Trekking escapades
After being homebound for months, trekking aficionados get on a quick expedition despite the pandemic
While many are still coming to terms with life during the pandemic, a courageous lot set off on an expedition to scale Mt Rudugaira, Uttarakhand, in what could possibly be the first major trekking expedition after the lockdown.
Thirty-nine enthusiasts belonging to different walks of life from various Indian states took part in the challenging initiative, which was led by Lt Col Rommel Barthwal and Thammineni Bharath from Boots and Crampons.
After undergoing COVID19 tests, the members got off to the 12-day expedition, from on 28 September to 09 October, with 13 of the 39 scaling the mountain. Among the 13 were some trekkers from Telangana, whom we caught up with for a chat.
WELCOMING THE OUTDOORS
Looking forward to travelling in the new normal with all the insights about the COVID-19 protocols was Pothuraju Samanyu, a 10year-old mountaineer, who did the trail with his 36year-old mother Lavanya.
Samanyu says he wasn’t afraid to trek during the pandemic. “I was waiting for the opportunity because I felt it would be a refreshing change after the lockdown,” he says.
Shar ing Samanyu’s enthusiasm, Lavanya, who accompanies her son in all his expeditions, also tells us she had no misgivings about the pandemic while trekking. “I wasn’t afraid also because I believe the mountains are very pure. Moreover, there wasn’t any crowd, so the expedition was like a ‘ Me Time’ trip,” she says, adding that it was Samanyu who pushed her to do this trek. Of course, being cooped up at home during the lockdown manifested itself in bodily stiffness during the initial stages of the trek, for both Lavanya and Samanyu. “It’s been some time since we trained for any of it, so it took us time to get acclimatised to the conditions,” Lavanya points out.
Going for long walks, cycling and controlling my diet helped me prepare for the trek. It required a lot of physical and mental preparation like constant self-motivation. I had to mentally competing with myself, and keep improving upon my fitness levels, etc —Krishna Kalagara,
entrepreneur
CHALLENGING THE INNER SELF
For 47-year-old Krishna Kalagara, an entrepreneur with a graduate degree in mounta ineer ing , trekking during the pandemic meant challenging his inner self. Krishna tells us that despite COVID-19, he had been preparing for the expedition for two months. “Going for long walks, cycling and controlling my diet helped me prepare for the trek,” he explains. However, Krishna doesn’t shy from admitting that the expedition was a huge challenge despite his preparations.
My parents did not initially agree to the expedition because of the pandemic, but Bharath Sir, my coach, convinced them. I am a National-level swimmer, so I did not experience much difficulty — Munagala Pranavi,
GradeIXstudent