The trail pilots

Some Trees Stay Greener, No Matter the Weather

Today, I set out on a trail-setting adventure with the Naija Adventurers Trail Pilots (yes, that's their name, and it sounds as cool as they are). It was an eye-opening experience to feel the heat of the trail-setting process before we come back for the real hike on Saturday.

Meet the Naija Adventurers Trail Pilots! They are 43 in total, but you know how life is some show up, some have commitments, and others join on different days. Today, we were 17 strong, setting the trail and, wait for it… planning a picnic in the bush! Because why not?

It was a delightful experience being among the trail pilots. The happiness on their faces, the commitment I saw in them it amazed me. Now, I love nature, but these guys? Their love for nature is on another level. They scout for safe and scenic hiking spots, ensuring that when we come, it's all fun and breathtaking views.

We were to meet at Kubwa Bridge at 6:30 a.m. to leave by 7:00 a.m. And so, at 6:16 a.m., I left my house in a rush, barely able to say goodbye to my lovely plants. Sorry, dear plants, I’ll attend to you when I return.

I met up with my hiking friend (who is also a trail pilot), and we rode together to the meeting point. We arrived at 7:19 a.m. and exchanged pleasantries with those already waiting. Of course, we had to ask if we were the last ones to arrive. The answer? "Nope, one more person is left." We waited, and once they showed up, we moved to our destination Bricks City.

The Drama Begins

Before heading out, we stopped to get water, then parked our cars and got to the real deal dividing up the load. Now, this was where things got interesting. We had:

Sachet water (a lot of it)

A camping gas cooker

Foodstuffs

A big bowl

Some drinks

Everyone grabbed what they could carry. Someone (bless his heart) volunteered to carry other people's backpacks because, well, water is heavy. Mr. Peruzzi and Oscar took on the big bowl filled with sachet water and the foodstuff bag clearly the heaviest items. And me? Yours truly tried to hide so I wouldn’t have to carry anything. Plot twist: I didn't escape! Mr. Selfiey handed me the grill rack. (Sigh. At least it wasn’t heavy.) Meanwhile, Mr. Oscar decided to give us a full-on "hawking" performance with the water comedy gold!

The Trail Adventure

After about 35 minutes of walking, we reached a beautiful spot close to a flowing stream, shaded by trees a perfect place to drop our loads. Miss Otes got to work immediately, preparing egusi soup packed with all sorts of meats (you know what I mean). Meanwhile, others were looking for wood to roast the chicken… only to realize we didn’t bring a cutlass. What were we thinking?

Then Mr. Henry, the eldest among us, suggested we go trail-setting. I was excited time to hit the mountain! The scenery was stunning. Fresh air, majestic mountains it was pure bliss.

On our way up, we spotted ripe red and yellow cashew fruits, and Mr. Maxy climbed up to get some for us. Goodness! The sweetness!

As we climbed, I instinctively used my hands for support, only for someone to tell me, "You don’t need that! You’ve got good hiking shoes and stamina. Kill the fear!" Wow. See motivation! I told him his hiking spirit was next-level and that I was still building mine. But guess what? I found myself running up the mountain, completely energized by his words. My inner self was like, "Go, girl! You got this!"

At one point, Mr. Henry, our leader, asked for help. Someone jokingly called him out "How can the leader ask for help?" His response? "At my age, asking for help is not a big deal." Mind you, this man is 63 years old and still out here conquering mountains. Oh, and he hiked Kilimanjaro last year! Three big gbosa for him!

We also spotted some uncompleted estates and found an unexpected road leading to them. Then came the highlight Mr. Maxy suddenly shouted, "I see an antelope!" Only for us to rush there and realize it was a big monkey. Clearly, the monkey wasn’t happy about the invasion of its privacy and took off.

Love, Abuja Style

On our way back, we got into an interesting discussion how hard it is to find true love in Abuja. Apparently, the city is more about transactional relationships. E shock me small, but honestly… no be lie!

The Picnic Feast(bush doing)

After 1 hour 36 minutes of hiking, we returned to the stream, where the rest of the crew was busy cooking and banting (as in, giving each other premium gbas gbos). The egusi and eba were ready, while the chicken was still being roasted. I let out a deep sigh, dipped my legs into the cool, flowing stream (God, You are great!), and felt instant relief. Mr. Hercule had suggested I try it, and I was so glad I did. Others soon joined in.

Then came the best part food! We got served our choice of swallow (I went with eba and egusi shoutout to Miss Otes, a fantastic cook). Some went for ogbono soup instead.

As we relaxed, Miss Oma helped massage two people who complained about body pain (bless her hands!). Meanwhile, we debated whether we still had space in our stomachs for grilled chicken and sweet potatoes. (Spoiler alert: We found the space.) Peruzzi caption it bush doings

Oh, and through all this, I was still working from my phone. Multi-tasking at its finest! Luckily, there was some network on the mountain weak, but better than nothing.

Key Takeaways from the Adventure

Sacrifice makes everything possible. Behind everything you enjoy, there are people who put in the effort send some love their way.

Let others motivate you, but take action too. Don’t just listen; execute from within.

Leaders also need help. Asking for assistance doesn’t make you weak; it makes you wise.

Teamwork makes the dream work. A tree doesn’t make a forest. The picnic was a success because we all contributed.

Nature is a teacher. If you slow down and pay attention, you'll learn something.

I am grateful to have been part of this experience. Big thanks to all the trail pilots! May we have more strength, more adventures, and most importantly… more money!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention our photographer of the day Mr. Selfie! 😃 This guy captured every moment beautifully. Thank you, Selfiey! 📸

Until next time

Peace! ✌🏽