The Starting Problem
Well , I always wished to try out trekking atleast once in my life for i found it to be uber cool and felt that it would give me a very different experience . When I came to Bangalore, my desire to trek intensified for there are many mountain ranges near by.
I came across a trekking club which organized trek to Skandagiri a one day trek and i got excited about it. But I was not sure if I’m fit enough to trek as it would put my physical endurance to great test. Moreover, all my friends over here were busy and I had to join the trek with some unknown strangers . I had 100 thoughts whether to trek but finally decided that i should give it a try.I was relying on my new found love for photography and wished that it would keep me occupied in worst case.
The ‘D’ Day
I couldn’t sleep the previous night, may be I was too excited and hence woke up even before my alarm could wake me. It was shocking to see from my room window outside – it was raining hard. I was terribly upset and wondered why I committed to this. But thankfully it stopped raining half an hour later and i was happy. I was able to reach the pick up point of the touring cab after some anxious moments in finding the destination paying the price for not knowing Hindi.
The Warm Up
Slowly people starting joining and it was pretty dull and silent in the cab for some time . I had second thoughts in getting introduced to every one there. We had our first pit stop which was very useful for us to get introduced to every one and by the end of break fast, there was a good rapport between every one. It was interesting and unique experience for me to interact with different facets of people and loved every moment. We packed our lunch and bought water bottles and snacks. I had some time to shoot sparrows and try out some panning shot not so long when my driver cried that we have to start.
Getting started
We reached the foot of the hill and started to trek after having brief introduction. Our guide was leading whereas the organizer was accompanying the ultra slow walkers like me. The climate was warm and no signs of rain which was a great relief to me .
Mission Impossible
It was fun for some time, but after minutes, it became quite a task. Though it was just 5 kms , the steepness of the hill made it difficult to climb and progress . I was gasping for breath and took incredibly many short breaks. There was a point where in a fellow trekker offered to carry my bag. It was so nice that people helped me out a lot during the entire day . I was thriving on glucose, chocolates and water. But i was very determined to reach that top and hence did not give up though i was climbing at a very slow . Had very few snaps and found the otherwise light camera to be pretty heavy.
Reaching the top
After umpteen short breaks , managed to reach the top of the hill. It was mist all over .Every one was celebrating and I joined them. It was a exhilarating feeling and I enjoyed the moment thoroughly. There were few shops selling tea, coffee and omelet. A very old temple mandappam like structure was present there. We were exploring the places around. As with every trek , I was the pampered kid. Thanks to my selective filtering, I was able to get through it.
Lunch with the Sun
We settled on a place which provided us with amazing view point and stared to lunch. The very moment it started shining and was happy for i feared of not getting an opportunity to wear by coolers. Started running behind butterflies and things of little wonder over there. Few of them tried climbing a small stretch of rocks . I had chances to shot candid moments of trekkers over there. Few started writing their memories and experiences.
The Down Trek
I always knew that down trek would be relatively easy. We had wonderful views while trekking down. There was a friendly dog that accompanied us all through our down trek. We did manage to visit a small cave and started to walk fast after some time and managed to reach the foot of the hill with out much difficulty.
It ended memorably…
While returning, we did play dumbcharads and I encountered pretty funny, weird and unknown movies that need to be enacted and felt crazy. I had a very great feeling and it was exciting through out the day. I not only loved trekking but managed to interact with all the trekkers. It was a great and lovely experience and i wished to meet all of them some time sooner on some other trek .We parted every one with a big broad smile.
Well, it was one heck of a trek: Amazing and Adventurous.
