Many years ago , the Oxfam Trailwalker caught my fancy. It
was being talked about as a fund raiser walk.
Having grown up being exposed to NGO’s, fund raising, Red
Cross, Oxfam, I was familiar with the work that was being done in the social
sector. The fact that it also combined some physically challenging activity got
me interested.
To be able to participate in any event, requires long term
planning! So it was that the first year I decided, I could not do it.
The next year, got myself a team and enthusiastically raised
funds. That by itself was a challenge, convincing friends and family about the
cause. Convincing myself that it was important and working with colleagues,
soon to become friends through this activity. It was all good fun!
The walk was well organised and the trail was challenging.
We learnt a lot of lessons on holding things together, making decisions as one,
understanding strengths and working on it! We were interested in doing it all
over again!!!
The next year a new team, wonderful support crew and an
amazing planning and training program! The fund raiser was even better with a
record 2 day in reaching the minimum target all from within our company! This proved to us that what we were doing was not in vain,
there were still people who believed in our cause.
The walk this time was even more fun, with a wonderful team,
a great support crew and lot of conversations!!! Them I can still count on as
friends for a lifetime!!! Night time walks, bearing the brunt of the sun, supporting
each other, sticking together!!!
So it was that Mumbai beckoned me, this time teaming up with
classmates from many years ago! Not the young bunch I was used to walking with!
But definitely wiser, stronger in mind and body!
We did not train together, responsibilities keeping us
apart! But constant messaging kept the momentum going!
We had the best support from our support crew which was
initially a classmate and her husband, she roped in two of her friends who had
experience of the trail! This helped us immensely in getting us ready with all we may
need.
We managed two training walks together, 2 at a time! We were
told to train on trails, on hills, we did what we thought was a hill and a
trail!
We walked, cycled, played football, ran, got our body ready
for the 100 kms! I made our target plan
for 33 hours, since the trail was considered tough and we prepared ourselves to
meet the time! We had big plans for partying that night!!
We thought we were ready!
We travelled to meet our support team and start on our
journey to the trail start point.
The place we stayed was in the middle of nowhere! It was
beautiful, we were excited!
We started early the next day, reached the start point late,
but did not bother us, we were out to have fun!
The trail was a challenge from the starting point! It
started with an ascent and walking on narrow ledges!
The sun rose early even in the western ghats!! We were
assaulted by the morning sun even at 10:00 AM . This was a new kind of heat for
us from Bangalore facing the sun after weeks of clouds and rain!
There were old and young walkers, not all looked fit or
prepared for this kind of climb! It was a struggle, even the 10 kms taking 4
hours!!!
We thought the topography would change, but no, we continued
walking on rocks, climbing up and down, every step a challenge, slowly turning
into frustration!
The sun was merciless, the trail was unforgiving! We tried
to have conversations, but failed to carry it forward since we were marching on
in single file!
Having walked the Bangalore trail walk route, we had
expectations of company, villages, people, signs of life! Here we were left on
our own to blindly follow arrows and
ribbons! The map lay unused, untouched! It was of no use! There was no network
connectivity, no GPS connection.
The checkpoints were very functional, with minimal
support! Hot water which is a necessity
for most walkers was not found at most places, getting a hot cup of tea was a
luxury. Not many beds to stretch out for a much needed break! Insufficient tents, chairs!!!
What was good was the availability of physiotherapists to give
our aching muscles a good stretch! They were the miracle workers! Never have I
used the support of physios in all my years of running, walking and participating
in such events! I did here, twice!! That speaks a lot about how much of
punishment my muscles were undergoing!
The food was good, available immediately! Our support crew
did not have place to sit at most places, which was a sad situation because
they needed rest too to with all the running around they were doing to help
us!!
We were hoping to walk through the night to escape the harsh
sun, but felt the sun was better than dark! It was safer, we could see where we
stepped, if the path existed !! Night or
day?
We did try the night walking, left us tired, frustrated,
sleepy,stressed and scared! We managed a short nap to help us get back on the
trail!! Our minds were slowly zoning out. Legs were giving up! I wanted to call friends to keep talking to me
to help me get my mind back! There was no signal!! I was scared to talk to my
co-walkers, my fear would get to them as well!! Atleast this way we could
silently trudge on!! Could we complete?? Left it to fate!!!
The next morning, after 50 kms, it was slightly better, with
light!! A new day always brings hope! We walked on quietly, through similar
terrains, eyes on the ground, feet firmly finding a place on the rocky
stretches!! There was rarely sound of laughter, singing or talk on the trail,
which I had loved during my past two walks!!!
The finish was getting close, but the distances seemed
longer!! A 7 km walk took us 3 hours?????? And a lot more steps!!! And a lot of
ups and downs!!!
The last stretch could have been made easy, we had already
been subjected to a tough trail, we had proved it in 94 kms that we were made
of a tougher skin, but no, the last 6 kms took us back into the treacherous
trails, walking through the night, in constant rain, with no place to shelter,
crossing slippery river beds!
Did we receive a noisy welcome? No, the finish point was
washed out in the rains, no place to sit for the tired walkers, the physios had
packed up and left since they had not planned for such a situation!
There was no food to welcome us, the tea had become cold
having been kept in the rain! The chairs and tent was wet and cold!
We did not care that our timing was registered wrong, we waited
for certificates, all the while standing because no one cared that we should
get some rest!!
What was obvious during the whole experience was to me it seemed
that no one cared!! (This does not include our support crew or friends and
family who were following our journey throughout and rooting for us) The trail
was not considered safe, if there was any accident, getting to safety was not
easy, getting medical aid was not possible, walking with an injured person
would have been a mammoth task. Only on two segments did I see volunteers in
tents.
During the whole walk, though we saw signage across the
trail, talking about our ''walk for equality'', the cause could not be felt!! It felt
more of a challenge than walk for a cause! Walking 100 kms by itself is no easy
feat and to be able to achieve that for a cause is commendable!
Were they promoting the challenging trail walk – no the name
is misleading in itself!! It cannot be classified as a walk,it was a hike, a
trek of 100 kms!!!
Was every person interested in raising funds fit enough to
take on this trail? No!! So if I have the inclination to raise funds for a
cause, Oxfam Mumbai is not meant for me, so it is the challenge which is given the
priority?
I feel empty, I feel like something has been taken away from
me, but I got nothing in return, and all I was expecting was a satisfaction of
having walked 100 kms for a cause I believed in! I felt cheated of the fun I should have been
having and not left feeling scared of the trail!! In between it all, I started
losing faith in humanity and trusting only the supreme power!
Cause or challenge?
