asg talhar hike
DESCRIPTION
There are times when the mundane aspects of city life start slithering nonchalantly up your nerves. At times like these, one desperately wants to escape the world around. There is no other choice but to either go into prolonged hibernation or to pack a bag and run away to the mountains.TRANSCRIPT
TALHAR HIKE WITH
ASG AND FAMILY!
ABSTRACT There are times when the mundane
aspects of city life start slithering
nonchalantly up your nerves. At times like
these, one desperately wants to escape
the world around. There is no other
choice but to either go into prolonged
hibernation or to pack a bag and run
away to the mountains.
Shaikh Muhammad Ali
pg. 1
The Opening:
Being a mountain goat (A Capricorn), hiking and climbing mountains it seems, is
in my blood and if I don’t go up a mountain at least once a month; my feet start
itching. Either I go hiking with my hiking buddies, family or the Asian Study Group
(ASG) once a while. Come 7th October 2012 i.e. the first weekend of chilly
October here in Islamabad and Ahtesham Raja, the coordinator of ASG had
invited us over for a usual ASG hike to the Talhar village in the Margalla Hills.
I thus get up at 5:15 a.m., say my Fajr prayers; and wake up Adil at 5:30 a.m. The
other members of the family get up by 5:50 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m. we had our
breakfast and leave the house at 7:15 a.m.
While hiking and visiting the Internet regarding hiking tips, I have come to learn
that the most important thing that we must take care of during hiking is our two
feet. If the feet are not taken care of, we can say goodbye to hiking. And I must
rush to add that good hiking shoes / boots are the most important ingredient
when it comes to securing our feet. Hiking shoes or boots are chosen depending
upon the intensity of the hike. If the intensity is light or moderate, then joggers
with good grips can do the trick. If the hike is long and intense, then sturdy hiking
boots are required which take care of the feet and give them enough
breathing space for the long haul.
Here is the picture of our family’s light hiking shoes which we use during short
and moderate hikes.
(Family signature hiking shoes)
We reach the rendezvous i.e. the Japanese Garden parking lot by 7:35 a.m.
Ahtesham greets us with 13 other hikers. Ahsan Mumtaz (Ex-HEC Project
pg. 2
Coordinator) and now working for PTCL as an ERP specialist also joins us for the
first time.
(The ASG Hiking team)
We leave for the base camp in the Margalla Hills @ 7:50 a.m. and start the hike
around 8:15 a.m. while enjoying the beautiful morning views around us.
(A view of the Talhar village underneath us)
Adil and Mohsin join the faster group and move onwards while I accompany
Ayesha, Sabeen and Syeda Tamkinat (an office colleague). The faster group
was being led by Ahtesham Raja from HEC.
pg. 3
(Ayesha, Sabeen and Syeda Tamkinat stopping for a pose)
Later, Syeda Tamkinat also left our group and joined the forward party while we
walked slowly up the ridge. Although, I was given the impression that the hike
was moderate but it turned out to be a little steep and tiring for little Ayesha and
thus our speed was much slower than the other group. Rather than hurrying to
the top, we thus decided to ascend slowly and enjoying the views further.
(The beautiful Talhar valley in its splendor)
The first group reached the first peak around 9:08 a.m. and stopped by for a
water and picture break.
pg. 4
(The participants of the first group enjoying the weather and the scenery)
We reached the same spot about 22 minutes later i.e. around 9:30 a.m. and
since Ayesha and Sabeen were both feeling tired, we decided to call it a day
here.
(Ayesha posing at the sit out on top of the ridge)
We opened up our snack bag, took out the sandwiches & water and enjoyed
the views from the top. This is the first point I have seen in the Margalla Hills from
where you can see both the Rawal Lake and the Khanpur Lake from the same
vantage spot.
pg. 5
(Ayesha enjoying her snacks in my lap)
We stayed on this point till 11:15 a.m. and retreated when the rest of the gang
returned from visiting the last point on the ridge and joined us.
(The group is retreating at 10:33 a.m. while achieving another feather in the cap)
My wife felt slightly uncomfortable since Adil and Mohsin left our group and
joined the other group without taking permission from her and thus she was a
little concerned about their safety. Mountains being mountains, one can always
twist a foot, break an ankle and hurt oneself although my children and I always
carry whistles, torches, ropes etc. to have some sort of connectivity and
precautionary measures.
pg. 6
(It is interesting to see here that Mohsin is leading the retreating group)
We reached base camp around 12:30 p.m. and after sharing pleasantries,
disbursed. We decided to stop by for lunch and ended up going to Haleem
Ghar @ the Blue Area around 1:15 p.m.
(We are about to start our Nihari and Haleem lunch @ Haleem Ghar)
After enjoying a sumptuous meal, we reached home by 2:30 p.m. Had a warm
shower, said our Zuhr prayers and rest was history.
pg. 7
Post Script:
Life in the metropolis with all its glitz and glamour feels overrated sometimes. And
so I decide to run off to places devoid of the minutest traces of life.
In an age when journalism is becoming more and more etiolated, when articles
are becoming shorter and shorter, usually lacking all historical context, travel
writing is one of the few venues to write with some complexity about an alien
culture. Despite the internet and the revolution in communications, there is still
no substitute for a good piece of travel writing.
It gets my juices going, my spirit soars and thus I write. Till next time!
Shaikh Muhammed Ali ‘The Wandering Dervish’
E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: +00-92-321-5072996
31st March, 2013, 19:59 (PST)