When you come from a university which has one exam in a semester with no assignments and homework, the two months into the new system were overwhelming. Assignments, bookstore shifts, projects had bound me to the clock and homeworks ran the day. The midterm exam stress needed to be kicked out, a short trip was the best way to do it.

A friend texted about the plan to go camping in the ‘Ledges State Park’ for the weekend, luckily the plan matched the schedule and I was able to make it. The prep however, was not much as he had already made the arrangements, from tents to food to transport, everything was sorted.  We reached the campsite around dusk and  were welcomed by a few other friends who had pitched the tents. As we sat down to chat,we could see the fires lighting in the other camps and made our mind to light one for ourselves. The temperature was dipping and the Doritos were being passed around. The laughter and the games continued till a friend who came as a saviour getting pizza for everybody.

The tummies were full and we sat around the campfire, somehow the conversations wandered from horror stories, philosophical discussions to life lessons and adventure narrations.A point was reached during these conversations where everyone was staring at the fire and hearing to the tree top rustling. That was the moment I will never forget, despite being in the company of people I had found the much-needed solitude. The warmth from the fire was making a few people doze off and they retreated to the sleeping bags in their tents. A few stayed  back till the flames doused.

Th next morning begun with yoga session before sunrise. To watch the park in the morning was a treat to the eyes as it was the season of the FALL and the usually green trees were now draped in hues of  yellow, red and orange. Hopped into the cars to reach to the hiking trails which were short but beautiful. We hiked to the ‘Lost Lake’ in no time. Numerous photos could not do justice to the beauty captured by the eyes. Maybe, because I had not seen a FALL back home but I loved what I saw. Hiking the trails made us hungry and we made pancakes and pasta for lunch. Post lunch time was spent trying to perfect the most clichéd ‘in the air’ photo. After several takes we packed and set on our way home.

I think short trips like these are important as they take you to a new environment away from the routine life. Some people might turn to intoxication over the weekend to take themselves to “new” environments. But hey, at least, camping doesn’t give a hangover;)