Light traveller

I am a light traveller. I learnt being one the hard way.
I wanted to explore the Western Ghats during monsoons. Overly cautious, I decided to heed every warning given by the Outlook Traveller.
Things were carefully packed in polythene bags, mosquito repellent, an extra pair of clothing, et al. My faithful SLR, and the tripod to keep my hand steady when I shiver with cold.
And most important of all - a tall bottle of 20-minute pre-boiled water to kill bacteria - which could trigger off a cold.
We began the trek at the crack of dawn. Enthusiastically, I began shooting right away.
However, the pounding rain rapidly sizzled my vigour. And slippery rocks, which ensured each one of us fell regularly at every tricky turn. Soon, the bag itself began to weigh like the boulders.
I had no guts to expose the camera to such a high humid atmosphere. I missed out on capturing the waterfall which defied gravity. Yeap! It was flowing upwards, due to the high speed of wind. I blinked several times before I could believe it myself.
Since we were walking up a fresh stream, everyone thought it best to take sips from it, as and when we were thirsty. No one worried about infection. This is the purest form of water, straight from the open skies.
Four hours, soaked to the skin, we reached the top. Now I had a bagful of things I needn’t have got at all. Because the bag was not opened even once! The view from the ghat was breathtaking. A reel of photos could not express the euphoria we felt being on the top.
The bottle of water was emptied. The food was fed to the monkeys. An hour later, we began to trek down again, light hearted and slightly lighter bag.

PS: Mud is a great deterrent to insect bite.