Pune-based Sucheta Kadethankar (33) found her 1,600-km arduous trek in the Gobi desert in Mongolia a fascinating and thrilling experience. Kadethankar, who completed her trek in 51 days on July 15, shared her experience with the media here on Monday.
"The Gobi desert expedition was a new, learning and challenging experience for me," said Kadethankar, who has trekked mountains of the Sahyadris and the Himalayas.
A principal information developer in Pune-based infotech firm, Symantec, she was part of a 13-member group that initially took part in the trek. However, only seven, including Kadethankar, could reach the finishing point.
According to Kadethankar, the expedition that began on May 25, was to be completed in 60 days. "When we realised that the expedition suddenly got over before the scheduled date, we were really elated and it took some time for us to digest this fact," she told DNA.
About the difficulties faced during the expedition, Kadethankar said the circumstances had to be tackled more on the mental level than the physical. "In a mountain expedition, one can expect a new thing every next moment. But in a desert, one is deprived of it. The visual appetite is left unfulfilled," she said.
Walking 1,600 km on sand is no mean feat and the initial days did have an effect on her. "We used to walk from 6.30 am till 5 pm. Blisters were a common problem that kept affecting us in the initial days of the trek," she said.
On the training she undertook to prepare for the arduous expedition, Kadethankar said, "It was from November 2010 that I started training myself. Apart from the physical exercises, I engaged myself in walking 24 km regularly from home to office," she said.
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