Hike

Why I Love Hiking And Just About Anything Outside?................
In an article I was reading the author was asked why he hikes, so being a passionate backpacker I thought I needed to answer this question for myself. My family has asked me this very same question. Some of them think I am crazy, (and the rest of them know I am) they just don't understand why, why I enjoy carrying weight on my back and sleeping in a tent and walking for miles, sometimes in not the best of weather to do such. So, I thought for a second and the answer didn't come that easily, so I thought some more and some more and came up with my response.
 

For one thing, I love the outdoors, anything outdoors. If you give me a choice of going to a concrete ridden theme park or to go hit a trail, the trail would win hands down. Also, if you give me a choice of staying at a 5 star hotel or sleeping in my tent, my 5 star tent would win hands down. I also, truly love camp breakfasts, trail lunches, and camp dinners, to me they taste better than going out for restaurant. The simple fact that I can eat whenever and wherever and of course, whatever. No schedules to keep, no timetable as it is in our concrete jungle, I can explore at my own pace, without any particular schedule, no deadlines, no phones, no worries, hike my own hike, be carefree.
 

Another reason I go into the wilderness is for escape: escape from busy highways, escape from crowded shops, and escape from time. When you hike, you forget track of time. And isn't it nice to forget time for a little while? I enjoy knowing that the only thing I have to accomplish in the wilderness is to let my mind run free.
 

My curiosity makes me anxious to see what is around the next bend or up the next hill, and it doesn't matter how many times I do the same hike…. every time it is different. Then there is always the adventure that keeps me coming back for more. The simple fact that these great places can only be seen by foot. I enjoy the challenge of getting to a certain place by my own means. It is worth every step, every ouch, bug bite and any other discomfort along the way just to know that they will soon be forgotten, with the first aah or wow (view). The views from the top of Konkan Kada or from the bottom of the Sandhan Valley were incredible and what was really satisfying about the whole trip was the fact that I made it up there with my own feet.
I hike for the views, the ones that can sometimes take your breath away, such as, watching the cloud’s play as the open and close the curtains over the peak or eating lunch on the side of the mountain, so high in the sky with the hawks souring at eye level, and then flying down below (I think they were showing off). You can never get these great views from the concrete jungle most of us call home. The only way to experience this perfect feeling of awe and aah is to hike it.
 

Furthermore, I love listening to and hopefully seeing the many animals (or signs of them) and creatures of the forest. I am thankful to them for sharing their homes with me. I love the flowers and the trees that surround me. I love the smell of the woods, the dirt under my feet, (and on my body) the sound of the crunch from leaves as you walk, the sounds of the animal and the overwhelming feeling that I have when all of my senses are being enlightened.
 

One of the most important reasons I love to be outdoors is that I like to share these experiences; with the people (i.e. my family and friends) I like. Because of sharing these experiences we all grow closer and closer. We develop a bond that can not break ever. Only those individuals will know what I am talking about when remembering these special times. Only Hrishikesh and I will be able to remember the trail at Tanaji Sagar Backwaters…from Panshet upto Thangaon and knowing that when we return to trek it again (and we will) it will be a totally different trek. He is the one who knows which trek I am referring to when I mention the ‘Potato Barbeque’. When mentioning it, all our memories will bring us back to that particular trek. Only Adhishri, will know why I call Amit as a ‘Long Distance Sprinter’. I like the way Sameer sees the things differently than I do and also sees the things that I would totally miss if it weren't for his pointing them out. I like the look on his face when he finds a new discovery. I like the way Amit runs ahead of me….and I follow him…Tired and helpless. I like the way sometimes Shrijeet hikes up ahead and doesn't complain about much. I like the way he sits waiting for me and sitting generally in the middle of the trail. I like going anywhere with Hrishikesh and sharing all experiences with him. I like the way Sachin catches the Venoms and scares us….I like watching him sit near lake for whole night as he waits for wildlife to come. I like the way I fight with Amit in the tent when it is freezing cold out. I like the fact he will walk miles….. Just for me. I love sharing my life (trail and concrete) with all these people. These people are worth…...
 

I like to talk with these people sitting on top of mountains formed in the last ice age with a view stretching for country miles. How the clouds slowly approach against the backdrop of blue while the trees sing when a gentle breeze blows through them. How when we lay under the stars at night, feel a peace that can’t be explained. How just before dawn, the air is the purest we ever find? We take a deep breath of the cool morning air and settle back to watch the glowing sun wake over the next mountain. These experiences can make me feel so inferior and such a small part of existence.
 

So the original question is why do I hike? For me it was not an easy question to answer, and I couldn't answer it with only one phrase, such as I love the outdoors, it goes beyond words, it's the feelings and the views and the enjoyment of spending time with the people that I love and sharing these experiences with them. The bear went over the mountain, what do you think he saw? Well, I don't know the answer to this very old question, but as long as my feet will take me there I intend to keep going up those mountains and around every possible bend to see.

Breath

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you...whole cares will drop off like autumn leaves”. These words from John Muir describe why myself as modern urbanite desire to be in the natural world.

Deciding to follow a nature-based religion if you live in the midst of a city can be a challenge. People who live in farms or in jungles can often step outside and immediately be in contact with the Mother Nature. But those of us who are surrounded by concrete jungle and live shoulder to shoulder with neighbors must make hard efforts to ignore the daily business and routines to feel the rhythms of the Great Mother Nature pulsing throughout the years.

Despite living in one of Pune’s most urban area, I am fortunate enough to live close to what I consider one of the State’s most impressive "monuments": Sahyadri Mountains. Outskirts of the city. Mulshi and Velhe taluka. Each has a very special significance to me.

From my door, you can ride 40 Kms into a huge patch of (Proposed) Mulshi Wildlife Sanctuary…..an integrated part of Mulshi Backwaters.

There are many things I have been able to do and learn in this region that I never would have thought possible inside the city. I've sat beneath mango tree and used it to plot the path of the sun over the course of the day. I've wandered over the hills, finding vistas where one can see only an occasional house, and imagining how Pune was in the days when the land was owned by the wind and the rain. And I've explored flora and fauna: No of flowers, butterflies, insects, eagles, hawks, deer, rabbits, peacocks and—once—a red fox. I know the paths through the forest almost better than I do the streets surrounding my urban area. So I am more fortunate than any other urbanite—I do have a private wilderness that I can find any weekend.

Despite my bond with this particular piece of landscape, there is a huge swaddle of engineering occupation and business in my life which restricts me from visiting the region everyday. Ideally when I look for the natural world, my eyes look for the virgin places, untouched by the urban people. Furthermore, I do not have access to pristine natural areas like those shown in the pages of National Geographic. How can I connect to the natural word while being in the city? While being at the workplace?

The answer is, in reality, quite simple. I get connect with the nature that is present in front of my eyes. This holds true wherever I go and stay.

I Begin by grounding and centering myself. I close my eyes and begin concentrating on breathing, in and out. Realize that with each breath, the molecules that make up the air are moving in and out of my body. The small bird whistling on the tree above breathed these same molecules moments ago. Before that, the same tree had breathed them. Before that, they were carried on the wind from far away, where they had been the breath of mighty river in the remote mountains. Or perhaps, the breath of the ravine from where the river was originated. I continue tracing those molecules back…. and then the leaves or blades of grass the molecules have traveled through on their journey. I realize that I am, and will always be, inseparable from the natural world around me.

I open the eyes and look in the air. Watch the birds fly from tree to tree. Connecting downtown with suburbs, with outskirts, with remote mountains. I feel the breeze deep inside. It carries the joy of wilderness.
I've begun to understand my city in a new way. Instead of seeing concrete and glass, I notice the weeds along the road. I look out of my window at work and see, not the jammed traffic and shopping malls, but the distant mountains, Singhgad and Torna. I notice the sun and the clouds, the moon and the stars. And my struggle to see life through the eyes of the Earth Mother has, for me, transformed this city of concrete and steel into a life-celebrating, sacred wilderness.

The beauty of the visualization allows me to reconnect with nature wherever and whenever I happen to be. It also strips away all of the perceived barriers between the natural world and urban life. The only thing I can do is to breathe……