My Second trek - When I ate wild berries

My 2nd Trek was just a week after my first trek. I was thrilled and very excited too. The weather was not very sunny. It was cloudy but not windy at all. So it was an okay day to wander in the woods. This time we chose the mountain just above Kumar Hatti, towards Dagshai. Dagshai is a very beautiful place. It's scenic and is high in altitude, very cold at times. We chose the western end of Dagshai mountain as it was well connected to the main road. We didn't want to get caught up in the forest if it started getting windy or rainy.

Spot me if you can.

Clinging to a tree while climbing uphill. As we were climbing up the weather was getting colder and the sun was totally behind the clouds. My parents were worried that it might start raining at the higher altitudes so we chose to not go all the way up but kind of halted mid-mountain.

CHOOSING A RESTING PLACE

ON this trek, I learned from my parents, how to choose a resting place on the trek. It took us almost 2 hours to reach halfway up the mountain and the weather was getting colder and breezy. we decided to rest and that's when I got to know how to zero down a place to rest.

Few things to keep in mind while deciding on a place to rest /take a nap/ lie down on a trek.

• It should be an even surface with no chance of sudden fall, no cliff.

• You should have a very high visibility of your surroundings.

• One person must be on the watch at all times, if you are alone, better rest in a tent.

My mom decided on a place that was even in comparison, was open from all sides. she told me why she decided on that place. I figured she was right. We all ate lunch, we had packed. Gulped some tea and then my mom and dad decided to take a quick nap and I was given the responsibility to be on the watch and click some pictures.

RESTING ANIMALS

It was all silent, so calm, and only cold breeze. My mom was carrying zippers for us and extra water. After roaming here and there for almost 30 minutes I lied down with my mom and my dad was on the watch. I loved the feeling of prickly grass on my back and legs, while the view of open sky and sleeping just below it, nothing in between. No noise at all, whatsoever. That day there were not even birds. It was strange. So much silence. I clicked a few pictures and also had chocolate that my mom had brought along. She was up now and I need to learn how can one comfortably sleep in so much open. I couldn't. She said, "you can if a trustworthy trek partner is on the watch". I was that trustworthy watch partner.

ME ON THE RIDGE.

Now was the time to start walking downhill. We took a different route. We went down from the other side of the mountain, we figured it out because we were at the point of the mountain where visibility was very high. We could see all around. We started walking down, we were relaxed and rested. We saw an old relic of a house. We assumed that must be an animal shed or maybe a machine room. It was abandoned and secluded. Considering the history of Dagshai, we assumed it must be some structure related to the military which is no more in use. We explored it and it was an awesome experience. We went inside, roamed around. The feeling of exploring a place all on your own without any guide or anyone at all is so liberating. it's like you discovered something new. I can never explain that feeling.

WHEN WE WERE DONE BEING INDIANA JONES

MY FIRST WILD BERRIES

I must say, it was a wild experience. On our way back we saw some bushes with yellow berries. My parents jumped over and excitedly started eating those. I was like, stop you guys, you can't just eat everything. They told me, they loved it as children and it's called "ancche' or "heer". yellow berries. Wild berries. They gave me a few. I tasted with hesitation, how can they just eat something straight from a wild bush without even washing it. Anyway, it was yummy. sour and sweet. few very sweet, few very sour. I jumped at the bush myself and tried to eat as much as I can and must have eaten a handful. I had never done that in my life ever.

ME BEING WILD

It was a thorny bush. I can now easily recognize it. in many of my treks after this. I would look for it. I discovered many other wild edible things on my treks with my parents. but this one will always remain special as these were my first. I packed a few in the tiffin box we got along for my grandparents. It was a lovely experience. I am just amazed that the mountains, nature has so much to offer and we just don't know.

"ANCCHE" , "HEER" , "yellow wild berries", "wild raspberries", "Himalayan wild berries"

The hero of my second trek. They are wild yellow berries. They look and taste a lot like salmonberries but are smaller in size. they are super delicious and should be used for pies and jams and syrups. They were my discovery of the trek and I am going to cherish this always.