Going Fearless

Fear is something which holds you back from some exciting things in life. Overcoming that fear enhances your self confidence and brings in the feeling of pride.

A mountain always calls you back. Two weekends and no climb on any mountain made her miss the action so much that she decided to go for the only trek available for the weekend in spite of its difficulty level being tough on the website. She was a bit skeptical not with the difficulty level but with the adventures included in the trek. So, when she decided to give a chance to these adventures she got a lump in her heart as all these actions were going to happen at some peaks and height had always scared her off. Scared to an extent that riding on a ropeway with 10 people in the cable car was also something which she hated and always prayed for its in-existence in any trip. 9 treks including a Himalayan one in the past 6 months had however reduced the level of fear and looking from the top of a high rise building or a mountain peak was not a big thing anymore. However jumping off the cliff for a Bungee or hanging in air for a paraglide was still something she could never think of. The feeling of being in air with nothing around herself raised the fear hormone that made her scream her heart out.

So the trek she decided to go for included three activities: rock climbing, flying fox, rappelling. All the three were new for her and trying out new things was something that she always loved but trying them at a height of 4000 feet was not that she had wished for. With all these skepticism, inhibitions, you tube searches of these adventures and multiple second thoughts she finally packed her bag to leave on Friday night for boarding the bus from Dadar. The trek organizers Trek Mates India along with Adventure India where conducting this trek to Alang-Madan Fort which is supposedly one of the toughest in Sahayadris because of its rocky terrain and narrow paths to the top. Alang-Madangad-Kulang are three forts next to each other in the Nashik district in Maharashtra.

She reached Dadar expecting at least one known face as this was her 11th trip with TMI and sighting an old face from other previous trek was like a ritual. To her surprise, this time it was neither the TMI lead nor any of the participants whom she had ever met. Being fearless of the people she started her journey with 28 unknown faces and few chats with couple of them. The night went by with a sound sleep in the bus. Thanks to her stay in the hostels and sharing apartments, she could sleep anywhere and any decibel of sound or any luminosity of light could dare disturb her. With the morning light and a wakeup call by a fellow trekker she got up to the sunshine and 28 men in Ambewadi village somewhere in Nashik. 

Yes, for the first time in my trekking history I was the only female amongst the group of unknown men. This did not scare me but I was a bit confused as to whom to go for the girl-related queries(as you don't get a luxurious loo or a proper changing room on a trek and a co-female trekker is always a help). Since there was no option other than continuing the journey I marched forward leaving everything to the time.

The trek started with the usual breakfast of poha and added icing in the form of bread-butter-jam combo. Post filling our stomach with food and the bottles with water I along with the group began our journey towards the Madan fort. Starting with a plain terrain Johnny, the guide from Adventure India took us to the top of the Madan fort, en route which we found the slopes and the huge rocks; the jungle route where the branches and leaves hindered the steady speed; the narrow trail all around the Madan peak where the carabiner on our harness attached to the rope fixed to the mountain boosted our confidence. After a long walk and few rest breaks we reached the so-called top from where the rock climbing was to start. This rock climbing was a must do to reach the top. Being the first attempt at rock climbing, my confidence level was low but I wasn't  scared as going up you don't get to see the height exactly. However when I started, I found pulling myself up the rocks wasn't easy as I was unable to find the proper grips. With the help of the support team who were pulling the knotted rope, and with a lot effort I managed to reach the top. Post reaching the top we got to see the flying fox spot. With just the look of it I was like ‘OMG. I can’t do this!’.

Even the thought of hanging in the air was scaring the shit out of me. Flying fox was actually a way to travel from Madan Fort to Alang fort and skipping this meant getting down the Madan fort and climbing the Alang fort, consuming lot of time and effort. So, giving this a shot was an only option. Since the plan was to first explore the Madan Fort top, followed by lunch and post that flying fox, I decided to not think of it till the flying fox activity actually begins. 

The view from the fort was both beautiful and peaceful. One could see many forts like Ratangad, Harishchandragad, Kulam, Alang etc from this peak. Once everyone reached the top, we all had the lunch that was cooked at Alang and had been flown to us via the flying fox rope. The lunch was a treat as none of us expected it to be that delicious. Post lunch came the time to march towards the flying fox location. While in the queue I noted that the average time a person was in the air was 15 seconds with no stops. Even the short time could not make me get rid of the fear. After 12-13 people traversed to the other end, came my turn. I pleaded and threatened(literally!) the support team to make me travel the distance in minimal time. In spite of all this effort they made it sure that I be in the air for maximum time and stopped me thrice on the way. Though I am not sure for their reason behind this, and even though I screamed like hell, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely the three stops gave me an awesome view and helped me in overcoming the fear of height to an extent. While till a day before I couldn't even think of flying fox, today I not only desire to try it again but I also want to give a shot to Bungee, skydive and paraglide sometime in future.

After the eventful and happening day, at night we set up our beds in the cave at Alang fort. While waiting for the dinner to be ready, some of the guys started playing Bluff, me along with others decided to chit chat outside the cave in the moonlight. The chats soon became the horror story sharing session with few personal experiences and many anecdotes. The dinner buffet was served with a menu that included Gulab Jamuns. What else does a person like me having a sweet-tooth wants!!! This time the food was not only delicious, it was plate-licking. The night came in and we all slept among the noises of the farts and the snores, not to forget the uneven floor of the cave that massaged the backs. Between all these actions I forgot to attend to nature's call and had decided to sneak in the night for the same. But the tiring day did not let me move out of my sheet and finally I got up in the morning. I got out of the cave thinking where to pee in the daylight. Thankfully, it was still dark outside and the cook who was a female came to my help in guarding my area.

Post breakfast, we all left for the end of the fort from where we rappelled down to reach the mid height of the mountain. Though I was scared before rappelling as well, it turned out to be fun. From this point we walked back to our base village where we were once again served with a tasty lunch. While the weekend was about to end and only a last bus journey back to Mumbai was ahead, I was full of smiles deep down in my heart as for me it was an experience of attempting an unexpected situation. 

With the group having a mix bag of different age groups ranging from 12 to 46, few singers who entertained us throughout, few talented photographers who never got irritated by the posing friends, a guy whose speaker was a boon while descending, a Snake rescuer, a dedicated team of Adventure India, a skilled cook and many enthusiastic people, the whole weekend was definitely a total fun; food and fear being the highlight. A memorable experience for I have started planning for adventures which I never even dreamt of thinking. I can go anywhere and everywhere, go solo and go fearless!!!