Off The Trail !
As an outstanding outdoor educator, Manav equipped us with excellent navigation skills and the confidence to hike independently in the mountains.
Off the trail!
What does that mean? Being on the wrong trail? Or getting lost? Both, I guess.
Well, if you ask Manav the same, he will answer NONE. He believes, 'There is no such thing as a right or wrong trail, nor can we be lost or found on these trails.'
Hmm, okay! But sorry, I didn’t get you. Sounds like a philosopher’s speech. Sab upar se gaya!
I hardly asked him any direct questions about hiking because most of the time, he would tell us about trail navigation himself and would end almost every day with his outdoor teachings. I wasn't a sincere student, but somehow his teachings naturally reached my ears. Luckily, hehe!
Whatever !
The story is that on the 3rd day of the community hike, I got deviated from the trail for ~10-15 mins while ascending to Koleshwar Plateau. I was just following the ribbons tied throughout the trail for navigation, plus the people ahead of me. But I got distanced from both the people ahead of me & those hiking behind me. Wait ! I am not lost yet ! I have ribbons to follow.
Oops ! 3 trail splits ahead ! Now what? It’s okay, follow the ribbon. I did ! After walking for 5-6 mins on that trail, I stopped seeing ribbons. Did I miss any? Let’s walk a bit more & find one.
Nope, no ribbon. Now it's time to get scared. Come on, Meera, panic!
Well, NO. I could hear Manav’s words: ‘Even if you are deviated from the trail, the first rule is never panic. First, try to navigate where you are right now.’
Hmm, now my first task is to find out if I am LOST. So call me Dora the Explorer for the next 10 mins!
Am I LOST?
Let's find out! Here my brain started thinking like Manav:
Are you sure this trail is frequently walked? I don’t think so, as I can see the trail covered with only vertical dried grasses; seems like no one has walked it for a long time.
We are supposed to be ascending. Is this trail leading you uphill? Of course not. In fact, I can see the trail for a long distance, & it's definitely descending.
Can you see animal droppings on the trail? Yes, in huge amounts. Possibly this trail might have been created by cattle in their quest for food & is frequently walked by them.
Try calling your friends. Did you get any response? Nope!
What is your gut feeling saying? Are you lost? Ahh, yes, I guess!
Congratulations, Meera, you are LOST !
One of your friends is carrying your phone, so you cannot use it for navigation. What’s the plan now? Well, I will follow the teachings of my teacher, Manav.
How To Navigate?
Get back to the trail where you encountered the 3 splits. This trail is definitely not yours, so you are left with only 2 trails.
Which one is leading you uphill? Both, I guess.
Can you see any water pipelines or electricity wires? No.
Which one seems frequently walked? Well, the middle one, because it seems clear & a bit wide. By 'clear,' I mean the trail is covered with dried grasses lying on the floor, indicating that people have frequently stepped on the grass to flatten it. Additionally, there are stones on the edges of the trail, not in the middle. The other one is clear too but covered with a lot of dead leaves, & these are not pressed into the ground, indicating that very few people have walked on it.
What is your gut feeling saying? The middle one? Hmm!
Now walk the middle trail; try to find a ribbon. Yes, I got it. I guess the 2 ribbons that led me to the previous (deviated) trail were tied there mistakenly. First, I untied those 2 ribbons & tied them up in the right place, then headed to my trail. Now I could see a series of such ribbons, a well-traveled trail, & shoe marks. Sherlock Holmes, hehe !
Within 2-3 mins, I could hear Manav calling my name. ‘Kahan kho gayi thi, madam?’ ‘Khoyi nahi thi, kisi aur trail par chali gayi thi.’
Now I get it: ‘On trails, you are never lost; you are just on a different trail.’
Moral Of The Day
Always keep your phone with you, with navigation open on it. Don’t just follow people or ribbons.
If you don’t have your phone, always carry your brain with its thinking capacity in your bag.
Be a sincere student & always listen to your teacher.
No matter how professional you are in the outdoors, you may get deviated from the trails, unless you are a local. Animals, shepherds, & villagers make trails for their use in finding food, wood, or minor forest products. So every trail has a use; it’s just that some might not be useful for you. That’s where Manav’s mission comes into the picture; mapping trail networks so that you can know which trail is yours.
Community hiking may have many advantages, but the biggest disadvantage, I think, is that you start relying on the person leading the trail or walking right ahead of you. Those 10mins 'off the trail' boosted my confidence tenfold, as I got a chance to test Manav's teachings in re-navigating my trail. And it worked!
I am still amazed at how someone can teach something so efficiently. He never keeps outdoor learning & skills to himself; instead, he tries his best to teach the same to the community he built!
And the best part is, most people who meet him start thinking like him when comes to outdoors. Well, don’t hike with him if you don’t want to fall in love with the outdoors, especially navigation :)
Another good piece Meera! Love the dry humor and learnings. Definitely worth a read.❤️
Love your quips Dora!!