Childhood Trails

From the age of 12 my Family holidays were spent walking long Trails in the Mountains. These where the 1980’s. Together with three other families, The family Korthals Altes, Van Mourik Broekman, Locher and us, the Voors family. Eight parents and nine children. Every year we would go for 3 weeks to another mountain range from the Alps, to Yugoslavia, to Italy, to Morocco. As kids we weren’t asked wether we wanted to go on a walking holiday, we just went. It wasn’t a debate. It was just the normal thing we always did. But we never saw any camping, pool, slides or disco. It was all camping in the wild, swimming in the icy lakes, and always cooking on a wood campfire. The logistics where all down to one Renault 4. Each morning we would break up the entire camp and squeeze it into the Renault, one of the parents would then drive miles and miles around the mountain, buy food in the village and drive to the next valley where the group would meet them in the afternoon to set up camp again. This meant we could all walk with very light backpacks with only lunch, water and the essentials for rain or snow. We would often stop along the trail to learn the basics of rock climbing with ropes or how to descend through a snowfield. We would try to do one or two summits or sleep bivouac outside or in a mountain shelter. We did more than six of these Familie Trails with children, and several new families joined us some years. My parents and the same group of hiking friends continue to hike in the mountains each year for two weeks. They are all now between 71 and 78 years old, are still blessed with good health and the passion to discover new mountains ranges. They still sleep in tents some nights, swim in cold lakes, make fires and above all love being out in the mountains together. Quite an inspiring bunch. They are known as ‘De Takken’, ‘The Branches’. Thank you for passing it on. I’ll do my best to do the same. See Camino with kids.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1987. Auvergne, France. Our parents teach us the basics of rock climbing with ropes.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Practicing rock climbing.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Swimming after a long days walk.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Practicing for the real snow.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. My Dad, Tijno reads with the last light.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Looks quite high from here.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy/Swiss border.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Our nomadic Trail camp which we would set up every evening in a different place.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. This bit was really scary.

1987. Auvergne, France.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Nothing like a summit.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Hold on the rope.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Quite steep.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Tim and Saar doing the washing in the stream.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Volleybal.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. My parents Bons and Tijno.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. Edelweiss.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. The Milica wake us in the morning and tell us we are iligally camping and have to leave within 30 minutes.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. The Milica wake us in the morning and tell us we are iligally camping and have to leave within 30 minutes.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps. The entire nomadic camp of 21 people had to fit into the Renault 4, which was driven to the next mountain pass or valley by one of the parents, with new food from the village.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1990. Yugoslavian Alps.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. The trail.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Pumping water.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Tim with his sunblock.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Nothing like the rest on the summit.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. My big trail friend Chai, who I always shared a tent with and who tought me everything about music.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Kees studies the next best route.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy.

1991. Alpe Veglia, Italy. Practising for snow trail.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. We had a guides and mules to carry the camp for the two week trail

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. We had a guides and mules to carry the camp for the two week trail

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. Camp for the night.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. A real oasis in the desert.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. The big family.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains.. The kids.

1998. Morocco, Atlas Mountains. Me and my two dear sisters Duuf and Maria.