No Sunsets - At least not yet

 3 January 2023

15 minutes into the climb I realised I had seriously over-estimated my own physical fitness levels to undertake this trek. I was feeling out of my depths : out-of-breath, fatigued and on the verge of collapse.

This trek up Skandagiri Hills (1450 meters elevation) had been described by the Forest Department as "moderately difficult".  The trek starts from the foothills at 4 a.m and if we climb at a brisk pace through the darkness, we can reach the summit by 5.30 a.m in time to see the sunrise.

I realised this "moderately difficult" description was meant for accomplished trekkers, and not meant for inexperienced chaps like me. 

"No hurry - take your time to catch your breath" my son said.  "Yeah - we will wait for you" said my daughter.

"No - both of you please continue with the trek" I insisted.  "I will follow later if I feel better".

I was not sure whether I will be able to reach the summit.  At least let my children get to the top - I will have some vicarious satisfaction that way.

But more importantly I wanted to ease the pressure on myself.  We were the leaders of the pack so far - and it is quite a challenge to stay ahead of a group which comprised mostly people who were less than half my age.  

My children reluctantly continued on their climb.  I sat on a rock and tried to regain my breath and composure.

A college group went past me.  I straightened my shoulders and did my best not to look defeated. They looked curiously - and pointedly - at my hair.  No doubt they were reminded of some famous Hollywood movie star.

The self-appointed leader of this group - a hustler - who used 4 letter words on his team mates to motivate them - sat on the rock next to me. He shouted obscenities at those team members who were lagging behind.  He then turned his attention on to me.

"Are you ok, Uncle?" he said.  I nodded. "Just catching my breath" I told him trying my best to look cool.

He pointedly stared at my silver hair again and then said "This is actually not an easy climb for ..... " He stopped, and then he said : "Actually uncle, I want to finish off all the mountain treks when I am still fit and young".  He has a great future, this one - and I could imagine him stalking the corridors of power in a big multi-national organisation soon.

At that point I violently puked, and the ambitious go-getter decided to disappear up the trail.

I did not want to give up without a fight.  Part of the reason is for myself - I did not want to fail in my own eyes.  And partly it is because I want my children to see that their dad does not give up without a fight - especially when the odds don't look great.  

I suspect it is more the latter.

I started trudging up again.  But it was excruciating painful, and looked increasingly impossible.  I will stop every 5 minutes and sit on a rock to catch my breath.  

At one of my rest breaks a group of college girls caught up.  One of the girls seeing my situation asked me whether I was alright and whether I wanted water.  I gratefully accepted the water she proffered.

She looked a bit concerned and sat down next to me. I looked at her and ruefully said "I think I bit off more than I can chew". 

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" she asked.  I told her my age.

As she got up to leave she said "Actually what you are attempting is amazing - we are less than half your age and we are struggling more than you".  

I started trudging up again.  I lost count of the number of times I thought of just giving up this fight.  The words of the young hustler kept echoing in my ears and I promised myself that I would expedite the completion of my bucket list when I still have some energy and health left in me.

At 6.10 am my children spotted me crawling up the summit. Strangely they did not seem surprised seeing me there. I was almost 40 minutes behind my children - but the good thing was that I was still on time to see the sunrise.

And it was such a magnificent sunrise.