Prathima's Miles & Milestones

My Dance mate Muktha and I planned a trip itinerary which would cover prominent places in western ghats. It was monsoon which was the perfect season to visit western ghats. We added various stops in Google maps and finalised how far we would go. We had the weather reports of the places opened in another tab of the browser. Once we reviewed, we shared the same with our dance mates for their views. All seemed positive and thus we were set to go!

It was Thursday night when I started packing as we would leave the next day night. I was so excited that I could not sleep! Friday, I was early to work and wrapped up early than usual to catch up with friends with my backpacks.

It was pouring heavily in bangalore when I just started from my PG. I managed to board an auto and reach my friends’s place. A couple of friends were already there and hugged my tight when I was breathing hard carrying the luggages 🙂

Within few minutes the remaining 7 girls reached and the tempo traveller arrived. We clicked pictures before leaving and prayed for safe returns as the journey started.

The first destination was Kudremukh 🙂 We reached the homestay to freshen up and picked few energy bars and water bottles and started the trek with instructions from the guide. It was tiring business, to walk on the path strewn with rocks.

The path initially seemed easy with breathtaking views. The lure of the streams was so pleasant to the ears .My dearest friend, Kavya told me that the best view is yet to appear. We passed a few streams one after the other. It was like a dream for me walking amidst the forest and shoes dipped in the clearest running stream waters sending chills to my brain! We even filled our water bottles to drink the chilled waters which tasted sweet!

The path got tougher and tougher as we were half the way — 5 kms. The guide showed us the destination peak which resembled the face of the horse. At times it was totally covered with mist. The steep mountains were harder to trek as it was slippery and watching the other side of the mountain was serene but also made me feel giddy! At times, I did hold my friend’s hand to make sure I reach the other end which were covered by slippery rocks. The guide warned us not to hold hands as both of us would slip!

The best part were cloud shadows. I din’t know that such a phenomenon existed. We had reached a certain altitude by then to experience it.Trekking made my develop patience. At times my body gave up but my mind did not. So we took five minutes break, motivated each other and started again. We ate energy bars to and drank few sips of water to keep over body from dehydration. The breeze, the sound of gushing waters, the drizzling rain, the music cleared my mind to move ahead. We were constantly checking for the leeches on our shoes and moved them away.

We made new friends on our way. I met people who work in my domain and discussed the Agile methodology and scrum practices they followed in their company. This made me clear a few kms easily as we were totally engrossed in the conversation. We were almost close to the destination peak. I could see people taking rest at the first stop. My heart started beating faster as the destination could be seen in front of my eyes. It was a breathtaking view. We were among the clouds, yes literally! I could feel the moisture on the face. When looked below, it was totally covered with fog and mist on one side and the other direction I saw the trail by which we came by. I stood still enchanting the beauty of the nature. We could easily spot 50 shades of green! Few of my friends were yet to reach so I screamed their names to check if my voice would echo or not. Finally, it was totally worth all the pain.

Our way down the mountain was a little more scarier one as it was slippery. We had to rush as it would darker in the evening, it would be even scarier as its a forest route. We made it fast as the course was rougher. In certain places I sat and slipped on purpose to cover 3–4 footsteps at once.

We encountered a red snake with black spots on it and a scorpion in our way. It scared the hell out of us and we made it faster before the night sky approached. The beetles were so noisy at times. We ran out of water but we could not stop for rest as we had to reach the homestay at our earliest. We could not feel our legs at times. We were totally drained out of energy and exhausted. We finally made it and reached our room. It was one memorable day. I had never put so much efforts in life. Every other problem in life seems so simple in front of the difficulties which we faced. Well, it is a lesson well learnt.

I respect the pioneers who paved the way in the mountains for people like us to follow the path without getting lost in the forest. Hats off to them. The toughest job of my life was my first trek. When someone asked me for my accomplishment in my life — I will name this trek as it’s been a herculean task for a beginner like me. If you have never been amongst the mountains, please plan for your trekking destination with your best friends.

As quoted — “Great things happen when men and mountains meet” can easily be replaced for women 🙂

It was an unforgettable experience, for the good and the bad. Life is like that. The greatest adventures we never forget are the ones we didn’t plan.

Happy Trekking!