Do it until it’s done!

Now, my ‘boys-gang’ has a tradition of scaling the most difficult mountains in our part of the Western Ghats. It is the Velliangiri trek (7 mountains to reach the temple atop the 7th) that I undertake every year. I have completed this trek 5 times in the last 7 years, while my best friend has done it close to 10 times. For many devotees, this is a sacred pilgrimage. Almost all of them, barring a few, including myself, a Hindu atheist, walk barefoot. To me, this is one of the greatest challenges nature presents to test my willpower and physical endurance. The total distance isn’t any more than 14-15 km round trip, but elevation makes it challenging. The steepness of each hill, the never-ending boulders that act as steps, the sheer fatigue of checking with fellow trekkers trying to figure out which one of the total seven hills are we on, and the non-stop climb – make it tough. A combination of all these factors makes Velliangiri one of the most difficult treks in the southern part of the country. So, I gear up with a pair of trekking shoes, a bamboo stick, and a backpack that carries a few high-energy snacks and water bottles.

And it wasn’t just a trek. Is there anything in life that is just what it is? Perhaps not. There have been a few unfortunate deaths of trekkers who lost their lives in Velliangiri earlier this year. Of course, the families are deeply concerned. And adding a year to your age can sometimes lead you to self-doubt. It’s always about the mind, isn’t it? It’s not the body that gives in. With a weakened mind, the mountains now seemed a lot bigger.

The trek started okay. We began well into the night, and fortunately, it wasn’t too crowded. The first hill seemed to go on and on and on… steep, with no steps, just uneven boulders. By the end of the first one, you’re tired but weirdly awake. We’ve had a few instances in the previous years where a few guys from the crew gave up halfway through the first mountain. Crossing the first one is probably the most difficult part. Once this is done, you feel super energized. This energy pushes you to do the next couple of them. Right around #4, a couple of us started to experience cramps. Now there is no turning back. One can, but they would have to walk the same distance that they have climbed. And descending has been very difficult in my experience.

At this point, the only logical thing for us to do was to push ahead. Fix your body and move ahead. And we did, albeit slowly. The key was to keep our focus on the next literal step and not necessarily on the number of mountains to climb. Just the next step. Once you reach the base of the 7th mountain, an adrenaline rush kicks in. You are almost there. Just one significantly larger mountain left to climb. I keep drawing parallels to my life, to my work, to my spirit. This learning is beautiful. These lessons are beautiful.

And the camaraderie, the patience you are forced into. For sure, not many were focused on the speed. It was just about completing the trek and successfully returning to the base where everything started. It was not just about climbing 7 mountains. It was about returning from 7 all the way back to the base of the first one, especially after spending 5-6 hours climbing.

This trek is very peculiar in a way because there is no giving up in the middle. If you give up in the middle of the 5th mountain, remember, you have to climb down 5! You might as well do all 7 and return. An intern who worked for me years ago told me once, and it’s still stuck with me: “Satish, do it until it’s done!” I did, in 14-15 hours, to make sure that everyone came back successfully.

This time again, the body and mind endured. The year when either one of the two gives in, I hang up my bog it again next year lives on! The grit is getting stronger.