A Walk To Remember

Done and dusted are word I would never use for an Oxfam Trailwalker!

It is never done and dusted, the high lasts for a year!

Yes, I did want to do my second Oxfam Trailwaker in January 2015.

And so, I  identified a group at work with great difficulty, signed up just before the last date and then did nothing!

We neither raised funds, nor trained.

This went on till I had other commitments which clashed with the day the Trailwalker was to end.

And the inevitable irregular schedule I was on was giving me jitters.

And so I did the unthinkable and backed out!

Not before I had found replacement walkers for me and another co walker who had to back out due to official travel plans which came up suddenly.

I was upset, a bit, but then life goes on.

Then when yet another walker had to cancel, I stepped in.

And took charge.

I knew it was not going to be easy, but it was not impossible.

A month away from the walk and just few days away from the minimum fund raising deadline, our priority was fund raising ,

Which we did in absolute earnest.

In 48 hours we had raised the funds.

Next came training.

Having done Oxfam Trailwalker in 2014, I did have some idea about how difficult it would be if we hit the trails with no training.

So a training plan was drawn for walking/ core training/ cross training.

This we had to follow if we wanted to stay injury free on the trail.

One day of walking followed. A 12 hour , 40 km walk in the park.

It was painful yet fun.

An eye opener of sorts.

We slowly got ready with our lists and to dos for the D day.

Just because I had one successful (if I could call a 30 hr walk that) experience, did not lessen the fear and excitement for me!

We planned our support crews, read the maps, made our walking plans and were almost ready.

Excited, fearful, geared up.

We had friends pick us up very early morning and off we went. It was somewhere very far from the city and we had estimated a 2 hour drive.

Of course the bags I  packed looked like I was planning to take off on  a long holiday

Constant reminders to fellow walkers about basic essentials to be brought along

Bottles

Caps

Jackets

Sun glasses

Spare shoes and socks

Spare clothes

And reminders to cut your toe nails!!

Everything else was C/o Me

Reached the start point just in time to get our bibs on and take a picture and leave.

Dark, crowded, noisy!

We started off and did it with a good pace.  The first 8.8 kms were not easy, it had us sweating and pushing ourselves to climb the inclines and cross the stony roads.

Reaching Check point 1 was bliss- knowing we had our breakfast there and our support crew waiting there!

We did see Rahul Bose busy taking pictures with walkers, in half a mind- should or should not.

Should not prevailed. Then!

Quick breakfast, which was not appetizing and away we went.

The next check point was a short one as well- we did not reduce our pace and kept at it.

By this time, we had seen a lovely sun rise as well felt the heat of the sun beating upon us.

We stopped briefly to refill our bottles, rest our aching feet and tape a bit and leave.

The next stretch was a killer,

This is when one of our walker’s shoes gave in! he was wearing old shoes and they just broke. We were in  a fix, since he did not have spare shoes to serve the purpose either.

Luckily another walker had a pair which fit him and we could continue our walk.

We trudged on, never losing our enthusiasm, crossing fields, villages, lakes, dams, mulberry bushes.

The sun set was beautiful over the wide open fields, the night time was even more lovely as dusk settled down.

We kept our morale high, and munched on chips to keep our hunger at bay.

The setting sun was cause for joy.

We could now walk in the quiet of the night, with cooler temperatures.

Well prepared to spend the night walking, we had small hand torches with us.

After a quick break and meeting our support crew for the night, we left after a very bad and tasteless dinner.

Little did we expect that our night walk would be so difficult

We walked on roads strewn with stones, had an elephant scare and had to change a route.

The lantern we carried kept our path brightly lit.

Our jackets kept us warm and we kept our pace.

Never stopping, never giving up.

Our short night breaks were to retape,refill and restart.

The skies were filled with stars, the silence of the night so welcoming.

The early morning walk was such a pleasure and to see sunrise over the hills was indeed a blessing.

We stopped for a cup of sweet fresh tea at a local home and were happy that we had about 20 kms to go.

Too early for breakfast, we continued after a bit of freshening up and few biscuits.

We carried a few oranges with us to help us on the way.

Knowing we were almost there was such  a happy thought.

Knowing we were still fine was so comforting.

Knowing we were beating our schedule by 1 hour was encouraging.

Since we were so close to the end, we decided not to stop at the last check point, skip breakfast  but just rush in and rush out.

We had decided to run the last 5 kms to the finish.

Little did we know that our organisers had other plans in mind.

Passing through quarries in the heat of the day, rugged roads, inclined rocks, slowly tiring legs , yet we never lost our spirit.

Still smiling, still joking, we kept our pace.

Reached the temple which was such a pleasure, cool, beautiful, a check point last year- but a much needed rest point this year.

Not one to let them sit for long, forced ourselves to start moving again.

We walked, we ran, we sipped, we stopped.

We laughed, we shouted.

Helped people on the way with surgical tapes, muscle relaxants, sprays, kind words, we had it all!

The last 2 kms were the happiest, but most confusing.

We did not see a 99 Km mark and were worried we could have been off the trail, but knew we could see the “never failed us before” markers.

We continued, running, walking, hearing first.

Seeing next.

And we ran, towards the gate, towards the entry point and finished strong, smiling.

No we did not collapse!!

29 hours and 36 minutes! Of pure pleasure and fun!

To me, a humbling moment.

Nature rules you, however in control you may be.

I felt  a satisfaction, knowing the 100 kms was for a cause.

I, as an individual may not be able to reach out to so many in need,

but what I love doing and could do with a bit of struggle, could help reach out to so many more!

Our support crew was amazing, they knew what we wanted, kept our spirits high and were there to greet us whatever time of day or night we reached.

Seeing friends passing through gave me more reason to smile, a familiar face in strange lands in difficult times is always comforting.

The lovely volunteers managing the check points were there to cheer us as we entered and cheer us on as we left for the next leg.

Their energy levels revved us up.

Seeing the organisers at the finish point, being greeted by them and having them share our joys- true happiness.

Every one here is a winner.

Thank you Oxfam for this wonderful opportunity.

Looking forward to my next!!!