The previous post was a prelude to the Sinhagad trek we did in June. Next goal was Sinhagad with family ... A couple of years back we had done Sinhagad hike with the kids, but back then we had driven to the top and hiked 1/2 to 3/4 way down and then climbed up. It was time they did the full thing now. I had done a couple of Sinhagad hikes myself with friends and had managed a personal best of 45 minutes for the climb ... the slowest of us had done it in 1:30 hours. So I had figured my wife and kids would be able to do it for sure ... so we decided to do it together with the kids.
Both Tosha and Aryaa had a lot of fun doing the trek. They were bored and extremely tired in the initial half patch where the trail is simply a road with a steady climb. The halfway mark was not coming too fast for their comfort. Had to keep on motivating them a lot. Their fitness level was good but mental motivation was the issue.
After a couple of gatorades and raw mangoes/cucumbers later at the halfway patch changed things for the better. Energy level went up. Beyond the halfway mark the trail also provides a lot of potential of doing rock climbing if you take short cuts. We took all the short cuts from there on to keep it exciting for the kids. They so look forward to taking those short cuts. Reminded me of my young days when I used to look forward to those short cuts while doing these hike with dad as well. :-) Towards the end the sagging fatigue and motivation levels again went up as we started hearing the chatter as we neared the top! Finally we made it to the top in 1:45 hours.
A barrier crossed.
Sinhagad scaled!!
Jai Bhavani Jai Shivaji!!!
Har har mahadeo!!
'Gad aala ani Sinha/Sinhin pun aali'!!
Had a few glasses of buttermilk and dahi. ukadlelya shenga .. raw mangoes ... avale ... the works! :) Spent an hour or so at the top ...
Climbing down was a different story though. It now quite sunny ... was around 11 am or so. They had to literally drag their feet to get down. Aryaa especially was very tired. Made it to the bottom in another hour and half. Nice Jhunka bhakari in a dhaba there .. and off we were back to home.
Overall a great experience ... Didnt have to push them too hard either. So the door to go again is wide wide open! :-)
A month later we went again .. this time with the Pingles. Tosha Aryaa and Sonali were now experts. Monsoons plus increased fitness level plus competition between kids helped up go to the top in less time than last time. With higher energy as well. This is becoming a regular family thing now! Happy :-)
Both Tosha and Aryaa had a lot of fun doing the trek. They were bored and extremely tired in the initial half patch where the trail is simply a road with a steady climb. The halfway mark was not coming too fast for their comfort. Had to keep on motivating them a lot. Their fitness level was good but mental motivation was the issue.
After a couple of gatorades and raw mangoes/cucumbers later at the halfway patch changed things for the better. Energy level went up. Beyond the halfway mark the trail also provides a lot of potential of doing rock climbing if you take short cuts. We took all the short cuts from there on to keep it exciting for the kids. They so look forward to taking those short cuts. Reminded me of my young days when I used to look forward to those short cuts while doing these hike with dad as well. :-) Towards the end the sagging fatigue and motivation levels again went up as we started hearing the chatter as we neared the top! Finally we made it to the top in 1:45 hours.
A barrier crossed.
Sinhagad scaled!!
Jai Bhavani Jai Shivaji!!!
Har har mahadeo!!
'Gad aala ani Sinha/Sinhin pun aali'!!
Had a few glasses of buttermilk and dahi. ukadlelya shenga .. raw mangoes ... avale ... the works! :) Spent an hour or so at the top ...
Climbing down was a different story though. It now quite sunny ... was around 11 am or so. They had to literally drag their feet to get down. Aryaa especially was very tired. Made it to the bottom in another hour and half. Nice Jhunka bhakari in a dhaba there .. and off we were back to home.
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| Girls resting at halfway point. Gatorade is the savior! |
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| Aryaa rock climbing @ a shortcuts | Made it! |
Overall a great experience ... Didnt have to push them too hard either. So the door to go again is wide wide open! :-)
A month later we went again .. this time with the Pingles. Tosha Aryaa and Sonali were now experts. Monsoons plus increased fitness level plus competition between kids helped up go to the top in less time than last time. With higher energy as well. This is becoming a regular family thing now! Happy :-)
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| Beautiful Sahyadris |
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| You can see Khadakwasla dam in the background |
At Halfway mark
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| The first shortcut |
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| Much needed refreshment break at halfway mark |
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| Rock climbing that makes the climb more exciting |
Made it to the top!!