Pilot Trek-Taking the Neglected Path

So having a total non happening life (well that’s what they say when you are insanely jobless) , rains getting at their best and going completely broke after spending all money on countless coffees (this post is written under high caffeine influence), time to go back to the basics-Trekking!

With almost every stupid person going for so called  ‘trek’ (fancy word in their dictionary, used to define a visit to tourist spots ruined by mass tourism, using cars/bikes and taking selfies), you got no option but to keep a smile while they brag about how adventurous they are!

With that thought , one of my friend and I decided to go for a trek on a weekday. Location, as usual, changed by last minute and we decided to trek a nearby neglected place.

Now, every regular trekker (unlike me) will know a kind of secret place which kicks out the popular places in serenity. He will try not to inform others about it because one popular Facebook post and the location will have it’s own mini Kumbh mela. We also happen to know such a place nearby. Only sad part was all this time we were going only till the base (because well…picnic!). Since I was out of my house  (kudos to that!) , we decided not to cancel the plan and to go for that place for trek.

This was a total pilot trek. (Means that no one knows the route, keep searching!). Very few people knew about this place and it is so neglected that the most trusted trekking website gave a one line guide of the trek. (Better than nothing!)

So a 40 min drive and we are at the base of the mountain. Following that one line guide ( well it actually gave a good head start) we started our trek. After 20 min we reached our spot where we usually come regularly.

Both of us were not knowing about what’s next, which kind of made the whole trek a surprise!

Soon we realized that trekking on half empty stomach (ashadhi ekadashi fasting) was a bad idea as the route became more and more hectic. This was a real challenge for endurance. The route took a hectic steep walk through dense forest and for half of the trek, we couldn’t see where we are on the mountain. Trek was definitely not recommended for beginners.

Luckily, contrary to what we thought, the whole route till the top was very well marked. Even the wrong ways were marked by  X’s (bless the person who thought of doing that!) The route went through the two prominent mountains from the base,took a sharp left turn and after 1.5 hours of hiking, we reached a clearing.

On a pilot trek, we never know what we are going to see so any view gets a “whoa!” Reaction. Same thing happened when we came across a plateau with a reverse waterfall. Sadly, it wasn’t windy at all at that time.

We came across few houses on the way and the first reaction was “how can people stay here? Where do the work? Why? How?” Continuing the same route till the top, we sometimes had a trail, steps (huh?), railings to cross the stream, another lonely house (Seriously!) (And thus we realized that this is not a trek to go solo or with only 2-3 people. Good for a group)

But the route was not that tiring (or we got energized after seeing the waterfall.) After a total of 2.5 hours hiking , everything was worth after reaching the top.

(You can spot the lonely house as a small white dot)

The best part was there was a house at the top where a person was staying. Of course he was high as hell (not by height standards).

As a rule, a hectic trek while climbing is mostly a piece of cake while coming down and we were back at the base within 1.5 hours.

Well, in a nutshell, we should change our focus little bit and look somewhere else. For starters, just around ourselves. You never know what you might bump into!

The location remains undisclosed for obvious reasons.