Trekking.

Author's Note : A Page from my Diary. I wrote a bit at that time but stopped in the middle because I couldn't write because I felt too weak after the adventure we had that day.

Dated : 17th March, 2012.

Two days ago, a friend notified me that they were going for trekking and he also asked me whether I was interested or not. I was interested and told him the same. Actually, It was on my mind also for quite some time to go for trekking. But it was supposed to be done in the morning. I usually get up late on holidays despite my alarm and snoozes. So, every weekend passes by and my plan gets deffered. But this time, no. Atleast that was what I thought till the evening of 15th when the same friend messaged me that they were postponing the date to the next day which is 17th March. Hmm, I thought that this might as well get cancelled that day. But luckily, it didn't. All I thought was that I could get some really good pictures using my awesome camera. And also a good view from the hill top. It is actually opposite my college. And the whole college would be visible once we are on the top. That was what I actually thought. And also I get to check whether the advertisement about the Woodland shoes does justice or not. Well, you will find out eventually in the end of this post. So, what preparations were needed ? Not much, I was told to bring a back pack for water bottles and from my side was a camera.

The Rising Star| 

So after a series of calls and messages we set out for the little adventure of ours. With me was a Canon DSLR camera and I wore a pair of woodland shoes. I would have gone with the  sports shoe, but remember! I wanted to test it. So we set for it. None of us knew the actual way. But some had an idea. So we walked along the pre determined path. That was a hill which was used by some cell company to set up their tower. So, basically it was the least used. And no one except the people/person who is assigned to look after it goes there. First of all, my trekking doesn't include ropes and all that gear. So, Yeah! Not a real trekking kind of thing which you would assume. All we had to do is climb the hill. Its called trekking only, right? Anyways, we were set on the journey. There should be a small path which indicated that the path is used for climbing up. And this little gateway isn't visible so simply either. I mean its not a big opening with a sign board outside indicating that "You have to stat here to climb this hill". We were searching for the little pathway. While we were searching we almost reached the other side of the hill which is a beach. Though, it was a pleasant morning and the beach looked as always but he had plans. The road which we traveled sported many cars which was odd. And also there were many buses and trucks. We all thought that people came to see the beach. But later we found out that there was a movie shooting. Some of the guys were interested in watching the movie and get the glimpse of the actress, while others were interested in climbing the hill first and thought of coming back after the little expedition. We head back the way we came because when we inquired about it the people who had gone there before said that we had crossed the little pathway. 

We thought we finally spotted it. But when we stated headed into the bushes we were at dead end at the beginning itself. Those were some pretty wild bushes too close to each other and also had thorns. Though we thought of making out the way but we weren't so properly dressed to resist those plants. We look for another way. Finally we did find it. It was very near to where we had started but we thought that that wasn't the exact way. So, we were on our way up the hill. That was the first time ever and we over estimated our energy and ability. We stopped in between for like 5 times and that wasn't the biggest mountain either. We trekked a bit sat for longer periods. Finally we made it to the top though. I was like "I may fall any moment, blackout may be.", I did get some tiny moments of blacking out. But I wasn't the easy type and just let myself fall down at the top of the hill. I got busy with my camera and clicking randomly at the insane plants and sky which was as clear as white with no clouds. I tried to capture my college from the top. Though I could get the complete view but there was obstacles like the overgrown plants obstructing the path for the whole picture. So, the whole image of the College was left behind. I click my friends and well the sun was shinning bright and any direct contact would make be blind perhaps. So, no such attempt was made. We sat down and enjoy the morning sun and the view of the other buildings looking so tiny. We could also see the sea and the beach which was pretty awesome, indeed. While the sun was burning hot, we were getting dehydrated as well and our water bottle pack was almost over. I didn't drink much so I was like drooling and swinging from side to side in myself. It was then I realized that I needed more energy and also have to eat a lot more. Well, for people who don't know me - heres' one thing about me - I don't usually have breakfasts at my hostel because for one reason I wake up late ( not too often though, I mean not when I have to go for college)  and may be because the food at my hostel sucks and also that there is a battle at the food stall and a long queue and I would rather stay up without eating rather than waiting endlessly for the food which is not that good( well, not at all good). And my lunch and dinner goes the same way - I mean I don't take much. Thats' why when I get back home when I usually get the usual meal, I feel like I ate the whole days' meal in one go. 

My College 

Now, the task was to get down. It seemed like easy but actually it wasn't. We had to have grip and avoid skidding and slipping on the downhill path, else one would be dragged to the bottom of the mountain. Wait, I didn't mention how the mountain was, right? It was like any other mountain. The path was made by the people who set up the cell tower at the top of the mountain. So, it was the only way up. Since it was used on a regular basis by the technicians and the watcher the path was little gravel-ish with lot of red sand. There were rocks but were little bit apart from each other. So, we had to walk only on the sandy path which seldom slipped because it is sand and it would. Climbing up was hard but climbing down was even harder. Each step has to be made properly and with balance. I was showing some hero-ism over there by climbing down using the rocks. Because I had an excellent grip with my shoes on the rocks. But the rocks were going away from the actual path. So, I had to stop my hero-ism and get back to the sandy slope. It was then I realized that these shoes were not for such sandy paths and it was too too slippery. It took more time to climb down than to climb up. 

Woodland Shoes 

When we reached the bottom, we were totally exhausted and were unable to take any more steps. So, some of the guys called their friends to ride back to college-hostel. While two of the guys were so interested in watching the shooting and also to get a photo with the actress. So, they call me, the camera guy. I too was totally exhausted but stayed strong. May be I am strong but would be more stronger if I followed a strict regime to stay healthy. Anyways, I'm forced to go along with them despite my condition, that I may collapse any moment. So we go over there. She, The actress, is a budding artist who is milky white and thats' the reason why these guys are so interested in getting a photo. Well, I wasn't that interested. Firstly, I don't have a photogenic face and I would be the total contrast in the picture. Well, I would to go with the first reason. So, I was there standing with my camera. I don't have a zooming lens so I couldn't get a better picture or even a good picture. So, these guys waited for the scene to get over so that when she comes back, they could get a snap. I was totally worn out by that time and I just couldn't stand any longer and the sun was becoming torturous with every passing second. So, when they got vexed after a long and repeated takes of a tiny bit of the movie, they finally decided to get back to hostel. I was totally relieved at that moment. 

Me  |  At the Hill Top 

P.S. *UPDATED* the photos. Courtesy : Ajay Kontham Photography . :D