Hiking With Two Middle Schoolers

What happens when two middle schoolers meet on a hike? Even though meeting for the first time, the call of hiking and climbing the rocks and boulders, they make a perfect team. The challenge for Ghumakkad, their hiking guide, was to contain the energy levels! Climbing a boulder and jumping off- and repeating it on newer boulders, the duo were unstoppable. 

Here is the guest story by younger of the two middle schoolers. Mohili all of 12 years and visiting from California, had this to say.

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I’m not actually too fond of hiking. You have to walk up a steep hill just to walk back down again. There is barely a sense of accomplishment and I don’t usually find it exciting, other than seeing the animals like birds and cows. However, when my family and I went hiking in Hyderabad, it was a bit different. 

Once we had hiked up the initial hill, (which was surprisingly steep) we got to the main area, where there were huge boulders, and rocks to climb. There was also a little dargah with lots of window holes, but no glass. They were big enough to literally sit in. Apparently the stray dogs had figured that out far before us, because there were at least five or six of them sitting in their own little frame. We took a hint from them and climbed up in the windows beside them. 

(Ed: The hikers followed the dogs and occupied the same slots! See the picture below)

The view from up there was amazing. There was greenery all below us. A huge Indian flag waved solemnly in the distance. There was a big platform-like rock that Harsh Nana said was called the Gun Rock, as it had a huge canon positioned long ago. The faint sound of peacock calls echoed through the air. There was a trench near the bottom of the hill that Nana said used to be overflowing with water, but now, had been encroached and filled up with debris. 

Huge rocks meant rock climbing. I had never done real rock climbing before, so this was an experience that I found fun and new. Since it was my first time, I (of course) wasn’t too great at it, but nonetheless, I enjoyed the thrill of trying it out. (Eds: See the short video clip below)

There was one rock that stuck out to me. It was the largest and tallest of them all, standing proudly as if it were the ruler of all the others. It would have been hard to climb it directly, as it was nearly flat, with no nooks to put your feet or holds to pull yourself up. But it didn’t take long to find a different way to the top. There were smaller rocks piled up behind the boulder, and with some careful foot placement and encouragement from others, I was able to reach the top, unscathed. (Eds: Picture below with Mohili's mom squatting on the boulder)

It was exhilarating, and unlike traditional hiking, gave me a strong sense of accomplishment. But the best part was when the sun began setting. The sky was peach, and violet, and a soft glow covered everything, as if it was all dipped and covered in a layer of gold. Not something you see every day.

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We thank Mohili for sharing her story and her father Jaideep for the pictures. 

Many young writers have shared their guest stories with Ghumakkad earlier. Some of the guest stories are linked below:

Sketching at Eight - Story of Naman when he was eight-years-old and a budding sketch artist.

Multi-tasking at Ten - The story of a ten-year-old girl having multiple talents and pastimes.

Why Kodaikanal? - A picture story by two young boys based on their vacation in Kodaikanal

Hiking in a Stream: Coyote Gulch - Another picture story of a 10-year-old hiking in a stream in a canyon in USA.

All the above stories have been authored by the children in the age group of 8 to 12 years. And all of them happened to be Ghumakkad's grandchildren. It is such a delight to carry children's guest stories. If your child has a story to tell, do share with us on email hbindia@gmail.com . Please ensure that the pictures and videos are original. We will give credits in the guest story.

We end with a quote by Helen Keller who said "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

Thanks for browsing and stay connected. Do leave a comment. It keeps us going.

    -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Mohili/ Secunderabad/ 16th September 2025

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