vans Mwangi was 18 when he carried his first load up Mount Kenya in 1989. He worked his way up from porter to cook to guide, and today he runs his own company, Go To Mount Kenya. In this conversation with host Sierd van der Bij, he talks about a life spent on Africa’s second-highest mountain, what each of those jobs taught him, and why Chogoria is still his favourite way up.

They also talk about the people who live around the mountain, what trekking means for local porters and guides, and how Mount Kenya compares to its better-known neighbour, Kilimanjaro.

Two stories from the mountain’s history also come up. On the night of independence in December 1963, Kisoi Munyao planted the Kenyan flag on Batian. In 1943, three Italian prisoners of war escaped a camp near Nanyuki to climb the mountain. Read their story in No Picnic on Mount Kenya by Felice Benuzzi: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1121565.No_Picnic_on_Mount_Kenya

Trek Mount Kenya with Bookatrekking: https://bookatrekking.com/en/trekking/kenya/

00:00 Evans’s 37 years on Mount Kenya
01:13 Starting out as a porter
06:11 From porter to mountain cook
09:34 East Africa and visitors’ expectations
11:23 Local names and the story of Kirinyaga
15:34 Why Chogoria is his favorite route
22:16 Mount Kenya compared with Kilimanjaro
24:19 Altitude and the role of the guide
32:15 The Chogoria-to-Sirimon trek
36:29 The summit push to Point Lenana
48:10 The Italian POW story
51:19 The shrinking glacier
54:07 Why the work is about people

Jan Bakker doesn’t exactly do ordinary hiking trips.

He has trekked extensively in Nepal, spent years exploring East Africa, crossed remote parts of the Rwenzoris, climbed mountains including Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, and led expeditions into places where there isn’t always a trail to follow.

He is also one of the driving forces behind the Pamir Trail, a 1,310-kilometre long-distance route across Tajikistan, and co-author of the Cicerone guidebook Trekking in Tajikistan.

In this episode of Goatcast, Sierd talks to Jan about exploration, route finding, the Pamirs, Nepal and Africa, what it takes to create a trail from scratch, and why there are still plenty of places left where a line on a map can turn into a proper adventure.

And naturally, we start with the most important question: what is the coolest thing Jan has ever done?

Follow Jan and his projects on Instagram:
@jb37north
@pamirtrail
@summitsofafrica

Jan’s Cicerone guide, Trekking in Tajikistan:
https://www.cicerone.co.uk/trekking-in-tajikistan


00:00 Introduction: Meet Jan Bakker
01:16 A honeymoon sea-kayaking adventure
03:01 Life in the Scottish wilderness
05:36 How the Pamir Trail began
13:30 Expanding into Afghanistan
17:15 Travel, culture, and genuine local connection
20:34 Scotland, family, and raising adventurous kids
22:43 Climbing Africa’s highest peaks
28:34 Trekking freedom: Tajikistan vs. Nepal and Africa
32:59 Packrafting across Uganda
35:54 A packrafting guidebook for Scotland
38:37 Solo adventure, fear, and mountain therapy
42:48 Trekking in Nepal and travelling respectfully
50:51 Preparing physically and mentally for the mountains
55:20 Cultural tips for East African trekking
59:22 What adventure means to Jan now
60:33 The best adventure partner