Trekking Tales ...

"We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”?Henry David Thoreau

After waiting for quite sometime to be chosen for a suitable role in corporate and when that was not happening, during 2018, my husband literally pulled me along to his hike and trek gang. Initially was a bit wary of this activity and the unknown team with members from different background, age and professions and now am so thankful to the husband for making me a part his informal trek group. My first trek was a night trek to Skandagiri, located around 65 kms away from Bengaluru. During this first trek, I was least prepared both mentally and physically I just blindly followed the herd and its captain, all by myself with not so friendly smile to fellow mates. On reaching the peak was totally mesmerized with landscapes at the crack of the dawn, which made me forget all the pains and falls while ascending the hill. This only night trek, later was followed by several day treks and hikes around exotic western ghats and other trek trails of Karnataka.

Since then I never looked back , hiked and trekked well known and not so well known trails that were easy, moderate and tough , which taught me huge life lessons. The treks paved way for introspections, importance of managing time and resources, endurance , leadership and lot more skills that I would love to discuss here.

1. Introspection: Life in today's world, being completely hijacked by the gadgets, we are hardly left with any time for the self let alone for the people around you. Treks provide us, an ample amount of time for introspection, which is a big source of personal knowledge and helps you to choose solutions for your problems. It gives us the sufficient 'Me' time which we crave for , in our busy 9 to 5 jobs.
2. Being Present: Monk Thich Nhat Hanh has beautifully quoted the importance of being present as, "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life" Treks and Hikes helps heaps in training our minds to be in present, while in our routine life, our monkey mind swings from past to future. Trekking encourages to pause, appreciate our surroundings , mind our step and accept the challenges as its presented and move on. This point has made a great impact on me in letting go of past as things of past are of least use to us at present and enjoy the gift of present as the further journey in the wild cannot be guessed.
3. Team : The team spirit can be experienced right from the start at the base , while ascending the hill, reaching the peak and until the return to base. You get an opportunity to meet and listen to some amazing people and their stories all your way up and down. And the sheer joy of summitting the peak together is something unexplainable.
4. Decision Making Skills: Jim Rohn a famous motivational speaker and entrepreneur had quoted that 'You cant make progress without making decisions', which truly relates while climbing the hills. One cannot complete the trek if he/she is not good at making decision on the spot, like while hopping on rocks, sliding boulders, crossing streams without getting wet , calculating the distance and time , deciding on the safer path, handling emergencies and in other situations. Sometimes we are also made to feel that, 'its okay to take wrong decision' as there is always other way out.
5. Helping Hands: We not only learn to offer help but also learn to accept help graciously. Many, assuming physical fitness is what that takes one to peak and back, tend to reject help , but at certain point that ego too get peeled of such individuals , who slowly becomes vulnerable enough to accept help . Treks teaches us to give others an opportunity to help us which again can be paid or lent forward to other team mates instead of returning it .
6. Managing Resources: Packing light helps us to pack only important essentials as its we who have to carry our own weight . This further helps in being alert while using the resources like water and food. Also managing the resource 'Time' , one can't rest for a long time due to the aching limbs or for watching changing landscapes as the team has to keep moving to reach the peak at the right time and get back to the base at the specified time.
7. Endurance: After a certain point of time, every trekker loses his/her patience due to rough terrains , dehydration , mind blocks or other challenges and might want to give up and few do give up. But the degree of endurance is what takes the rest to the peak, to experience 'Ah' moment.

At the end, its not just the breath taking view of the landscapes at the peak but the several takeaways of life's lessons learned during the uphill and downhill journey. Stripping of our mind blocks while pushing our limits to max, like when we think we are done and give up and the team mates popping up to encourage you to continue. The sound of the rustling trees, chirping birds, the chuckle of little streams, roaring falls, blue sky , this side and the other side of the green hills, the rocks, the sun and the smell of these keeps you alive and positive for several days and gives a meaning to a life less scripted. Out there, there is a trail for everyone, young and old, expert and amateur , short and long treks, you just need to push yourself a bit.