The Accidental Hiker

Slesse in Spring Question : How long does it take to walk 6 km? Answer   : 6 Years! Yes, that is how long it took me to finally complete one of the finest hikes in the Chilliwack area of British Columbia, Canada. Slesse Mountain is an imposing peak of 2439 m at the northern end of the Cascades as the range nudges its way into Canada from the United States. On the 9th of December 1956 Trans Canada Airline Flight 810 disappeared while on a flight from Vancouver to Calgary. Five months later climbers found the crash site near the third peak of Slesse Mountain. In 1995 a 586 hectare reserve was created around the crash site. Some recovered debris from the crash, including one part of a propeller, are gathered in a heap of stones appropriately named the Propeller Cairn and constitutes the end of the Slesse Memorial Trail. The trail ascends 940 metres, from 660 metres at the trailhead to 1600 metres at the Propeller Cairn, and traverses a distance of approximately 6.5 k...

Ashok signalled with his hands and we stopped in our tracks. The afternoon sun was pleasantly warm on our backs as we sank down to our knees. Ashok, ten yards ahead of us, motioned for us to be quiet as he retreated. "Gaur!" he whispered when he reached us. The three of us slunk into the fragile camouflage of a thorny bush. Less than a hundred yards away, a herd of Indian Bison were grazing. Their default leader had already sensed us and was sniffing the air, trying to pinpoint our position. We were nervous: if they decided to charge, we didn't stand a chance of outrunning them, we would surely be trampled to death by their collective hooves. At the same time the urge to take a picture urged me to poke my little camera through the gaps in the bush and press the trigger repeatedly, hoping that I would get one decent shot. I got my picture, but it was far from satisfactory; but I had reason to be pleased: after hiking for nearly three decades in the hills of the Sahyadri...

Satyabrata Dam looked at the rear cargo section of my Honda CRV incredulously. "I must take a picture of this," he said. "All this stuff for a weekend hike!" He could barely conceal the shock that was written all over his face. Baby is all set to travel. (Photo courtesy Satyabrata Dam) Our dog Baby gave him a No Comment look as she made herself comfortable amidst the luggage. She was used to my travel habits, which were a far cry from the spartan norms which my friend Satya was more accustomed to in his extreme adventures to the far corners of the world. Satya has climbed Everest four times, skied to the North and South Poles, climbed the highest peaks on all the seven continents, commanded submarines in the Indian Navy, is a TED Fellow and was now visiting with us for a couple of weeks. He girdles the globe seeking hard climbs in remote and dangerous locations (Afghanistan is a case in point), runs an Everest guiding service and delivers motivational talks...