My recent hiking trip

This weekend I went hiking to Tallulah Gorge State Park, a couple hours drive from my place. Luckily (unluckily for some) for us (I went with a bunch of friends and friends' roommates) the water release was scheduled on the same day. So nobody could swim, but we got to see an amazing waterfall. Most people usually use the steps and go down to the gorge and then climb the steps all the way up to different overlooks. Of course we did that...but before doing that we decided to hike and complete a loop. So we trekked 5 miles to a beautiful lake, enjoyed the breeze and the serenity and then trekked back another 5 miles. Of course, some of our friends were tired by the time we reached the lake, so they decided to hitch a ride with some nice country men fishing in the lake. Although not everyone could stick to the plan and enjoy the woods, some of us managed to do it. I guess, since we planned on going to the gorge at the end, that sort of was a motivator for us......I can sit at places like these for several hours, not doing anything and can never get bored. Sitting in a shade near the lake was worth the 2 hours walking....Reminded me of so many old days.....The monsoon treks to all places in and around Karjat and the summer camps (they used to be more noisy though!)....Each and every monsoon hiking trip that I remember having been to, there were some things that would be true by default every time. We always had little food (the guys would never bring enough!!!), we always lost the trail on our way back and by the end of the day we never had enough money to take a rickshaw to get home.....And I have hiked with different groups, and it was true no matter who you were with. It was definitely great fun....And I enjoy hiking even today, inspite of the long gap.....Thank God...I haven't changed much.....