Woman takes her baby girl on treks, climbs 12 forts in 12 months

Woman takes her baby girl on treks, climbs 12 forts in 12 months

PUNE: Twelve months, twelve forts -- Snehal Ghube Gherade set this goal for herself this year. She wanted to trek to 12 nearby forts with her 1.5 year-old daughter and husband to give shape to a journey that started with her efforts to shed excess post-pregnancy weight. 

This month, she completed her goal with a successful trek to Prabalgad and Kalawantini in Raigad district. 

Her baby girl has accompanied her on all her treks -- she would have it no other way since she feels trekking is a great way for a family to bond and for children to get hands-on-knowledge. 

After working for 11 years as a consultant in IBM, Gherade finally quit her job last week to turn her passion for trekking into a full-time career. 

“Though I practiced for this 2019 goal since last year by building up my fitness by going on long walks, I wanted my daughter to come with me as well,” Gherade said. She chose her 12 forts keeping her daughter in mind -- not too far from Pune and conducive weather for each outing.
 
She kicked off her grand plan with Raireshwar Fort in January and followed it up with Tung (Feburary), Tikona (March) and Malhargad (April).

After that, her target was Rajmachi (May), Lohagad  (June), Panhalagad (July),  Purandar (August), Harishchandragad (October), Visapur (November) and ended the year by concquering two forts, Prabalgad and Kalawantini in December. 

In September, she could not go for trekking since she was attending the basic mountaineering course in Sikkim, but compensated for it in December. 

“My daughter was 1.5 years old in January. I bought a baby carrier for her that cost Rs 47,000 and was specially designed for carrying babies on treks. It was a gamble, I did not know if she would like it, but it paid off! She loves her outings,” Gherade said. 

Calling herself a ‘blessed mother’, Gherade says these outings have not only opened up a whole new world for her family to enjoy their weekends, but it’s also proving to be a great way to teach her daughter about nature and history. 

“There are times when she walks for some distance, now that she is a little older.” But most of the times, I carry her in the carrier. That’s almost 13-15 kg extra weight while trekking. Add to that her food, water and other necessities -- so that’s a lot to carry on a trek if you are taking your child along,” she said, emphasising that fitness and strength is of utmost importance. Here’s an interesting fact that most mothers would laud -- she has even breastfed her daughter on such treks!  Gherade often gets asked for tips by other new moms who want to take their entire family on such adventures.  There are more than 300 forts in Maharashtra, so what better way could there be for a family to bond than visiting them all, she said. Gherade’s next goal? 24 forts in 2020! 

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