Trek to Makalidurga — part 1
30 minutes past noon, we were all set to climb the 1117 ft. Makalidurga hill, despite the scorching heat.

Makalidurga, a hill situated 60 KM north of Bangalore is an amazing trekking spot. At the top of the hill there is an old fort at the height of 1117 ft. Excited about the location and the events that were going to happen, I was impatient to start the trek.
A trekking team of 120 students is less likely that a person like me would prefer. People like me would rather want to be left alone with nature. Disheartened by the number since the day of planning, I somehow had put my disappointments aside to make it for the trek.
Isolating myself from humans around me, was something I learnt over time during work and it came in handy. I decided to ignore the crowd and climb alone. The time during my climb was precious to me and I spent it all with myself. Neither did I carry my phone, nor my water bottle. My backpack only contained a shirt, a hooded jacket and a pack of biscuits.
I knew that trying to climb up-hill faster was a bad idea for me. It would've got me all weary and I might have not completed my trek. Pace of moving ahead is always a disadvantage for smokers, so I maintained an average pace while climbing up the hill. If you are a smoker and an adventurer, then you better know how to control your breath and handle your dry throat. I presume that comparitively the trek was easier for most of them who climbed with me. Most of them were non smokers and were just out of school, whereas I, on the other hand a smoker and a person who was just out of Bangalore's start-up environment where life is made of, phone calls, emails, uber, air conditioned conference rooms, excell sheets, beer, junk food and sleepless nights. So, I didn't hesitate to consider the climb a challenge. I was excited about completing the trek because for me it would be one level forward to a healthy lifestyle.
The trek to Makalidurga was also more challenging than my previous adventure activity at Coorg where I faced my fear for heights by rappling down a waterfall. The difference between the two experiences was that this time I was not sure about making it to the top.
The climb will continue...
