September 2021: Skandagiri Hike

In the 2nd week of September of 2021. We had our first on-site at our Bangalore HQ. After around a year of no travel. This gave me an opportunity to travel to the city I love the most, Bangalore. Bangalore is special for a multitude of reasons greenery, people, fun events, places to visit, outdoors. Places from where you start your career are always dear. For me it was Bangalore.

I reached Bangalore on a Saturday afternoon. The whole week was planned with work meetings, agendas, some fun games. During the afternoon’s team used to have lunch together. All of it felt like a breezing change. From the usual remote setup.

It was fun to see team members. All of us looked different in reality in comparison to how we looked in our best profile photographs.

I have always enjoyed the outdoors. The whole week I was looking out online to see if there are any groups that I can join for doing a 1-day trek nearby. Due to covid restrictions. Sadly, I couldn’t find any groups with matching schedules.

Friday night, an impromptu plan got made at the workplace. Let us go on a trek together. We had 2 options to choose from either Skandagiri or Savandurga. I searched for pictures online a day before. Savandurga seemed like a trek with a lot of boulders and less greenery. I was excited to do the Skandagiri trek.

The same day we booked the traveler. All of us unanimously agreed on doing the Skandagiri trek. Skandagiri is an ancient mountain located 70 km from Bangalore in Karnataka. The total hiking distance is around 8 km. Morning 7 AM we were at the foothills of Skandagiri all set to ascend it. Determined to make it to the top.

The journey to the foothills made me recall my early days in Bangalore. I had done one-day hikes to Nandi Durga, Uttari Betta twice. Weekend trek to Kodachadri. Adding 5th trek to the list of treks. Skandagiri it was. Skandagiri’s terrain looked similar to that of Nandi Durga, Uttari Betta. Challenge wise Skandagiri seemed more difficult than the previous 1-day treks.

En route our way to the top, directions were clearly demarcated using arrows. This helped us easily navigate our path. Along with us, one other family started their hike. They had even small kids and 2 pets with them. A German Sheppard and a Labrador as far as I recall. It was nice to see how the parents kept cheering their kids throughout. Their pets too were having a good time. The kids were all enthusiastic.

During the climb. I was observing and absorbing what I was seeing around me. I was avoiding talking in order to conserve some energy to climb. When we made it to the top we clicked a lot of pictures. One colleague preferred to do meditation for a few minutes. Some did planks. Just for fun.

We also discussed each of our earlier outdoor experiences. One of them had done Paragliding at Kamshet. He completed the Manali Khardungla expedition on cycle. It was inspiring to listen to his experiences. I shared mine.

Nandi Durga being the first trek ascend and descend both were challenging. A person whom I met for the first time on the trek had been on treks before. He taught me how to position the feet when you descend from the top. Ascend back then was difficult because of no experience and absolute zero fitness.

While doing Skandagiri the ascend felt easier. Thanks to the consistent effort being put into swimming. However, when we started descending downhill. An old muscle pull caused probably while doing breaststroke. Started to trouble midway. In some places, it became a challenge to balance. Feet slipped. I slipped due to imbalance.

The weather was nice. During ascending cool breeze was there. Due to pain in the leg. By the time I managed to get down the sun was over the head. I had hurt myself in the leg. A slight scratch from a thorny bush resulted in bleeding. With a handkerchief tied around the place where it was bleeding. Pain in the knee joint while walking downhill. I made my way back.

When you are right there. You have the excitement of the hiking journey. You are also excited about finishing what you started. You experience a sense of achievement. The joy of getting the opportunity to at least go for it again. And, you do it anyhow.

From long-distance cycling experiences to 1-day, 2-day treks. Greenary, beautiful lakes, walking lanes. Gardens. I have a lot of good memories of the city. Telling you, there is more to Bangalore than getting stuck in traffic. 😊

After a long gap, with the satisfaction in heart of being able to go for one more trek yet again. It was time to bid goodbye to the special city and get ready to head back home the next day. :)