In February of 2013, I did something I had been longing to do for years- my first hike! So my first hike was meant to be in the Sahyadris (which I am told is a difficult terrain) with an organiser called Mumbai Travellers. The hike was a memorable one for a number of reasons, the most obvious of them being that it was my first attempt at hiking. That said, little did I know and for good I must add, that my first hiking destination came with a "difficulty level- high" tag.
My then status on Facebook, (which I rarely care to update) sums up the entire experience :
"I now understand the meaning of the quote - "The greatest thing you can do is surprise yourself". Challenged myself, did something that I could have never imagined doing (being a victim of acrophobia) and discovered the hidden strength that was sleeping inside of me. My first night hike (and rock climbing) in a not so easy terrain for a ‘first timer’ with Vaibhav Khaire , Anand Sahu, Elvis J Shemain, Saif Rajulawala and Yunus Dange. You guys were a super reassuring team and I must say- the high is addictive! Cheers! at Gorakhgad."
Here's the flashback- Second weekend of the month was around the corner and I randomly decided to call this group called Mumbai Travelers the second time (after their last hiking plan that I had inquired for, got cancelled) to inquire if there were any upcoming adventure events and me being (the impulsive) me, asked them to block a place for me as soon as I heard a "Yes" from the other end. Eventually, I happened to speak about it with two of my friends, who too decided to join in. I don't quite remember when was the last time I was as excited about the weekend. Believe it or not, I found myself doing a countdown...courtesy- the hiking excitement. I literally made a list of things I would require to carry and started gearing for it in full swing. My excitement only grew further on knowing that it was going to be a night hike. Not to forget, that the preparation also involved buying a pair of new track pants, which I would have otherwise felt guilty about ;).
The Day- And after having romanced time for almost a week, the day finally arrived. Ironically enough, that day did not start on a very exciting note because the lazy friend of mine backed out in the last minute. I and my other friend nonetheless tried not to ruin the excitement and managed to succeed in retaining it eventually. All the hikers were supposed to assemble at Kalyan and when I say "all" here, I meant close to 13 of us. However, we were slightly discouraged to see just 6 of us assembled there. For some godforsaken reason the remaining 7 who had enrolled for the night hike decided to back out, one of them being my friend, of course. While still a little apprehensive, I and my friend decided to join the other four and go for it. A jeep was arranged for, by the organizers to reach the base camp which was approximately two and a half hour drive from Kalyan.
We finally started hiking a little before the clock struck 9. The sky was lit with stars, one of the most scenic nights witnessed by me. Thankfully, all the ice breaking among the 6 of us was done with, on our way to the base camp itself and so we were discussing constellations and identifying stars when we started our hike with backpacks and torches in our hands. We were six of us including the guide from Mumbai Travelers and I was the only girl (this one remains a secret for I didn't want my parents to freak out :D).
We took a halt after having climbed for almost four and a half hours and none of us knew that our destination was at least another four hours away (which as it turns out was ten times tougher, narrower, rockier and steeper than what we had covered). We decided to cover that stretch early morning due to lack of clarity on the directions and it being pitch dark. Was it easy?- Hell, no! It was not. It was undoubtedly a tough terrain to hike on, which sometimes challenged even the pros'. Was it fun?- hell, yes...it was crazy fun!...perhaps the craziest I have had. The high that you experience when you have peaked the mountain is unbeatable, incomparable and addictive. You'd wish that you could somehow hold on to it forever. And hey, my description of how it feels would remain a mere statement for you till you experience it yourself someday.
There is a lot more to be said about all the fun the six of us had, and what a wonderful experience it is to meet people from absolutely different backgrounds, professions, regions, ideologies, cultures with just one thing in common- ADVENTURE!
