The idea for this trip occurred at midnight while Dan and I sat near a wood stove at a mountain lodge in the High Sierra of California. We were comparing adventure goals. One of our goals was influenced by a book we both read, Travels With My Elephant by Mark Shand. It is the story of an Englishman, a mahout (elephant trainer), and Tara (an elephant). They travel across 1000 km (621 miles) of India with many adventures along the way. We mixed a little Hannibal (a brilliant general who took elephants across the Pyrenees Mountains in the winter in an attack on Rome) into this story and came up with the idea of riding an elephant across India and into the high mountains of Nepal. Then we started research to see if the trip was feasible. Our conclusion was that it would cost a minimum of $500,000. An elephant made the cost more than we wanted to spend. So the elephant was out, but the trip wasn't. We went back to our goal lists and noted that we also had a common interest in riding in a camel caravan. At this point we substituted camels for the elephant. Subsequent research made this plan seem more viable. We would purchase camels and travel along ancient caravan routes crossing India, Nepal, and Tibet. When designing a goal, decisions often must be made to shape the goal into a specific target (for more information on how we set goals, check out Jim's book Goal Express!). Now that we had our target, we set out in earnest.

One of our secondary goals was to find a humanitarian cause to support during the course of the trip. As often happens when turning goals into reality, events occur that are unexpected and magical. I was interested in two possible humanitarian aims. One was to help villagers obtain fresh drinking water. As a past water chemist, I fully appreciate the importance of clean drinking water. It can be the single most important environmental factor in people's health. The second possibility, which both Dan and I were interested in, was promoting literacy. We believe literacy is incredibly important, but we foresaw a difficulty. Books are bulky, heavy, and would be hard to carry. Plus, we aren't fluent in the three languages in the countries we will pass through. So we set literacy aside, little knowing how a strange twist would bring it back to the forefront. While researching the clean water angle, I read about an engineer who had developed a simple pedal driven well pump that is used in Kenya, Africa to bring clean water to villages. Surprisingly, I found that a parent of one of the students in my leadership development courses was associated with this project. Tom Kelley, general manager of IDEO (a creative design company), knew about the pumps and had a working model at their offices. I arranged to have lunch with Tom. Actually seeing the pump was a disappointment. It would be more awkward to carry than books. That's when Tom mentioned the Light Up The World Foundation. He explained the relationship between light and literacy.

If you are a child who works next to your parents in the fields during daylight hours, your only chance for study is at night. Here's the problem. In many villages in Asia, they study by the flames of kerosene lamps. Kerosene lighting is dangerous. In India alone, 2.5 million people suffer severe burns each year primarily due to overturned kerosene lamps. Kerosene light is unhealthy. Studying near the fumes of a kerosene lamp for one evening is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes. Finally kerosene is expensive. It can cost $52/year which is a significant portion of a poor villager's income. Here's where The Light Up The World foundation comes in. They install healthy, self-sustaining, solar powered light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in remote villages to replace kerosene lamps. These units are small and easily transported. As soon as Tom explained this connection between light and literacy, I felt a light go off in my head. After lunch, I contacted Dr. David Halliday and discussed the possibility of a partnership between our caravan and the Light Up The World foundation. Thus was born our name, Caravan of Light. We will install light systems in villages along our route and promote what Dr. Halliday likes to call, "the light in a box system."

Goals often grow beyond your initial idea. Dan and I decided to set up a web site to tell people about our adventure. Then we got a break. Iridium Satellite, attracted by the humanitarian aspect of our trip, offered to provide us with a satellite phone system. One of the amazing opportunities offered by an Iridium phone is that you can connect to the internet from anywhere in the world. That's when we decided to expand our original web site. Dan and I would run a remote classroom from the back of a camel. Entire classrooms could then follow us on the geographic, cultural, humanitarian, and scientific aspects of the trip.

The planning has taken a year and a half with studying maps, learning three languages for the countries we will travel through, collecting advisors and sponsors, holding fund raisers, getting immunizations, learning to ride and train camels, physical training, and assembling and testing gear. We leave for India on August 28, 2004. Check back for periodic updates to the journal.