was struck by the unintentional similarity between that photo of Eric in Vietnam and Marilyn’s pose. I captured my own candid shot.

These two pictures were taken half a world away and separated by years of time.

Marilyn Koolstra sits atop a large rock in the Uinta Mountains — Marilyn Koolstra sits on “Ruby’s Rock,” in the High Uintas Wilderness, on Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: Dave Cawley, KSL Podcasts

“Eric and I were very happy together, and we had planned to travel together and do lots of things together,” Marilyn said. “It just reminds me that you don’t put things off. You make the most of every day and you make the most of every person that you meet.”