A couple of months ago a friend called me and invited me to go hiking with her and her friends.   I am a fit person but hardly athletic. I hadn’t exercised lately and was not sure I can do it. They were also leaving at 5 am and I am surely not a morning person as all my friends know. I need my beauty sleep and was not sure I wanted to give it up. With a lot of coaxing (the external force to change my inertial state – in reference to my earlier blog), I decided to go. We went to Nandi Hills which is about 60 km from Bangalore. Nandi Hills is usually a crowded weekend destination. We went on an unbeaten path. We were told by our guide friend that it would take an hour to walk up the steps. We started walking up the steps. One of my friend and I started walking up really fast, wanting to get to the top. Of course, since I was not that physically fit, I had to stop and catch my breath and enjoy the view. The others were taking their time and pacing themselves which is a good strategy. At one spot, we saw three monkeys sitting and looking at us, that again made us pause and wait for the others to come. The view was not the only thing to enjoy on our way up.Tipu Sultan was carried up these steps to his summer palace, in his pallanquin, I am sure. On the way there were beautifully carved archways. We also got to see the Tipu’s summer home. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the top. We sounded like little kids asking anyone coming down, ‘Are we there yet?’

“Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” — Ed Viesturs

This quote sums up how we felt on our way back. After the long hike, we felt like our legs had turned to jelly. Coming down was hard but we did it. We felt elated and tired. We looked forward to our next hike.