At the break of dawn on the 28th of May, 2022, five curious young men set out with a daring question in mind: Was it possible to trek from Kalorgu to Laɓarya and return the same day?

As they departed Kaltungo, Their first destination was Lapan which they approached through Pan Mana climbing the mountain path beside Walter Gowans Secondary School. Time was not on their side, they hoped to meet another group already assembled in Lapan so they could proceed together to Laɓarya village, a rural settlement under Shongom Local Government.

Midway through the hills to Lapan, trouble struck. Ngalurgo’s shoes collapsed completely. Progress slowed as he resorted to the palm slippers Gad had wisely packed as backup, all while desperately hoping to find a cobbler in Lapan that early in the morning.

By the time they arrived in Lapan, the second squad had not yet gathered. Fortune, however, smiled on them: a helpful local summoned a cobbler from across ECWA Church Kalaku, who stitched Ngalurgo’s shoes back together. Meanwhile, Mr. Squad was contacted and reminded to assemble his team as promised.

Slowly but surely, the Lapan crew arrived. By the time the cobbler had finished, spirits were high. They converged at Kalaku where a bottle of spirit was requested from Baban Chiboy’s shop to “launch” the journey, and as their number grew to thirteen, excitement overflowed. They chattered, joked, and danced greeting passers-by and entertaining curious onlookers who could hardly believe their mission.

Then they moved.

Step by step, they pushed deeper into the bushes, leaving Lapan behind as the town gradually shrank into the horizon, the music basting from the bluetooth speaker.

At that final glimpse of Lapan, Ngalurgo was struck by nostalgia. Memories rushed back to December 2007, his first visit to Laɓarya with Lafirga(Kefas Akama), Tido(Theophilus Yakubu), and Maikudi(Joram Jonathan) among others. They had heard of a party happening in the village that night and hopped into the back of a pickup truck to attend it. Lapan’s lights had slowly faded until only darkness remained. Hills stretched endlessly on both sides, and the road was unbearably rough. He thought surely wherever they were headed was the end of the world.

That night took a painful turn when they woke around 4 a.m. to discover the pickup had abandoned them in the village. They were stranded and had to trek all the way home.

Now, fifteen years later, Ngalurgo found himself voluntarily walking back to that same village once without electricity or clean drinking water as he looked out for familiar landmarks.

The trek was filled with storytelling, laughter, and playful banter, which helped mask the physical strain.  They longed to get the first glimpse of the village. Their energies, water, and patience were gone. Doubt crept in. Were they even on the right path? Frustration grew when there seemed to be no end to the odyssey in sight.

The first glimpse of the thatched roofs atop mud huts felt much more than the light at the end of a tunnel. It was redemption at a distance that seemed unreachable.

Gradually they took those heavy steps until the buildings appeared bigger and closer, almost staggering when they breathlessly approached the first shelter they could reach. They filled up the improvised wooden benches, dropping over their surfaces like sacks of dead weight with only enough energy to kick off their shoes and free those burning toes from further torture.

After catching their breath and passing around the large stainless-steel cup which they drained to quench their thirst, they thanked the nursing mother that offered them water and continued further to the other end of the village with the little energy that they could muster.

As the exhaustion caught up with everyone, they rested beneath a large neem tree stretching over its unearthed roots and paid for food to be prepared as a clay potful of pito was presented to them with calabashes to serve those who were interested. They interacted with the villagers who couldn’t believe that the guys trekked all that distance just for fun.

The revelation that there were still some other villages further ahead was a surprise to some of the visitors as they received some grassroot lectures on history and geography while basking in the beauty of nature and rural life. They learnt about the non-Tangale settlements that were further ahead stretching as far as Taraba state as a couple of the guys got an Achaɓa (bike) that took them to one of the villages to purchase some items. When it was time to return, the Lapan team admitted they could not walk back and requested motorcycles to return home.

It was quite tempting for Barnabas Yuwel, Harry Victor, Gad Yuwel, Nathan Yakubu, and Ben Majidadi but despite the fatigue and pain they felt all over their bodies, they didn’t want to fail on their initial quest, so with fire in their toes, trembling knees and tightened thighs and glutes, they pressed on.

Determined to fulfil the original mission, the five completed the journey on foot ultimately covering about 40 kilometers that day.

And just like that, the spirit of what would become their first official hike was born.