18 December 2011 was the perfect day to go for trekking-a sunny day but not too bright. After taking the breakfast, a team of 50 students from grades 7, 8 & 9 accompanied by seven teachers left for Lohgad fort at 8 o’clock in the morning.  We were packed with enough food, water and other necessary requirements.  Lohgad fort is 3400ft high and is just 85 Km from Pune. A short bus journey on Mumbai-Pune express highway brought us to Lohgad. There was a flat walk of about 3 Km.   Some of the students were already feeling exhausted but were motivated and geared up by the other members in the team. We could see the fort, our destination, from the foot of the mountain. We took rest for a few minutes and got ready for the rest of the journey. It was a steep climb.  Some of the group members had already decided that this was high enough for them. So we split into ‘topsters’ and ‘downsters’ for the rest of the trekking. One of the teachers decided to stay back with the ‘downsters’ while the topsters continued the adventure.

Being very steep it was never easy for our young adventurers, but we just plodded along and took breaks every few minutes. After a difficult climb of about half an hour, we reached the top of the mountain. Each one of us had an expression of victory on the face. Picturesque scenery, cool mountain air and the proud feeling of being on the top made every one’s face glow. We sat there for some time to share our munchies and contemplate the unique beauty of the place.

To add on to all this fun, students found a small water pool there. The water was cold but refreshing to wipe away the perspire drops from our tired faces.  .  After having good snacks the the journey back seemed to be easy but proved to be more difficult and exhausting. We reached the school campus at about 8 p.m.

It was an exciting, exhilarating, and rewarding experience of each one of us