[Hari]
Nagalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India - Feb 2009
“To be is to do” said Kant and I say – life is not just doing it but living it in the real sense of the word and what better way can it be when you team up with total strangers – a totally incoherent lot when it comes to defining boundaries on differences yet united for one common reason – Being one with Mother Nature and doing it the right way – all in the name of fun and adventure that is so so missed in the concrete jungle.
We started from Koyambedu at about 5ish after the morning routine of picking people up at various points. A cuppa tea at periyapalayam and about an hour later, we reached the base of the foothills. After receiving instructions from the organisers and getting a glimpse of everyone, we started off in earnest to check out on what was store for us.
From the moment’s blink of an eye with a glimpse of the silent valley and the hills that lay ahead of us, it began from nowhere and started to grow on us and wouldn’t stop until we touched base at our first rendezvous’ point. A dip in the ice cold waters and gobbling a couple of idlis finally bought my mind back to rest from the heights of excitement it truly deserved for a very long time to come. And if I thought this was it – there was more in store.
The climb up the hill was an unusual affair for most of us techie-zombies and it sure was a test in the first place. Nothing really mattered when it came to reaching the heights as long as there were helping hands when ever in need and this kinda set the tone for the entire shape of things to come culminating in a grand finale of sorts.
Attitude seeks altitude and so it was – an extraordinary teamwork and with one hell of a sweeper in Balaji to push everyone when in need, ensured that we reached the peak and the drop zone in time. A good lunch and a moment’s rest later, we were on our way back to climbing a 15 deg drop [ if am not wrong ] although just a few feet up, only a few would have been through it until thence.
Amidst from nowhere - came the boulder spiralling downwards and a few seconds later missing Paari by a few inches, thudded in the waters like a meteor. This was enough to put our thoughts of invincibility to test and we did come up trumps in the end.. Thanks once again to a phenomenal team driven by a very thoughtful young brigade; the whole team made it safely up the hill – a momentary scare soon gave way to a scintillating view of the valley helping us loosen up a bit and trek down to the safety of our own civilised-savage world.
I would never have made it to the trek if not for a beer and a bellied mate who kind of questioned the logic of travel and the madness that comes from being alone while travelling, courtesy – the movie – “Into the Wild”. The Hindu fittingly came with a reply n voila – it was the Chennai Trekking Club.
After a few misses and finally making it through a successful trek, I can safely vouch that a traveller no matter what can never be alone for a moment when the whole world shines upon himself and even better – when you have a group like the CTC – It can only get better ..
Kudos to the organisers and the team for having shared a great valentine week with each other.. Moving on – I can’t wait until the next time I get to close the gap with the rest of the team. Until then – Let me dream on – Rocky Mountain High...!!!
Written by: Hari
Organized by: Vikram
Nagalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India - Feb 2009
“To be is to do” said Kant and I say – life is not just doing it but living it in the real sense of the word and what better way can it be when you team up with total strangers – a totally incoherent lot when it comes to defining boundaries on differences yet united for one common reason – Being one with Mother Nature and doing it the right way – all in the name of fun and adventure that is so so missed in the concrete jungle.
And what a trek it turned out to be in the end – the descent session, post-lunch, am sure will ROCK all the first timer’s minds for a lifetime to come.The Valentine weekend could have been a simple dine n date routine to most of the placid lot but it wasn’t meant to be so for the Chennai trekkers. Having missed the Tirumala trek, the photography session and the beach cleaning one – I was desperately looking forward to this one and finally made it too;
We started from Koyambedu at about 5ish after the morning routine of picking people up at various points. A cuppa tea at periyapalayam and about an hour later, we reached the base of the foothills. After receiving instructions from the organisers and getting a glimpse of everyone, we started off in earnest to check out on what was store for us.
From the moment’s blink of an eye with a glimpse of the silent valley and the hills that lay ahead of us, it began from nowhere and started to grow on us and wouldn’t stop until we touched base at our first rendezvous’ point. A dip in the ice cold waters and gobbling a couple of idlis finally bought my mind back to rest from the heights of excitement it truly deserved for a very long time to come. And if I thought this was it – there was more in store. The climb up the hill was an unusual affair for most of us techie-zombies and it sure was a test in the first place. Nothing really mattered when it came to reaching the heights as long as there were helping hands when ever in need and this kinda set the tone for the entire shape of things to come culminating in a grand finale of sorts.
Attitude seeks altitude and so it was – an extraordinary teamwork and with one hell of a sweeper in Balaji to push everyone when in need, ensured that we reached the peak and the drop zone in time. A good lunch and a moment’s rest later, we were on our way back to climbing a 15 deg drop [ if am not wrong ] although just a few feet up, only a few would have been through it until thence.
Amidst from nowhere - came the boulder spiralling downwards and a few seconds later missing Paari by a few inches, thudded in the waters like a meteor. This was enough to put our thoughts of invincibility to test and we did come up trumps in the end.. Thanks once again to a phenomenal team driven by a very thoughtful young brigade; the whole team made it safely up the hill – a momentary scare soon gave way to a scintillating view of the valley helping us loosen up a bit and trek down to the safety of our own civilised-savage world.
I would never have made it to the trek if not for a beer and a bellied mate who kind of questioned the logic of travel and the madness that comes from being alone while travelling, courtesy – the movie – “Into the Wild”. The Hindu fittingly came with a reply n voila – it was the Chennai Trekking Club.
After a few misses and finally making it through a successful trek, I can safely vouch that a traveller no matter what can never be alone for a moment when the whole world shines upon himself and even better – when you have a group like the CTC – It can only get better ..
Kudos to the organisers and the team for having shared a great valentine week with each other.. Moving on – I can’t wait until the next time I get to close the gap with the rest of the team. Until then – Let me dream on – Rocky Mountain High...!!!
Written by: Hari
Organized by: Vikram
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