Millennial Summit Hikers: Your soul-enriching hiking group

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I got to learn about Millennial Summit Hikers from a work colleague at a gym changing room – we are both weekend hikers and we talked about the peculiarities of different hiking groups and how they’d finally found one that was offering more than just hikes – the Millennials Summit Hikers. They informed me that everyone is invited to join the group since it offers a unique opportunity to also know and connect with God not only through nature but also by bible study sessions held while hiking in the big mountains. Even for the other lower-altitude hikes, my colleague pointed out they are still inspired by the aura that Millennial goes beyond the physical activity that hiking is perceived to be. With this, I decided to give it a try. For my maiden hike with Millennial, I was very impressed with their unique slogan ‘breathe, sweat as you pray it out’. This soul-enriching perspective is also because Millennial is a collaboration with Parklands Baptist Church – fondly referred to as Parkie, with the Trooper Challenge Program.

All photos courtesy of Daniel Toroitich

This soul-deep slogan reminded me of the time I summited Elephant hill, and instead of the usual photographs that most hikers are keen for, we were taken aback by a group of Dawoodi Bohras (my Indian friends casually refer to them as the Bohris) who were ahead of us and they unleashed well-hidden folded praying mats that they lay at the summit – we needed to step back and wait for them to finish praying before we could take our photos – that powerful mental picture stayed on with me, and it challenged me. From then on, I wanted to connect with hikers who seek and publicly acknowledge that there exists a higher power in our midst, besides just your usual surface-level photo session celebration moments. My thirst for this was quenched by Millennial Summit Hikers. Besides this, other unique features with the group that I’ve found is that they offer highly subsidized stand-alone hike fees (the best I’ve seen in Kenya so far!) – you see, these single-pay hikes can cost a lot when you look at it cumulatively. Additionally, they also provide some basic snacks to top up to yours – how generous!  If you drive, you can leave your car securely parked at Parkie premises – such a helpful resource, especially for those early-morning departure and late-night arrival hikes when finding a taxi can be cumbersome.

SoulBoosters would love to get to introduce you too to Millennial Summit Hikers group, and no better way than to connect with the group's team leader, Toro. Grab a cup of your favourite beverage  as you enjoy our soul-deep conversation below:

Tell me more about yourself – who is Toro? 

My name is Daniel Toroitich - I’m a namesake to Kenya’s second president 😉– most usually call me Toro. I am a God-fearing, dependable, reliable, meticulous, and precise person and I’ve been raised in a humble and Christian background. I am the Millennial Summit Hikers team leader as well as the Trooper Challenge coordinator at Parklands Baptist Church. Trooper Challenge and Millennial Summit Hikers are two hiking groups that run seamlessly together. Trooper Challenge is a program that I coordinate at Parkie while Millennial Summit Hikers is a group that brings the hiking family together.

How did you get to start hiking? And what has inspired you to keep it a consistent habit?

I hiked with Young Professionals at Parkie for quite sometime, and Trooper Challenge came in handy to keep me consistent. I am also a nature chaser, so to speak. God’s creation is amazing. The beauty of just getting out of your comfort zone and leaving your everyday environs and their stresses is just so refreshing. 

From all the hikes you’ve been on, which is your favourite trail, and why?

While for me every trail is special and unique, Mt. Satima stands out as the nature on this trail is out of this world.

Beyond the physical benefits of hiking, how else has hiking influenced your life? On a soul-level, has there been one soul-boosting lesson that has stuck out the most for you from your various hiking adventures?

Spiritual wellness is about being connected to something greater than oneself. Immersing myself in nature has positively enriched my well-being in multiple ways – physically, mentally, and emotionally. It has also reduced my city life stresses and anxiety levels and promoted a sense of calm and peace of mind.

What inspired you to run the two hiking groups?

Trooper Challenge Inception was an inspiration by a wonderful and great Parkie pastor, Flavia Murugi. Later on, in 2019, she handed over the leadership to me to run the program because of my great hiking passion.

COVID-19 showed us a lot of things. Because everything came to a standstill, Trooper Challenge was not exempted in Parkie as a program. Everything cooled off until when a group of friends asked me to organize hikes for them and that’s when Millennial Summit Hikers was born - in July 2020.

Is Millennial Summit Hikers a solo business or who else partners with you?

Millennial Summit Hikers was not a business-oriented passion because I also wanted to get out into the outdoors and most definitely keep fit and enjoy everything that comes with hiking.

What inspired the name Millennial Summit Hikers?

Wow! This remains interesting to me. Millennials are youngsters born between 1980 and 2000’s, the Generation Y that the world is talking about with the every-changing character development. However, the naming was not based on this but rather I named the group as such because most of the people joining our hikes tend to be some or all of the below qualities: 

(i) Spiritually conscious, 

(ii) Socially conscious, 

(iii) Health conscious, 

(iv) Technology savvy,  

(v) Ethnically diverse, inclusive and optimistic,  

(vi) Financially conscious, 

(vii) Embracing adventurous experiences while maintaining ethical spending,  

(viii) Educated and knowledgeable

With all these traits, a hiker can achieve all summits of their lives.

What would you say is the most unique aspect(s) about Millennial Summit Hikers – what makes you stand out from the rest in the hiking business?

Millennial Summit Hikers group is a disciplined, committed team ready to endure anything in the hiking world. We also pray and have bible study during the major climbs, that is Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Where can we get a calendar of hike events that you offer? 

Currently, I use Facebook (you can find me here) as well as our WhatsApp group for hike updates. We can also share a calendar by email. We will soon be launching a website to advertise our events so we can reach more people. 

Do you cater to both newbie and seasoned local (Kenyan) hikers in your planned hikes? If so, could you give us a flavour of hikes that are coming up in the next one month or so for (i) newbies, and (ii) seasoned hikers?

Our hiking group is all-inclusive – from the seasoned hikers (commonly referred to as ‘subaru team’) to the young pre-teen hikers – though for the latter we need parental consent to get to hike with them.

The Millennial team at Eburu Forest

We indeed have so many hikes coming up, ranging from moderate to difficult levels depending on a hikers’ fitness levels.

Our next hiking destinations for this first quarter are as follows:

·        Rurimeria Challenge Hike (19^th March 2022)

·        Mount Longonot (26^th March 2022)

·        Mount Satima climb through the Wandare route (2^nd April 2022)

·        Mucharage Forest and Gatango Waterfall hike (9^th April 2022)

·        Mt. Kenya climb – with Trooper Challenge (15^th – 18^th April 2022)

 

What one advice would you have for someone looking to incorporate more hiking and other physical activities?

Seize the moment as you scale the heights with the Millennial Summit Hikers. And through the Trooper Challenge Program, also join us as we breathe, sweat as we pray it out.  

Do you also cater for international (non-Kenyan hikers) as well? If so, one common trip most liked is Mount Kenya – what is unique about Millennial Summit Hikers’ Mount Kenya trips?

Yes, we do love to hike with the world! Any nationality is welcome to hike with us.

Chogoria route is always amazing with the lakes and the valleys/ridges. Sirimon route is also amazing with the rivers and streams that burble over rocks and branches. We use these opportunities to inspire the Bible Study sessions that we run while hiking Mt. Kenya.

As we wind up, we hope we have whet your appetite to join us soon in the outdoors as we breathe, sweat and pray it out.