Sam always see locals spending their
weekends participating in some kind of sports activity like cycling, trekking,
or playing soccer, badminton, lawn tennis, volleyball, and baseball. Some guys
play indoor games like snooker/billiards, bowling or video games. Right from
the school days, Sam has always been the guy who would immerse himself in study
and research. During his growing years, he did explore all kinds of sports for
the heck of it, but never progressed and pursued anything beyond knowing it. Even
today, all he knows and does is research, but whenever he gets a chance, he
tries to check his skills, be it football, volleyball, table tennis, badminton,
swimming, pumping iron in a gym, doing push-ups or pull-ups in a
playground. Outdoor sports activities have always fascinated him, but not
enough to pursue it regularly. But, on this particular day, after seeing some locals
going for trekking that morning, he thought of trying it out himself - A trek on
a small hill. Although the locals normally trek in full gear, tracks, shoes,
jackets, and sticks. However, Sam didn't spend a penny on anything, because he
was not sure whether he would do it very often. He quickly got ready in a pair
of tracks and a t-shirt, put on an old pair of sneakers. The shoes were not great
for trekking but was the only option available at that time.
He started his trekking trip on a late Sunday morning, with less preparation, but full determination. He took a bus to the location and started climbing a small hill enthusiastically. The initial trek part was a concrete road that went straight to a monument uphill. He took the path that had stairs in between, went straight towards the steep hill, leaving behind the road. He started climbing the stairs at a normal pace, but soon, he felt his body’s protest against this exertion. This was in the form of breathlessness and a very high heart rate, the thumping of which he could hear. This made him a little worried. All kinds of scary thoughts started running through his mind. What if he collapses here, nobody would come to know or rescue him in this isolated stretch? It would be too late before anyone would realize that he is missing. For one moment, he felt very scared and thought of calling someone for help. This was a shocking moment, something he had not planned at all. At that moment, he saw two old ladies coming towards him, from the uphill. Seeing them approaching, he felt a little embarrassed and conscious. What would they think, if they see a young guy like him breathless and exhausted? Sam is a young chap, in his thirties and this situation does not fit well with his age. He quickly thought of an idea. When they came closer, he held up his breath and passed them quickly. As he saw them disappearing in the distance, he sighed a relief, and immediately looked for a place to rest. He saw a bench a few meters away, hurried towards and sat on it. His breathing and heart rate came to normalcy after resting for a few minutes. He understood that it was an initial response and adaptation of the body to a sudden activity burst. It was a warning from the body that abrupt activities are not welcome, and the body needs time to adapt to such activities. After regaining his energy, he started climbing again, and the rest of the trek was comfortable and enjoyable. He was amazed to find the arrangements made by the municipal government on this trek path. There were proper trekking paths with direction signboards, and resting places (traditional huts on top of hills). Wooden and iron fittings were installed every few hundred meters, for people to do basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, dips and stretching. The hills were full of trees and shrubs, thus giving a peaceful ambiance it was full of fresh air, without any threat of dangerous animals. Sam reached the hilltop and clicked some breathtaking views of the city. He experienced an amazing feeling on the top, wherein the pin-drop silence prevailed with few sounds to hear like his breathing, chirping of the birds and dried leaves crushed under his feet during the walk. His mind somehow sensed the calmness, thereby he stayed at hilltop for some more minutes. He felt that all the stress and heaviness in his body has disappeared. After spending some quiet time there, he continued his walk. He covered two more hilltops in between and clicked more pictures on the way. Although, he was planning to return via same climbing route, but somehow ended up climbing down from another end of the hill. The down path crossed through a small and very beautiful village. By the end of the trek, he felt like he had covered a great distance. But, he was surprised to find out that the endpoint was only 200 meters away from the start point. The trek maps showed that he covered around three to four small connecting hills, wherein there were around 4-6 entry/exit points. He was completely exhausted with this activity. Nonetheless, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One more thing was sure that he had captured some unforgettable moments and memories.
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