Inspired by nature and its challenges

Unique Hobbies

He discovered a love for the outdoors when he was seven-years-old, and since then, it’s been tough to keep this trekker off the road. In fact, he’s navigated many of the well-known routes outside Bangalore, in places like Shimoga and Melukote. What’s more, he’s been to every trekker’s dreamland, the Himalayas — twice. Metrolife caught up with Sharath to find out more about what keeps him walking.

Sharath recalls that he began trekking when he was in the second standard. “I was into scouting and that became the starting point, since we used to go camping a lot. I was part of this for about five years,” he says, adding, “we’ve gone to places like Shimoga. I think there were about 25 camps in all. And we always used to trek in those areas.”

Despite this early start, Sharath took to trekking seriously only a couple of years back. One of his first major treks was to ‘Kumara Parvatha’. He says, “This is in a remote part of the Western Ghats. The journey is about 14 kilometres one-way. It’s supposed to be one of the toughest routes in that area and I’d wanted to do it for a while, so it was long due.”

He decided to go for the trek through a club because that gave him an opportunity to find like-minded people and travel in a group. “There were around eight of us who went on this route,” he says, adding, “we started off near Kukke, which is at a height of about 6,000 feet. The terrain in this area is mostly thick forest. We camped at a place called ‘Bhattrumane’, which was a little house on a plantation.”

The next trek that Sharath attempted was from Mullayanagiri to Bababudanigiri — Mullayanagiri being one of the highest peaks in Karnataka. “About 25 of us went on this trek together. We stayed at the base camp at Chikmagalur, and from there it was a seven-kilometre trek to Mullayanagiri,” he recollects, adding, “we then spent a night in a town there and then it was another ten kilometres to Bababudanigiri, which took us another two
days.”

However, none of these treks compared to his journey to the Himalayas. Sharath admits that he’s been there twice. “The first time was a 55-kilometre trek from Dalhousie to Chamba. I went with a friend of mine up till the base camp, where we met up with the rest of the members of our group,” he says, adding, “at one point, we reached the border of India and Pakistan. We went in the winter and it was freezing. It was quite a moderate trek, but we also went to a place from where you can see the whole Pir Panjal range, so that made it quite memorable.”

However, this clearly wasn’t enough for Sharath. “I wanted to go even higher, so I decided to go back this May,” he says. This time, he trekked to Kulu alone, where he met about 45 other trekkers. “It was an eight-day trek. The first six days were beautiful and then at the last stretch, we were caught up in a hailstorm — it was one of the best experiences one can ever have,” he claims.

And what does he enjoy most about each trek? “I get inspired by nature and the challenges it offers. Besides, you get to meet so many locals in the area you’re trekking, and get to try out different kinds of food as well,” he says, adding that he is now planning a night trek to Skandagiri.

He’s quick to admit, though, that none of this would have been possible if his parents hadn’t been supportive of his hobby. “All the credit goes to them. Not many people get opportunities like I have at the age of 17,” he concludes.