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

#hiking #middleschoolers #climbing #rockclimbing #ammugudahill #secunderabad #rocks #boulders #gueststory #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #adventure #helenkeller

Father's Day Hike

Father's Day (celebrated on 3rd Sunday of June every year) flooded the media with pictures of Dad's around the world.
Rightly so.
We all owe so much to our parents. What gift can you give to your father on such a day? Think.

I got the greatest gift today. Guess what?
It was an hour's hike with my nine year old grandson Nikhil who is visiting us from USA. What more can a grandpa ask for?

It was a cloudy morning not the best of the days for photography. But today photography took a back seat. Nikhil and I started around 7 AM. Sun was hidden behind the clouds. Our destination was a small hill in Secunderabad Cantonment which has a dargah दरगाह on top. After I showed the hill from a distance and told Nikhil "We are going to climb that small hill today". He sized up the hill and said " Not that small!"

At the base of the hill, I asked Nikhil, "Shall we take the steps or go up the rock directly?" Without any hesitation, he answered "Directly". It showed his confidence-- at least for a while. After initial few steps up the steep slope, he asked  "Are you sure this is the right way?" And I had to hold his hand in confirmation.

Like all of us in life when faced with a challenge, a bit of encouragement and support is all that we need. This nine year old showed that he could do it. We pressed on.

Midway up the slope, we paused and caught our breath. The view was worth it. Nikhil quipped "This is nice"! And we kept going.

As we neared the hill top, the dargah came into view along with few hikers who had already reached there. A small hill but a big climb for a nine year old child. We also shot a short video.

After going around the hill top, we took some pictures on the eastern face of the hill. See the solid granite rock face in the picture below.

We then took a short cut down hill. It was slippery with lose stones.

It led us to a quarry where granite had been mined earlier. Perhaps, it may have been an illegal quarry. Nikhil enjoyed the granite blocks. A picture. More pictures later.



On the way down, we crossed an adventure training group. They were doing a one-legged race and drill. They had divided the path to the dargah into two halves. After one group finished the race-cum-run, Nikhil too did it. And with his springy legs and strides, he outran all the adults.

Nikhil negotiated his way into the well of the quarry which we had mentioned earlier.

He loved jumping from one granite block to the other!

Hikers need replenishment. Nikhil enjoyed his banana after he we returned to the car.

How can  a story be complete without a selfie? It shows grandpa-grandson duo with the green cover of Secunderabad in the background.

Hope you enjoyed the impromptu hike as much as I did. On Father's Day, I could not have asked for a more precious gift. Thank you Nikhil and thank you Ankur and Akanksha. Come again for another hike!

Thanks for browsing

   Harsh-Ghumakkad/ Father's Day 19th June 2016