Thadiyandamol Trek

Thadiyandamol is situated in the Coorg district and is roughly 1700 m high, making it the second highest peak in all of Karnataka state. This fact solely describes the challenge we are about to embark and it makes it a lot tougher for me since I have a speck of fear of heights. This was a perfect example for the famous speech, ‘face your fear’. This was my frame of mind when I was boarding the train from Hyderabad en route to Bangalore along with three of my closest friends. However what I didn’t know was how serene our destination would be and what a beautiful place it is to be in with your close friends.

The trek was conducted by our ex-IGCSE coordinator and our mentor on a personal level, which moved the trip higher on a pitch scale that reads emotions attached with the trip.

The start of the trek was easy as pie, a regular routine of paced walking coupled with a few energy bars and drinks that did the trick. Which basically covered the technical aspect of trekking; this part was the one that took us through forests and so protected us from the sun but the air density due to the high number of trees increased density. This was a different experience as usually we experience humidity etc. due to pollution and congestion in the city. However this time the place was polluted by trees and fresh, undisturbed atmosphere all around us which in fact distracted our minds from the humidity and the length.

What was yet to come was of a greater challenge and an unimaginable venture for me. After dumping our things on a flat surface, we picked up a few energy drinks and took off for the peak and the crowning achievement of the trip. On our journey to the peak I learnt many new things which I realized only after I reflected upon it. A trick that Mr. Srini (Our mentor) drilled into my head. The major challenge we faced was gaging each other’s pace of walking and needs, some of us required constant guidance with direction and the cautioning of danger (minute of course :P), this lead to another one of my learning’s and a rather important one. We must at any point in time, we must be aware of our surroundings, something that video games can never teach us, but nature did. And we must be prepared for unexpected things and adjust accordingly. Another important point to be noted was that each of us focused only on what we were good at and did only that, which made us more efficient and enabled us to complete the trek in time. A major realization for us was that we must know what we are good at and at this point in time and the risk level, we should stick to what we know and not experiment with what we don’t know as this could lead to the failure of every department. This encouraged team work, in an otherwise solo person like me. All of these that were challenges in the end turned out to be critical learning aspects for us to cache on.

The trip also contained educational aspects, taken care of by Mr. Srini who spoke to us about human evolution, the formation of the Earth, significant events like the Yellow Stone and the Deccan trap.

Altogether, it was a trip that explored my physical and mental strengths and showed me the path to growth. The trek alleviated me of many issues by showing me the other side of the world (the non-human empowered one).