Experience : When I Finally Conquered New Heights
The Preparation
"If you don't challenge yourself, you will never realise what you can become". Keeping this in mind, me and Taaha (a childhood friend of mine) finally decided to do something out of our league. It was something I wanted to try for quite a while since I had fractured my leg, both of us decided to go on our very first High Altitude Trek. The excitement that built up once the trip was finalised was just out of bounds for both of us.
From making a checklist on the items to carry to booking tickets and deciding whether to extend this trip (which we eventually did), the trip was quite a new experience for both of us. Although we had heard a lot of stories on how difficult the trek could be for us, dejected by our very own friends and family, we wholeheartedly started working out for the whole new adventure that awaited us. Alas, what we did not anticipate was that our work out which was based at sea level would be quite challenging once we start our climb.
A group of 30-odd people from different parts of the country finally arrived on 18th February at a serene town at Uttarakhand called Kathgodam. Some of us were already acquainted with one another through Whatsapp or previous trek, new faces with an equal amount of enthusiasm were present at the station shivering and waiting to have a warm feeling. It took us a mere 10-hour journey to Lohajung to get to know one another with occasional stops for food, snacks and a short stop at the beautiful banks of Pindar River. A quick briefing followed by dinner and we were off to sleep to start the experience that one would never forget for a lifetime.
The Journey Begins
Not making it quite lengthy, the group finally started their journey towards conquering one of the most beautiful snow trek in India. Little did we know, we would be accompanied by a 60 year old (I mean 60 year young) gentleman who was an inspiration to all young souls like us. Fifteen Minutes into the climb and all our training started showing its true colors. It was quite difficult to climb and all we could do was to just look ahead and not look back to achieve the feat.
The Stay
As a group, we did try our best to stick on schedule but it so happens that time is just an illusion. Though at the end of each passing day, what we dreaded was the stay in tents. The high wind flow accompanied by our own bladder issues, it was always another struggle to relieve ourselves in the dead of the night. Keeping bladder issues aside, we were always welcomed by amazing food at each campsite by the friendly staff that would make us homesick at times. We were quite disappointed at the end of the trek that we won't be able to enjoy the delicious meal once we get back to our daily schedule.
The Disappointment That Was
What kept us going throughout the climb was the hope that we will have a snowfall. At certain points, we did get to see snow (another memory was the snow slide we spent time on), we couldn't find the snow that we were looking for. Also, the beautiful glaciers Brahmatal lake that once existed were completely melted and these were all the ill-effects of the Global Warming that we humans are yet to realise.
The Achievement That Came To Be
After almost two and a half days of climb, we were quite elated when we finally reached the summit. The steep climb did break everyone's courage, but each of us made sure egging the next one to climb ahead and to not stop. Some of us held hands moving ahead and made sure none of us miss the summit and attain the bliss that came along with it.
Final Takeaways
Though we were not able to see the amount of snow we expected, there were some life lessons that each one of us did learn. One, is to not give up and you surely will be rewarded with something worthwhile. Also, let's start taking care of our own environment and do try our best to reduce any kind of pollution and wastage so as to have a better future for our offsprings. In short, lets have a sustainable future.
I would love to thank Indiahikes and their entire team to organise such an amazing experience. Special thanks to Bhagat Chacha, Naman and Manoj who helped us kept on going at every point and assisting us whenever
needed. And finally, to the amazing group that was. To be honest, I'm looking forward to put on my gears once more and climb up another summit soon.
"If you don't challenge yourself, you will never realise what you can become". Keeping this in mind, me and Taaha (a childhood friend of mine) finally decided to do something out of our league. It was something I wanted to try for quite a while since I had fractured my leg, both of us decided to go on our very first High Altitude Trek. The excitement that built up once the trip was finalised was just out of bounds for both of us.
From making a checklist on the items to carry to booking tickets and deciding whether to extend this trip (which we eventually did), the trip was quite a new experience for both of us. Although we had heard a lot of stories on how difficult the trek could be for us, dejected by our very own friends and family, we wholeheartedly started working out for the whole new adventure that awaited us. Alas, what we did not anticipate was that our work out which was based at sea level would be quite challenging once we start our climb.
A group of 30-odd people from different parts of the country finally arrived on 18th February at a serene town at Uttarakhand called Kathgodam. Some of us were already acquainted with one another through Whatsapp or previous trek, new faces with an equal amount of enthusiasm were present at the station shivering and waiting to have a warm feeling. It took us a mere 10-hour journey to Lohajung to get to know one another with occasional stops for food, snacks and a short stop at the beautiful banks of Pindar River. A quick briefing followed by dinner and we were off to sleep to start the experience that one would never forget for a lifetime.
The Journey Begins
 |
| The view of Bekaltal Lake |
The Stay
As a group, we did try our best to stick on schedule but it so happens that time is just an illusion. Though at the end of each passing day, what we dreaded was the stay in tents. The high wind flow accompanied by our own bladder issues, it was always another struggle to relieve ourselves in the dead of the night. Keeping bladder issues aside, we were always welcomed by amazing food at each campsite by the friendly staff that would make us homesick at times. We were quite disappointed at the end of the trek that we won't be able to enjoy the delicious meal once we get back to our daily schedule.
The Disappointment That Was
What kept us going throughout the climb was the hope that we will have a snowfall. At certain points, we did get to see snow (another memory was the snow slide we spent time on), we couldn't find the snow that we were looking for. Also, the beautiful glaciers Brahmatal lake that once existed were completely melted and these were all the ill-effects of the Global Warming that we humans are yet to realise.
 |
| View of the Trishul Mountains. Photo Courtesy: Mayuri Dhodapkar |
After almost two and a half days of climb, we were quite elated when we finally reached the summit. The steep climb did break everyone's courage, but each of us made sure egging the next one to climb ahead and to not stop. Some of us held hands moving ahead and made sure none of us miss the summit and attain the bliss that came along with it.
Final Takeaways
 |
| The entire group at summit. Photo Courtesy: Rajendra Jain |
I would love to thank Indiahikes and their entire team to organise such an amazing experience. Special thanks to Bhagat Chacha, Naman and Manoj who helped us kept on going at every point and assisting us whenever
needed. And finally, to the amazing group that was. To be honest, I'm looking forward to put on my gears once more and climb up another summit soon.
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