The Stuff!!!

Monday, June 12, 2006

Trek Wreck!
It all happened so soon. My project buddies planned for a team building tour to Kerala last weekend. Tickets where booked in a jiffy and everyone was eagerly waiting for the travel day. But heavens wouldn't listen to our plans and opened up the skies to wash away several places there and along with it our plans. Some of the folks had started to dream about those Aapams, Banana Chips and also the kutties but everything was out. Suddenly we decided on a different place, booked a resort, a tempo traveller and also planned our schedule. It all happened so soon.So that weekend we left for Yelagiri, a calm place near Vellore - supposedly a hill station but not exactly cold. I being the biggest of all, was the most sought after person for those @$$-ripping fun sessions. I felt no pain at all thanks to the several ounces of natural cushion that God has given me. And I never hesitated to return the favor to the others, but they were'nt as lucky. After all I wear size 11 shoes and my foot was probably heavier than their heads. The main event for which we supposedly went to Yelagiri was trekking. There were two trekking spots there, both not really well maintained, but exciting nevertheless. So off we went for the mini trek on the first day. It was through a pretty lonely and scary forest and we went when the sun was just setting. The trees looked pretty eerie. We went deeper and deeper and the distance was about 4 kms one way. I tripped a couple of times and hurt my left knee. But still walked. We reached a lake where we took snaps and by the time we returned it was starting to get dark. But I had started to experience nausea by then. Not much air to breathe cuz trees exhale carbon dioxide after sunset. The we had a snack of some kind of bhel puri (Im not too sure what to call it) that we made from several kilos of vegetables that we had brought to the place. By then my nausea was getting the better of me and needless to Say when I went back to the room I puked. But it was not too painful. The next day we set off for a 12 km mega trek on a path that turned out to be very ordinarily laid to say the least. It was very steep and it also had very poorly laid rocks. No proper steps. Just randomly strewn rocks. Needless to say I fell here and there, twisted here and there and after a one and half hour ordeal we reached the top. After a long halt above we proceeded downwards. My feet were trembling and I slipped here, I tripped there, I hurt here, I twisted there but in the end managed to come down. Then we started our journey back. It all looked pretty ok with me , apart from the tiredness, till when it was about 5 pm. My nausea started again at 5 pm. It intensified as I approached the city and when I reached Guindy I decided I could take no more. So I just left the van and started home myself with a project mate of mine accompanying me. It had started to ache by then. My chest was very heavy and so was my stomach (of course it always is). It was when I crossed Anna University that the inevitable happened. I let out a moan, then a groan and then tons of grain amidst intense pain. Yellow beads started pouring out like a volcano and my concerned companion ran to the security guard of Anna University to fetch a bottle of water for me. I was down on the side of the auto by then still pouring out all the food I had had for the past 2 days. My digestive system was working like a tank fully loaded with ammunition working at full efficiency, I mean in throwing out stuff. The water bottle then arrived and I had to almost empty the bottle to wash my own shower off myself. I then drank a few drops that were left in the 1.5 litre Fanta bottle. Then I got back into the auto and my companion dropped me off in my home before she went off to hers.Then after all the falls and trips and stumbles and slips and pukes my body was a wreck. Somehow I helped myself to some sleep that day. I realized that day that my body was not the same healthy one that I had a few years back thanks to the century I made recently (Refer previous post). I had used my century to my strength to hit so many others and I was proud of the cushion that caused no pain only to feel pain some other way. The impact of the trek on my body was much greater than what my featherlight companions felt. I carried my wrecked body to office the next day somewhat saddened that I had hit them with all my weight. I was dull in office that day. Two days later, I fully recovered. Then my systems were back to business. And I am back to square one, eagerly waiting for the next kick session. This time I'll make sure I hit harder........