"Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace."
After I and Pranav returned from Stockholm for good, we did a very little travelling or visited any new places as Raghu was on and off travelling to Sweden and whenever he was here we were off to Kurnool to be with parents . Which left us just a day outings to Nandi Hills, Hesaraghatta grasslands in Bangalore during independence day long weekend in last one year.
Though I and Pranav had our own shares of outings to indoor play areas, science exploriums , parks, watching movies ,jolly metro train rides and farms in Bangalore on weekends, deep down i started yearning to connect with nature go for a photo shoot early morning or do a solo trek.
Being an avid reader of www.Indiahikes.com ,I got inspired from female solo trekkers,I wanted to stretch my limbs test my fitness levels ,and prepare for a bigger treks to Himalayas.
Finally i got a free Saturday on Oct 8 2016 , with Pranav in Kurnool with grandparents for Dussera holidays and i didn't get a booking for Friday night to travel Kurnool, I pondered what to do..
.
Fellow trekkers
I trekked fast in the beginning , as i had a fear of getting knocked off by a bear and no one noticing it if iam the last person in the group.
We couldn't see anything except bushes and trees everywhere, i wasn't even knowing what am i stamping on as there was layers and layers of grass and creepers below us with digs intermittently.
We reached a temple after 3km trek and had to climb 400 steps from there, This stage was an eye opener for my fitness levels, I got a free stress test done for my heart. I climbed first 80 steps and all the troubles started from there,I was wheezing heavily as i further climbed and had heavy heart palpitations, I started feeling really old among the group. The guide asked me to rest for a while and carried my backpack and sleeping bag. I pushed myself, kept moving and felt relieved once i finished (I have now new fitness goals of loosing 10kgs of weight).
We trekked for a little while again in forest and saw 2 boulders where the steps were sculpted with a hand railing.. I was like common how on earth can anyone climb this in pitch dark? Where have i come?
The boulders were very steep and have a carving for just one foot , I started climbing them with out looking down just behind guide,after final step at the top, i felt the sense of achievement and a whisper, “Nailed it!”.
We reached the top of the hill and it was absolutely breathtaking, the cool breeze, a bed of dotted lights flashing from the near by villages, the clearest view of thousands of constellations across the sky, fog covering all the disturbances coming from the city. Trust me, its all worth it.
Our guide started the bonfire, I felt the strong winds gushing, taking in the warmth of the fire, i didn't speak much. I preferred enjoying the moment in silence.
We descended to the base camp after sunrise, i would let the pictures speak now.
Terrain of the trek
We did Rapelling, played paint ball shooting and Kayaking there, my fellow trekkers brought their gills out and swam for long. I enjoyed Kayaking for long time.
We were dropped off at Nayandalahalli metro station as everyone of us are from Indiranagar,took a metro back home . I had lunch in Udupi park reached home at 3 PM and crashed on bed till 6.
Take away from Trek - Women must go for Solo treks, I now firmly believe that only people with a certain mindset go for treks and they are not the ones, who would mean any harm to fellow human beings.They come to treks because they love nature and want to savour their limited moments in its company.
To all the women out there understand your real capabilities, Retreat yourselves from day to day monotonous activities and connect with nature.
After I and Pranav returned from Stockholm for good, we did a very little travelling or visited any new places as Raghu was on and off travelling to Sweden and whenever he was here we were off to Kurnool to be with parents . Which left us just a day outings to Nandi Hills, Hesaraghatta grasslands in Bangalore during independence day long weekend in last one year.
Though I and Pranav had our own shares of outings to indoor play areas, science exploriums , parks, watching movies ,jolly metro train rides and farms in Bangalore on weekends, deep down i started yearning to connect with nature go for a photo shoot early morning or do a solo trek.
Being an avid reader of www.Indiahikes.com ,I got inspired from female solo trekkers,I wanted to stretch my limbs test my fitness levels ,and prepare for a bigger treks to Himalayas.
Finally i got a free Saturday on Oct 8 2016 , with Pranav in Kurnool with grandparents for Dussera holidays and i didn't get a booking for Friday night to travel Kurnool, I pondered what to do..
- Early morning photoshoot to Lalbagh.
- Just relax at home, watch movies and sleep.
- Call for a cleaning help and do a deep cleaning of home.
- Go for a solo trek
- Narayanagiri trek followed by water activities in Manchinbele during day.
- Kuntibetta trek
- Antharagange Trek and Cave exploration
I have sent an enquiry for all 3 and got re-directed to www.escape2explore.com from Thrillophilia. I was amazed to see their website and read about their outings, I chose Narayanagiri Trek as it had Rapelling activity during day time.
I got very anxious on going solo trek and how will be my fellow trekkers, is it safe for female solo trekkers during night , about my fitness levels , will i get lost if people come in groups etc etc, but my best friend cum husband Mr Raghunandan boosted my morale and encouraged me to go alone, My best friend cum Soul sister Gayathri too shared her experiences of traveling alone in Europe and advised me not to back off after listening to my inhibitions. I got all pumped up , played TT for 2 hours for 4 days to warm up for trek bought trekking gear and was all set for exploration.
I reached Gayathri's house by 9.30 PM on Friday in a crazy Bangalore traffic (extra crazy due to festive season and everyone were on roads travelling to natives), parked my bike there and Gayathri came to drop me at the escape2explore picking point at Marathahalli, everyone else except me in the tempo were mid 20's which made me feel really old (to be precise i was thinking where did my 20's go ).
Our bus started from Marathahalli and we reached BTM layout around 11.30 PM , where all the groups were separated based on their destinations.
There were only 5 of us who booked to Narayanagiri, other 4 were batchmates and friends who have studied in ISB hyd, they were very friendly , open minded and intelligent souls. We were all talking about backgrounds ,listening to pink floyd songs were comfortably settled in the bus.
We reached the base camp in Ramanagara, it was a small house in middle of a mango farm with wash rooms and a store room with trekking gear. We were served T and met our guide and his companion Prince (a dog), got sleeping bags and sticks and started to Jalamangala village in a Safari jeep. We reached the foothill and were briefed about the terrain of the trek, we have to hike through a dense forest for 3km, followed by 400 steps and trek 2 boulders. There are cheetah's and bears in the forest we shouldn't be making much noises during trek, these words scared the hell out of me.
We reached the base camp in Ramanagara, it was a small house in middle of a mango farm with wash rooms and a store room with trekking gear. We were served T and met our guide and his companion Prince (a dog), got sleeping bags and sticks and started to Jalamangala village in a Safari jeep. We reached the foothill and were briefed about the terrain of the trek, we have to hike through a dense forest for 3km, followed by 400 steps and trek 2 boulders. There are cheetah's and bears in the forest we shouldn't be making much noises during trek, these words scared the hell out of me.
 |
| Trek Starting point |
Fellow trekkers
 |
We couldn't see anything except bushes and trees everywhere, i wasn't even knowing what am i stamping on as there was layers and layers of grass and creepers below us with digs intermittently.
We reached a temple after 3km trek and had to climb 400 steps from there, This stage was an eye opener for my fitness levels, I got a free stress test done for my heart. I climbed first 80 steps and all the troubles started from there,I was wheezing heavily as i further climbed and had heavy heart palpitations, I started feeling really old among the group. The guide asked me to rest for a while and carried my backpack and sleeping bag. I pushed myself, kept moving and felt relieved once i finished (I have now new fitness goals of loosing 10kgs of weight).
We trekked for a little while again in forest and saw 2 boulders where the steps were sculpted with a hand railing.. I was like common how on earth can anyone climb this in pitch dark? Where have i come?
The boulders were very steep and have a carving for just one foot , I started climbing them with out looking down just behind guide,after final step at the top, i felt the sense of achievement and a whisper, “Nailed it!”.
We reached the top of the hill and it was absolutely breathtaking, the cool breeze, a bed of dotted lights flashing from the near by villages, the clearest view of thousands of constellations across the sky, fog covering all the disturbances coming from the city. Trust me, its all worth it.
Our guide started the bonfire, I felt the strong winds gushing, taking in the warmth of the fire, i didn't speak much. I preferred enjoying the moment in silence.
I tucked into my sleeping bag, gazed at the sparkling sky with stars and fell asleep around 3.30 PM, I woke up by 5.30 to a bone chilling morning , went around the hill and clicked few snaps, witnessed the dawn. From dark cloudy, misty morning to a explosion of a mixture of yellow and orange blee in the sky.
 |
| I and Prince |
 |
| Thats me all wearied. |
 |
| Boulders we had trekked through |
 |
 |
| View from top of the hill |
 |
| Tree on a Rock |
 |
| Monstrous steps which gave me new fitness goals. |
Thats how it ended, with little pain and so much
gain.
We reached the base, got freshened up and treated with a good break fast. We started out to Manchinbele water reservoir, this time it was our jeep's turn to trek through rough terrain of rocks and mud road.gain.
We did Rapelling, played paint ball shooting and Kayaking there, my fellow trekkers brought their gills out and swam for long. I enjoyed Kayaking for long time.
We were dropped off at Nayandalahalli metro station as everyone of us are from Indiranagar,took a metro back home . I had lunch in Udupi park reached home at 3 PM and crashed on bed till 6.
Take away from Trek - Women must go for Solo treks, I now firmly believe that only people with a certain mindset go for treks and they are not the ones, who would mean any harm to fellow human beings.They come to treks because they love nature and want to savour their limited moments in its company.
To all the women out there understand your real capabilities, Retreat yourselves from day to day monotonous activities and connect with nature.
