One Mile at a Time

 

 

“Unforgettable” is what I can say about my first trekking experience. Beautiful views, mountains, greenery and the trail itself, weather, far away from the crowd and boring routine and probably most important …...traveling with friends made this experience even more memorable. Me and my friends decided to take a trip to Lonavala, Shirota Lake. It stands out for its alluring beauty. It has a huge forest cover and is a secluded spot to camp. We went there for trekking and camping. It was gathered to be a two days and one night trip. Our campsite was 23km absent from Lonavala Railroad Station so it was a 3 hours walk for us .We were strolling by taking a few rest after a mile , the very reason of naming this blog as " One Mile At A Time ".

 

Day 1 

 

 Each of us carried sleeping mats, tent equipment, first aid kit and some snacks for the way. Trekking from Lonavala station to the destination was the finest decision we made, I can say this since of the astounding views we came over. There were numerous individuals who were going by car. I feel awful for those individuals since they lost a few lovely scenes.  The local people were so nice and selfless as they were offering us rides without accepting any kind of payment, but we denied to take any rides.After three or four miles of strolling we came over a tremendous gather of individuals. They were around twenty to twenty-five people and they were carrying all the stuff that's utilized for film shooting. We got so energized that we were indeed making presumptions that a few gigantic star individuals must be here and we should definitely ask them but due to lack of courage and a lot of nervousness we failed to do that. 

 

 

 

On our way we came across a hill with numerous small caves in it. It reminded me of caves in Ajanta and Ellora. After around one or one and a half hours of walking we were all very exhausted .The weather was hot and it affected our speed of walking. GPS was not accurate enough which made us walk on a wrong turn for over half an hour, because of which our destination became distant from us. After a while as we were near our destination, the roads became narrower and through dense forest. It was a sudden change for us since after all the long walk within the warm we were feeling a small bit of cool since of these trees. Believe me when I'm saying this that trees do make a colossal distinction by their existence. Finally after three hours of walking we reached our destination. 

 

Bonfire

To have a taste of local life and food, we went to a local village which is situated just a few distance away from the campsite. They were happy to provide us home cooked food with 150-200 charges. After while we set up our two tents. It was around 8pm and we were already shivering due to the cold.We built a bonfire and the most probable thing to cook on a bonfire was Maggie. For dinner we grilled our frozen chicken which we had brought with us. While grilling this chicken everybody suddenly became a Master-chef !! We were advised by the locals to cover the surface of our tents with stones because of the strong wind at night. 

 

 

I took this picture cause i don't want to ever forget this beautiful view. The moon was looking so big in actuality and we were able to see everything in the moonlight, we did not even feel the need to turn on our torches. There were stars which are not even visible for us in our huge cities due to pollution. Everything was so peaceful and perfect that i could not describe that feeling in words. We slept in our sleeping bags and due to our body heat we were relieved. The occasional cool breeze creates a gentle ripple in the waters blurring the reflection and bringing me back to reality. I feel like bouncing, yelling and running like a child. I sat by the lakeside, calm and composed, letting my expressions stream through the writing. How I wish individuals might witness the same enchantment! But at the same time, I need to accept that such minutes draw me quietly towards them to see the complexities of nature in my own way, turning my dreams into a reality.

 

 Day 2

This is the image that we took in the morning. The open sky and the wilderness around give me an exhilarating feeling of freedom! The cotton-like clouds are spread across the sky and as the sun gradually rises from behind the mountains, it gives the orange tinge to the sky. The sun, the sky, hills, plants, and flowers are clearly reflected in the still waters of the lake.Waking up to bird voices and the whistling wind in your ears instead of the car honks is so refreshing . We all were awake , we were just sitting and looking at this beautiful view  Minutes like this are often no less than a reflection and have eternal impacts on me giving a clear picture in my life, making me more certain and mending me in wondrous ways. We traveled back in the very same way. Well this was my journey from getting away from the city chaos to getting lost in nature . I will not forget this trek , all the fun we had , the people we came across in our journey. According to my opinion we should take a break like this at least once a year. Taking a break from the city life, the daily routine, we should try to escape and should get in touch with nature .

 

 

 

Trek and Camp

Hello Guys ,

I am Bhagyashri Patankar and welcome to my very first blog . I am here to tell you about my unexpected and wondrous trek in Lonavala . A little bit to talk about myself here ....I love to go on treks and camping  and this was my first trek with my friends . We took this trek in December . Well according to my opinion we should all the outdoor activities in December when the weather is just perfect , no rain , no problem of heat . This trek was of two days and one night . To speak honestly we did not took any kind of ride to our decided campsite expect for the train from our home to Lonavala . Our campsite was 23km away from Lonavala Railway Station so it was a 3 hours walk for us .We were walking by taking some rest after a mile , that's why i named this blog as " One Mile At A Time ".

Me and my friend took this after we started to walk . Well the cylindrical shape thing on our back was our sleeping mats . We were six people each carrying the same weight . Trust me we took the best decision to walk because of which we were able to come across some beautiful scenarios , there were many people who were going by car , well I feel bad for those people cause they were missing some beautiful scenes .

This image I was able to capture after we reach to some height . We were the only ones that were walking , I will not lie it was tiring but it was peaceful . As were walking we came across a lot of people who were offering us car rides in their cars , one of them even said , " You can come in our rickshaw , I will not take any money " , those all were the local people living in that area , that thing made me believe that humanity still exists . After three or four miles of walking we came across a huge group of people . They were around 20-25 and they were carrying all the stuff that is used for film shooting . We got so excited that we were even making assumptions that some huge star person must be here , we should definitely ask them but due to lack of courage and a lot of nervousness we failed to do that 😅. We continued our walking and then after a few time we stumble into something unique and thing that will make you a curious a lot , here's a picture of it .

 Well this not a just a hill , it's a hill with small caves in them . There were around fifteen to twenty small caves in the hill , it reminded me of caves in Ajanta and Ellora . We were so curious that we even asked some of the local people living there , but unfortunately we could not find that much information about them , we were told that they were very old that's it . After around one or one and a half hour of walking we were all very exhausted .The weather was hot and it effected on our speed of walking . One of my friend was carrying frozen chicken in his bag which was very heavy but then too we decided to keep walking because we knew that the view at the top will worth anything . We were walking towards our destination with the help of google maps . And the most unexpected thing happened , we were misguided by google maps and took the wrong way cause of which our destination became distant from us . We came to know about this about we walked fore over and half hour in the wrong direction , so we again took a U-turn and started to walk in the right direction by asking some people . One thing I learned from this that never put your trust in technology . After a while as were near our destination we stumble into a sudden change . The road we were walking was now like small road which was going in upward direction and it was right through many trees . It was small road in which people can walk through forming a line cause to both of our sides that is left and right there many trees and bushes. It was sudden change for us because after all long walk in the heat we were feeling a little bit of cool because of this trees . Trust me when I'm saying this that trees do make a huge difference by there existence . We were feeling so fresh and relieved by the refreshing air . 

And finally after three hours of walking we reached our destination .

It's me sitting after a very long walk , and saying to myself that all the walking , being exhausted , tired all of that was worth for this astonishing view . This destination that we picked we were the only ones there because we chose that we will try to stay in place where there will be not any people like us who were there for camping and stuff . This was our break from all the city chores and a break from people . Even at this height there were some local people who were staying a few kilometers away from this lake .We decided to ask them to make our dinner and we will give there charges .They were so warming and friendly , they treated us with care and they were behaving with us like we knew each other from a long time. We sat for a while and then we started to build our tents . We carried those camping tents with us and built two tents . It was started to get dark and some of us started to build bonfire .

The first thing that anybody would cook on a fire is Maggi , we cooked our Maggi and it tasted good .Then we unpacked our chicken and the masala which we were going to apply to that . You would not believe we carried oven grills which we stole from our own house . In this picture you can see the oven grills . While grilling this chicken everybody suddenly became a Masterchef !! . The local people then brought us our dinner and they even advised us not to go in the water even in the morning . They told us to put stones on the surface of our tents because the wind in the night will be so strong that our tents might not be able to hold that much force . We took there advice and put stones on the surface of our tents . It was around 8pm and we were already shivering due to cold . We all were wearing multiple layers of clothes and we were sitting around the bonfire .

 I took this picture cause i don't want to ever forget this beautiful view . The moon was looking so big in actual and we were able to see everything in the moonlight , we didn't even felt the need to turn on our torches . To be honest there were not this many stars as they are visible in the picture . but there were enough stars which are not even in visible for us in out huge cities due to pollution . Everything was so peaceful and perfect that i could not describe that feeling in words .  We slept in our sleeping bags and due to our body heat we were relieved .

This is the image that we took in the morning . Waking up to bird voices and the whistling wind in your ears instead 0f the car honks is so refreshing . We all were awake , we were just sitting and looking at this beautiful view . We were finding our own mental peace by looking at this view which we would not find in the city . 

This is me finding my own mental peace and admiring the view. 

Well this was my journey from getting away from the city chaos to getting lost in the nature . I will not forget this trek , all the fun we had , the people we came across in our journey.
According to my opinion we should take a break like in this at least once in year , taking a break from the city life , the daily routine ,we should try to escape and should get touch in nature .