Beating the Covid-year with a Hike

Ten months without a hike!

Not only Ghumakkad but many more friends felt handcuffed and chained to their homes. So when Gen Naozar Patel informed me of an upcoming hike to the rocks in Ghar-E-Mubarak area in Hyderabad, I jumped in. 35 members, spouses and children of RSI, Secunderabad joined in. Rajendra Sinhji Institute (RSI) is the name of Defence officers' clubs across India- RSI Secunderabad, RSI Bangalore, RSI Pune and so on. RSI has been renamed as RSAOMI. Hikes help us keep the balance in our lives.

This story gives a snapshot of our collective effort at beating the nasty Covid with a hike. After early morning assembly at RSI, we all drove in eight cars to Ghar-e-mubarak Stairway, heading 30 kms south west. See the video clip and the map below.

Covid protocols were followed and that's why we went in independent cars and no buses. Taramati Baradari was our halt enroute for a bio break considering the fact that we had hikers in the age group 7 to 70!

Ghumakkad had done another story on RSI Secunderabad. It chronicled the RSI Golf Tournament conducted in Jan-2016 by us- four golfer-members of the RSI. You can browse the complete picture story here. See the peacock on the golf course in the picture below.

A word about the Palmette Bicycling Club which organises such events. Although it started with bicycle rides for children, spouses and serving officers and veterans, but it soon expanded to include other outdoor activities too. In a short span of a year, Palmette has organised 18 events in Secunderabad. In 2020 alone, it organised more than 25 events!

Sudden lockdown in March-2020 did slow down the pace but not the spirit of the members. Credit for entire planning and organisation goes to Gen Naozar B Patel. He is better known as the Moustache Man. See the picture below.

Arrival at the parking site before sunrise was as planned. Watching the sunrise from rocky outcrop was an ethereal experience. We also observed many wild bushes and plants. Credit for its identification goes to another Nature lover Dr Chitra Shanker. Thanks Chitra. 

Let the pictures.

Get a feel of the thorny trail in this short 30 seconds video.

We have created PQs- picturesque quotes- using some of the pictures taken that morning.  First PQ follows:

 

Like any mil operation, members of PBC had done a recee a day earlier and marked the trail.

Hyderabad has plenty of rocks and boulders. Another PQ follows.

Here is a short video clip showing the silhouette of the rocks all around.

We encountered thorny bushes all through. Robert Frost's famous line fitted so well with the picture below.

Lot of rocky patches have been destroyed by illegal quarrying over the years. However, one doesn't see quarrying in such sites now. Thankfully so! One such abandoned quarry in the picture below.

We have lots to learn from the rocks. Like Jefferson's words on standing firm on our principles. Another PQ follows.

Travel teaches us many things. Here is one.

How was it? See what the hikers in our group had to say!

Once on top, the distant concrete towers of Hyderabad skyline came into view. A 10-seconds video clip captures the sight.

While the elder hikers were catching a breath, the teenagers had all the energy jumping across the boulders! A 10-seconds video clip captures it for you.

Hiking trail offers variety like huge cobwebs. A Chinese proverb goes with this picture.

Ghar-E-Mubarak

Google took us to an adventure tour operator's site. It described the place thus, "Khoe Qayyam, Ghar E Mubarak, Bairaiguda is a place near Taramati Baradari in Hyderabad. 15 mins from Gachibowli. It is an ideal place for a short morning hike.  This place has many boulders and is a great place to try some climbing." We found the description quite apt. See our pictures of the climb below.

Feel the climb through a short video below:

Hyderabad's cosmopolitan fabric was evident when three children from nearby basti came to meet us. All three belonged to three different regions of India. Mera Bharat mahan.

Hikers posing for a group shot before starting the return journey.

On return leg, we halted at an Army unit for a quick breakfast.

What is life without some adventure? Our hikers aged 7 to 70- had a fair share of it!

We got back to RSI safe and sound. The smiles on my car pool hikers say it all:

As we end the Covid-dominated year, we hope you too have found your ways of beating the nasty Covid! Take precautions but don't let the pandemic lower your spirits. Life must go on. Below are the links to some of the lockdown stories which spread positivity and kept up the morale of our readers globally. Just click on any title to browse the story.

I Got A New Life - A Corona Survivor's Tale from New York

Breaking Free In Lockdown

Bouncing Back In Lockdown

Every Day Is A Sunday

Stay Home Stay Safe

Lockdown Is ... Happiness

Corona The Global Threat

You can't Deter a Teacher

Take the Virus Head on - Another Corona Survivor's Tale

Life is all about balance. Balance between work and life, between stress and relaxation, between wealth and health! Even Gautam Buddha said so.

Thanks for browsing.

Stay safe, stay connected and stay healthy.

Happy New Year 2021!

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from Gen Naozar Patel/ 30th Dec 2020

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