in this day and age? I was petrified about it. I wanted to be sure my daughters had their best chance to be strong and independent, not wallflowers.” For Cokie as a young mother, the new lessons she was learning by climbing her own literal mountains provided hope. “Mountains lie to you every day. When you start to climb one, you can’t believe you are going to summit. Your mind plays tricks on you and you think, ‘I can’t do that.’ But you can. And you can apply that experience to life. You can summon the mountain experience when you face something difficult and say, “I can make it through this.’” In 2014, Cokie’s dreams came true when she summited Mt. Kilimanjaro with her oldest daughter, Helen Simons (who goes by “H.S.”). At just 9 years old that year, H.S. set the record for being the youngest US female climber to top the famed mountain. (The record has since been broken by a seven-year-old from Austin, Texas.) Says Cokie, “When we made that summit, that’s when I knew it was time to start She Climbs,” an organization devoted to helping people build selfconfidence and self-esteem through climbing. Though climbers do not need to be experienced athletes to summit Kilimanjaro, the journey can take anywhere from 5 to 10 days. Climbers begin in jungle sunshine wearing shorts and t-shirts and summit in snow, wearing sub-zero gear. They sleep and eat on the mountain, carrying their supplies on their backs. Recalling that record-breaking hike with her eldest, Cokie says, “I remember on day four—it was a challenging day, and H.S. was ahead of me on the trail. And I just looked up and I cried, because that’s when I knew she was going to make it. It’s so important for women to give themselves that gift of self-care and introspection. And to do it with a sister or a daughter or friend—it’s just a beautiful time to spend with a loved one accomplishing something great.” Juli calls summiting Kilimanjaro “a spiritual thing.” It’s an experience she’s determined to give to herself and her own three daughters someday. Says Juli, “Cokie asked me to volunteer on the board of She Climbs three years ago, and I immediately said ‘Yes!’ Always before I’ve made excuses for not going myself. But this year I said, ‘I’m getting older. Now’s the time to do it.’” She’s especially excited to climb with this year’s scholarship recipient, a young woman named Sabrina who recently lost her mother to a 10-year battle with cancer. As a She Climbs board member, Juli helps sift through the scholarship applications. “We’re looking
for someone who is asking, ‘How am I going to get past this?’ Someone who needs to move past something in their life… That’s because conquering a mountain really is a transformation. One of body, mind and spirit.” If all goes according to plan, Juli and the rest of the women in her group will summit Mt. Kilimanjaro on January 4, 2020. When asked her biggest fear, Juli says, “My biggest fear is definitely not getting to the top. But Cokie will tell you, “The mountain lies to you. The mountain will tell you that you can’t. You have to tell yourself that you can. I’m looking forward to the elation when I do.” ◀
STONEBRIDGE RANCH NEWS
| September 2019
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