Madhumanti is your average girl, in her twenties, trying to figure things out in her life, cooking and packing lunches, attending social events.Until you talk to her. Hidden beneath her untidy cropped curls, lies a pair of eyes, that sparkle as she speaks of her hiking adventures.
Madhumanti is not your average girl. She meets and goes hiking with strangers. She drives hundreds of kilometres with random people who just share their hiking destinations with her. She is fearless. She is strong. The call of unknown excites her!
She now lives far away in Vancouver,Canada. Vancouver is a beautiful city located in the state of British Columbia in Canada. It is nested within mountain ranges, beautiful lakes, and forests. And if you have that adventurous streak within you, then you are in Hiker Heaven.
She has agreed to share her stories with Blank Slate Chronicles. Read on to know more about the adventures of The Girl in the Hiker Boots.
[dropshadowbox align="none" effect="lifted-both" width="auto" height="" background_color="#ffffff" border_width="1" border_color="#dddddd" ] WHISTLER SKYWALK TRAIL
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The Hiker’s At a Glance:
Trail Length : 25 km
Elevation gain : 1200 meters
Cost: $
Hiking duration: 8 hrs, can be covered within a day from Vancouver.
Difficulty: Intermediate
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British Columbia is a hiker’s heaven.
With astonishing landscapes, lush green meadows, and pristine lakes, this place offers beauty that is almost unimaginable to mankind. Madhumanti’s adventurous streak was fuelled by the beauty and ease of access to Vancouver and its surrounding locations. While Whistler is kind of a global name, there are many unknown trails and hiking spots, which are equally beautiful. Moreover, if you can find the perfect time to visit these places, you will be spared the crowd.
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Those unknown streamlets![/caption]
“I use meetup.com to find people with similar interest and often go on hikes with them.I had heard about this Skywalk trail, which opened very recently, and was on the look out to for a group to hike with, there”. She finally found an organizer for the hike, and being a driver ready to give a lift to others, it was easy for her to get a spot.
“I was very excited about the virgin nature of the trail. Hardly 30 people had ever done this hike. And it was all exploratory, uncertain. Uncertainty has always given me a kick!”.
"The day before I packed my usual essentials for the hike:sandwiches for lunch, snacks, nuts, and some water.” She left her home at 6 am and collected her rental car. Then drove to meet the group at a predecided spot. It is worth mentioning here that most people were strangers until that point. “I saw a team of 12 women , aged between 25-65 yrs. I was the youngest among them. Few of them were professional bikers, mountain biking all over British Columbia”.
In fact, the group had women from across the globe.
The first break was about an hour after driving. They had a heavy breakfast, as the next few hours were going to be hard work. They decided where to meet next, and ensured that they had printed maps. There are usually no internet connections in these trails. They had to coordinate the old-fashioned way!
Soon they reached the spot and parked their car.
The first 3 km were paved gravel road with jungle on two sides. The initial part of the road was marked with orange signs. After 45 minutes, they reached the first stream. It was a welcome break, as that particular day was warm. The group took a short break and splashed cold, fresh water on their faces. However, the stream was inhabited by mosquitos and bugs, which motivated them to resume their journey!
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Crossing the streams on logs![/caption]
The next part of the trail was steep and had narrow roads through a jungle.
They crossed a few streams. Thankfully, those were not too deep and they could balance on logs to cross them. But it was the raw beauty of nature that kept the group going: the sunrise, the birds, the voices of nature.
“Slowly the landscape around us was changing. As we climbed higher, the trail became barren. We could see the top of the trees which we had just crossed!” recollects Madhumanti.
Suddenly, they came out of the forest. They were hoping to find the beautiful iceberg lake somewhere, but the found a lush green meadow instead!
They had already walked for 7-8 km by this time. But although a couple people lost heart, Madhumanti was excited to see it through until the end.
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The steep gravel trails![/caption]
Somewhere, far across, they saw something moving on top of another mountain. They decided that it was worth checking out! Maybe they would find the lake there!
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The beautiful flower covered meadows![/caption]
“Now that I think of it, the meadows were the most beautiful part of the journey, colourful flowers, greenery, I don’t have words to describe it. And to top it all, we were the only people in the entire trail!”.
After some more walking, they saw the glacier. The excitement of finding the iceberg lake gave them renewed energy. And the team marched forward.This is the view they saw when the reached the top of the glacier!
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The view from the top![/caption]
The pristine turquoise blue glacier-fed Iceberg Lake! They took their lunch break there. Few of them swam in the lake.
“I just basked in the beauty, dipped my feet in the water and felt at one with nature”
The return journey was calm and peaceful, as everyone was tired and yet, filled with contentment. As they reached the end of the trail, they bid each other farewell. Madhumanti can recollect every moment of this trail with great detail. Every dangerous turn, aroma of the jungle, chill of the lake, the sunlight seeping through the tall trees. It is this beauty and oneness with nature that keeps drawing her into these adventures.
Stay tuned to the adventures of the Girl in Hiker Boots in blankslatechronicles.com. If you hike yourself or know someone who is passionate about it, write to us with your story at editor@blankslatechronicles.com
All photos are sourced from Madhumanti. She is a passionate nature photographer. Check out her instagram page for more beautiful clicks!