Travel

Met a couple friends and their familes on a short hike up the Pallavaram hills. Was good catching up after a while! Despite temperature being in the high 80s, the kids had a terrific time. On the organizing front though, I could have done better. We initially planned to meet at 10:00 but ended up climbing around 11:30 due to travel delays. I wasn’t carrying my first-aid kit and the usual pick-me-up edibles/tailwind. I missed checking on everybody’s general health condition prior to the climb. Had the trail been a few more miles longer, with the rising temps, things could have escalated pretty quickly… ...

Every time we’ve flown in and out of Chennai, I’ve had my eyes on the hills right opposite the airport. Earlier this week, I found the access road to the Pallavaram Forest Hill and we decided to explore it over the weekend. We initially thought it might make sense to take the metro to the airport and then cross under NH45 using the Trisulam subway to make our way to the start of the hill. Decided to drive over instead and were able to find parking right near the police assistance booth on the approach road. This map has all the navigation cues you might need to access the hill. There are two ways to access this hill - One using a flight of stairs up to the Balamurugan temple and then a dirt trail from there to the hill-top. And the other is to follow the tarred road up from the village. We chose the latter since it was close to where we ended up parking the car. ...

We did a quick 2 hour road trip down to the Bird Sanctuary in Chengalpet this Monday. The location and the sanctuary design - amidst tall trees, lush green fields and a vast water body; really set the stage for a fabulous viewing experience. We obviously got to see a ton of migratory birds. Sparky clean surroundings and facilities, and the very knowledgeable ‘spot’ person on the viewing tower made this quite a wholesome trip. ...

It’s so hard to find long dirt trails here in Chennai. So when I heard about the Adyar river trail, I hopped on the bike and head over across the city. Thoroughly enjoyed the 6kms of solidarity amidst this bustling city. Got Shasta and Meena over this weekend and they had their bit of nature-fix too. I need to actively scout for these secluded nature spaces. They come far and few but I’m pretty sure there’s got to be more! ...

Christmas plan for this year was a major blooper. With the long weekend and everybody off work, we had initially planned to head down south to Covelong. The sisters and I would take on surfing classes while my in-laws and Shasta would have some down-time by the beach. We’d scoped out Sea la vie, as a decent place to stay during the three days there and confirmed they had sufficient C-19 measures in place. ...

I’ve taken up an exciting position with USAID In New Delhi. While the medical and security clearances are still underway, Earlier this month we made the tricky decision to fly out to India. With Covid19 still remaining unpredictable, leadership across the world falling to abysmal levels, a potentially violent election fallout in the US and forthcoming travel restrictions and then the conditional offer from USAID - we decided it was time to leave. Thankfully our mail-in-ballots arrived just in time and we sent those out a couple days prior to our departure. ...

A beautiful hike up north on the Appalachian Trail towards Washington Monument. With a slowly rising dense fog and absolutely nobody else for company almost all through the hike, this 6ish mile out and back loop was just what we needed on a Sunday morning. The monument was a wonderful step-back in time and reminded me of the multitude of forts back in the Sahyadris. Garmin Connect GPX ...

A beautiful climb up Maryland Heights and some great views off the cliff overlooking Harpers Ferry. Our first hike in WV! Fabulous weather and Patapsco was shimmering all along. Brought Appa here a few days later and he was able to walk all across the bridge and over to the other side of the river. Garmin Connect GPX ...

One of those really good hikes! With a total 3000+ ft elevation gain and close to a mile of rock scrambling to the top, this one is set to remain one of my favorites. Garmin Connect GPX ...

Yet another great day outdoors! We plan on doing more technical and/or longer hikes with Shasta and today was one of those ‘dry-runs’. We were out there in the woods for about 3.5 hours and she did terrific! A decent elevation profile, blended in river-crossing, and of-course wonderful company. With an early start, the 6.5miles didn’t quite feel that distance. A bit of a drive from home that was absolutely worth it! ...