Editor’s Note: On July 16, 12 fathers completed a hike across England along Hadrian’s Wall to raise money for a nonprofit camp that helps children of adults with cancer. Atlanta Dads Group member Michael Moebes was one of them, and here he chronicles the experience.

Last week, we completed our much-anticipated walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea along Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. It was the second life experience (the first one being going to war) I’ve had which I can now describe with the phrase, “I probably wouldn’t choose to do it again, but I wouldn’t take anything for the experience of having gone.”

Our journey began with a Friday night cookout in the backyard of our late friend Oren Miller‘s wife’s aunt, followed by a trip to the pub where he and his wife, Beth, met. Given the reason for our walk was to raise money for a Camp Kesem location at his alma mater in his honor, this seemed altogether fitting and proper. My children opened beer cans for extra pence, alternating between delighting and horrifying everyone, depending on the kids’ level of persistence (and begging).

We took a train from London to Carlisle the next morning and, after sleeping on a cot in an old gymnasium Saturday night, we shoved off for our trek from the Solway Firth at Bowness-on-Solway to Carlisle, assuming we’d stop soon for breakfast, but “soon” became 4+ hours and many miles, and I’ve never been happier to see a “Greyhound” sign (this one being a pub, not a bus depot), so we could finally sit down and have beers and food (in that order of importance).

We pressed on toward Carlisle, across pastures full of sheep, over gates, through tall grass, and finally into the city where we’d get nice beds to sleep in at the Ibis hotel on Sunday night. My Fitbit Blaze showed 40,000 steps for the day – over 17 miles. We gathered at The Griffin for dinner and some European football (interrupted by the drunken rants of a local woman, who insisted I should have “been there for her” in 1952 – this delighted my companions but mortified your storyteller).

The next morning (Monday), we bought foot care supplies, stopped by Carlisle Cathedral, and continued along the path.

Day 2 concluded at Sandysike farm, run by a nice couple who fed us and offered me whisky for my tired, post-30,000-steps-that-day feet, and I loved him for it.

Only the next day did I learn every shot cost £4.  My love dwindled a bit.

Finally seeing Hadrian’s Wall

Day 3 (Tuesday) promised to finally allow us to see remains of the Hadrian’s Wall, as so far, we walked the of path, but the stones themselves had been taken to build homes and cathedrals or whatever else the English wanted to do with Roman wall stones once they were no longer under Roman rule. I was excited.

Each day, we wore wooden name tags like the kids at Camp Kesem wear, and on the tags, we honored persons selected by donors of $100 or more of sponsorship.  The start of the wall seemed a good place for a lunch break and photographs, so we took advantage of it.

It was 30,000+ steps and was my favorite day of hiking thus far, since we had wall to look at and rolling hills to climb with the start of some great views from atop (little did I know how much this would improve on subsequent days). We stopped at our B&B/bunk house, and I was one of the lucky few to have a room with an attached shower (and, even better, the innkeeper did laundry for us!).  The next morning would be the first day of new topography–crags.

Beautiful but rainy

I loved hiking on day 4 (Wednesday). The scenery was the best we’d seen so far along Hadrian’s Wall, and it was our lowest day of mileage – under 10 miles (just over 21,000 steps), which seemed comparatively easy. Perhaps even lazy!

But then it started to rain. We were used to rain showers, but this day’s rain wasn’t a shower–it was torrential.  Because it was also our first day of significant hills, the group started to fracture into smaller groups after a bit, with a few folks electing to walk to the side of the steep inclines later in the day. This meant the water rushed at them from atop the rolling hills in the crags.  This photo only captures a portion of the misery:

I pulled up my hood, pulled the rain cover over my backpack, and continued along the wall in utter misery, as I quickly learned my “water resistant” hiking pants were not very resistant, and sheets of water poured down my legs and filled my socks and boots. I saw hikers coming toward me slip and fall down the crags I had to climb; I was glad I sprung for the hiking poles that were on sale at REI right before I left.

Eventually, the rain let up, and we broke off the wall path and headed south, completely fortuitously ending up at bunkhouse where we were slated to sleep. Everyone was drenched and miserable, but we made our way just up the street to the Twice Brewed Inn pub for some dinner and spirits, and when we walked outside, a double rainbow greeted us.

Steeper and steeper

Day 5 (Thursday) was physically harder, but it was my favorite day of the hike so far (and favorite of the entire hike, now that I have the benefit of hindsight). We climbed the steepest crags (even seeing an obelisk marking the highest point of the entire Hadrian’s Wall path), saw numerous milecastles and an old Roman temple, and stopped for pictures in the most photographed area of the path – Sycamore Gap (where scenes from Kevin Costner’s “Robin Hood” were shot).

The day ended at just under 14 miles (31,000 steps), and we stayed at Greencarts Farm for the night. After dinner, I won all the English equivalent of Chex mix that any of my opponents had in a very intense poker match.

Day 6 (Friday) was to be the longest and most difficult day of the Hadrian’s Wall walk. We left the crags fairly early in the day, and we crossed fields and pastures as we paralleled the old Military Road leading to Newcastle.

We started early, encountered some rain, and stopped just after noon at Errington Arms pub for a meal (and whisky shots) before pressing on toward the Robin Hood pub, built in 1752 from stones “borrowed” from Hadrian’s Wall, and eventually The Three Tuns for dinner and more whisky before we reached our quarters for the evening at Houghton North Farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall. When I sat down at the Three Tuns about 6:30pm, my legs, hips, and ankles were in agony. I had no desire to walk any further. We’d gone more than 20 miles–almost 44,000 steps. The next day would be our last day of the Hadrian’s Wall walk.

The final 40,000 steps

The final day (Saturday) meant more walking east along Military Road, but at some point, we were supposed to get into Newcastle upon Tyne, and that would mean we were near the end.

Seeing the river was the first sign of progress toward the end, and a few miles later, we entered the city, stopping for a meal about 1 p.m. More whisky was involved; my feet and legs were screaming.

We continued along the city sidewalks, and then Emperor Hadrian himself greeted us to tell us we were close.

We paused and regrouped for the last mile to the Segedunum fort – the end point. It was obviously going to be another 40,000+ step day.

Finally, we came to the fort and the stone that marked the eastern edge of Hadrian’s Wall. Jeff broadcast our walk’s conclusion live on Facebook. Brent placed Oren’s hat on the chunk of wall marking the end point (he’d carried it with him every day of the walk), and a couple guys placed wooden name tags bearing his name next to the cap:

I’ve seen on TV sometimes when people finish a marathon or an Iron Man competition, they shed tears from joy or relief or something, but I’ve never experienced it personally as either a viewer or a participant. But after walking 100 miles over seven days – nearly 40 of them the last 2 days – and seeing that chunk of stone with Oren’s cap on it, I’m pretty sure all of us wept; some, inconsolably. We were almost at our goal of $40,000 raised; we were all 12 together after having a few days where one or more of us was too injured to participate; we’d finished a quest that we’d discussed and planned and anticipated for over a year. Now it was over.

At almost midnight that night, we reached $40,000–the amount needed to finance a Camp Kesem at the University of Maryland. We met our goal in both distance and dollars. The quest truly was finished.

And all of us are better men for having participated.

+ + +

If you supported us during this walk, we greatly and sincerely appreciate it!  If you didn’t, it’s not too late – every $500 given above the $40,000 to set up the camp will go toward sending a child to camp there, so let the philanthropy continue! Here’s the link: dads4kesem.org.

A version of this first appeared on Dadcation.

City Dads Group is today’s sponsor of The Walking Dads — 12 fathers on a sea-to-sea hike across England to raise $40,000 to start a new chapter of Camp Kesem, a nonprofit that helps children of adults with cancer.

We aim to raise $1,000 today toward their goal through general donations and by hosting local walks with our  chapters Chicago, Detroit and New York City. Here’s how you can help:

** Read about The Walking Dads reason to walk **

** Donate to The Walking Dads **

These fathers are hiking the historic Hadrian’s Wall, a fortification built in the first century A.D. that once marked the northernmost point of the Roman Empire, to support Camp Kesem. Kesem provides free summer camps and other events for the 3 million children nationwide affected by a parent battling cancer.

Several members of the NYC Dads Group, kids in tow, will take a stroll through Central Park Tuesday, July 12, in a show of solidarity for a dozen fathers trekking across England to raise money for a camp for the children of cancer patients.

Our NYC outpost joins the Chicago and Detroit chapters of City Dads Group in rallying local fathers to help with the $1,000 contribution our organization has pledged to raise as a sponsor of the week-long Dads4Kesem hike in the United Kingdom. That UK walk hopes to raise $40,000 for Camp Kesem, a nonprofit offering free summer camps and other events for the 3 million children nationwide affected by a parent battling cancer.

The “Walking Dads” are hiking along England’s Hadrian’s Wall, a 84-mile fortification built in the first century A.D. that once marked the northernmost point of the Roman Empire. The goal of the July 10-16 journey is raising money to open a Camp Kesem chapter on the campus at the University of Maryland. The school is near the home of fellow dad blogger Oren Miller, who succumbed to lung cancer in 2015.

“Oren Miller was a friend to dad bloggers around the world. He was a great organizer, a great writer, and more importantly, a great dad,” NYC Dads Group member Jason Greene, one of the 12 “Walking Dads” on the hike, recently wrote on his blog. “I owe a lot to Oren and the rest of the dad blogging community.”

** Read about the Camp Kesem walk **

In a show of solidarity for our six City Dads Group members walking across England to aid a camp for the children of cancer patients, three of our chapters are holding local fundraising walks July 12.

Our Chicago, Detroit and New York City outposts are rallying fathers in their areas to help with the $1,000 contribution City Dads Group has pledged that day as a sponsor of the week-long Dads4Kesem hike in the UK. That walk aims to raise $40,000 for Camp Kesem, a nonprofit that offer free summer camps and other events for the 3 million children nationwide affected by a parent battling cancer.

Twelve dad bloggers are walking along northern England’s Hadrian’s Wall, a 84-mile fortification built in the first century A.D. that once marked the northernmost point of the Roman Empire. The goal of the July 10-16 journey is raise money to open a Camp Kesem chapter on the campus at the University of Maryland, which is near the home of fellow dad blogger Oren Miller.

Miller, a University of Maryland grad who died from lung cancer last year, chronicled his life as a stay-at-home dad online, using the platform to take on fatherhood stereotypes and pushing for fathers to be viewed as equal parental partners.

The six City Dads participating in the July 10-16 walk are:

• Chris Routly, Portland Dads Group, of The Full Routly
• Michael Moebes, Atlanta Dads Group, of Dadcation
• Whit Honea, L.A. Dads Group and City Dads Group columnist, of Dads4Change
• Jim Higley, Chicago Dads Group, of Bobblehead Dad. He is also the chief development and marketing officer for Camp Kesem.
• Jason Greene, NYC Dads Group, of One Good Dad
• Jeff Bogle, Philly Dads Group, of Out With the Kids

They will be joined by:

• Brent Almond of Designer Daddy
• Phil Corless of Idaho Dad
• Doug French of Dad 2.0 Summit
• Josh Misner of Mindful Dad
• John Pacini of Dad 2.0 Summit
• Brian Reasoner of Southern Bella’s Big Daddy

Editor’s Note: On July 12, City Dads Group sponsors the Dads4Kesem walk across the UK. Our goal: having our members and friends donate at least $1,000 in total to benefit the creation of the new Camp Kesem chapter at University of Maryland. In this post, one of those Dads4Kesem — and L.A. Dads Group member — Whit Honea writes about why he is making this trek.

Childhood. We all had one. We were all children and all that comes with it, and the experience thereof has greatly impacted our adult lives and our own parenting in ways that we may not fully understand. That’s where the similarities start to blur.

Many of us may look back upon childhood as an innocent tale of nostalgic wonder, checkered with bits of life lesson and pubescent awkwardness, but for others it might have been a time too full of hardships and obstacles — with varying degrees of loss — leaving childhood not something to cherish, but something they had to tolerate, survive and overcome. Cancer tends to play an active part in those stories, disrupting without rhyme or reason, and holding no regard for youth or the damage done to it.

Cancer is to childhood as cancer is to anything: cruel and destructive, the active march of the darkly uncaring. Most of us, unfortunately, have had our lives touched by cancer, whether we have faced it ourselves or love someone who did. Cancer is far too common, not only affecting those inflicted, but everyone around them. It leaves no stone unturned. Rather, it throws them all, aiming for everything breakable: hearts, bones, promises and windows.

For parents diagnosed with cancer, their journey is many things: unique and difficult, full of pain and a quest for hope, the pondering of so many unknowns, moments that cannot linger long enough and those that won’t go away. No two experiences are the same, but one common factor is the toll upon their children, the changes made and the innocence they are losing.

And while there is no way to fix such things, there is a way to allow those children a week of what once was — a way to enjoy childhood in an environment that embraces their respective experiences by providing a safe place to find those pieces of them grown faded and forgotten. It is a chance for childhood to be fun again.

Camp Kesem does that.

That is why on July 10, 2016, a group of 12 men, of which I am one, each with active voices in the online parenting world, will embark on a different kind of journey — more than 84 miles walking along Hadrian’s Wall in England — to raise donations for a new Camp Kesem chapter at the University of Maryland. The camp will honor the late Oren Miller, who attended Maryland (as did his wife Beth), and whose young children would be able to attend the camp.

Oren Miller was one of us. He founded a Facebook group of dad bloggers that has more than 1,000 members, and he shared his passions on life, love and family in endless conversations and written inspiration. He was a good man who lost his battle to cancer, a battle fought with amazing grace, and who has left a legacy behind him. We want to add to it.

The Dads4Kesem are hoping to raise the $40,000 required to start a new camp, and you can help. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #Dads4Kesem and #TheWalkingDads to interact with our daily sponsors and the stories we’ll share, and you can make donations directly to our website.

The walk is for Camp Kesem, and it is for Oren — his wife and children, and the lives they have all touched — but it is even bigger than that, bigger than all of us. The walk is for childhood, what it is, can, and hope it should be. It is for a generation of stories yet to be written.

I am honored to be a part of it.