My Happiest Trek Moment – Personal Stories of Bliss, Awe And Furry Paw...

Share this story

My Happiest Trek Moment – Personal Stories of Bliss, Awe And Furry Paws - Part 2

Category My Happiest Trek Moment Trekker Space

By Latika Payak

2020-04-27

What is the My Happiest Trek Moment campaign?

Frankly, we’re tired of all the negative news around us. You must be too.

We are cooped up at home, not meeting people dear to us. All we get is bad news about Coronavirus spreading its devilish arms. Almost any conversation becomes about Coronavirus. It’s become quite frustrating.

So we have created a space that takes us as far away from Coronavirus as possible — to the trekking world where we all yearn to be.

As a trekker, we’re sure you relive moments from your trek every now and then — it could be that euphoric moment when you finally reached the summit! It could be that moment you were moved to tears by a beautiful sunrise. It could be the reflective time you spent by yourself at a campsite.

You’re welcome to share your stories! We’d be happy to feature them! Find all the steps to send it here.

With no further ado, here are some fantastic stories that trekkers sent to us! 🙂

Btw, make sure you share these stories further, to help more people beat the lockdown blues!

| Finding my vulnerable self, again

“Breaking down came easy to me. I blamed it on my mum’s hyper-sensitive genes. It didn’t take me much to melt away. I still remember the first time I bawled my eyes out watching the heartbreaking Tamil movie, Anjali. Took me 3 days to move on. Teens weren’t that easy on me either. So much so that in a beautiful love story like Notting Hill, I wished Sandra Bullock would reveal that she was terminally ill or something in the end.

But then with years and experiences, strangely, I stopped. I genuinely lost the ability to shed a tear. My attitude, definitely not unique, was to simply hide these “embarrassing” traits behind the garb of adulthood.

Years later, there I was ascending to what my trek leader declared would be the view of a lifetime. I cursed him the 25 times I had to take a break to catch my breath and almost gave up. But finally, at the summit, we perched ourselves on a rock. And there nestled gorgeously in the midst of mighty snow-capped mountains shining in a hundred shades of blue – Tarsar Lake. Sitting on that rock, deafened by the silence around me, I felt completely vulnerable. Nature was trying to take me into her embrace, relentlessly. I fought for no reason finally surrendering with a long labored sigh. It started with a single drop; the rest of the tears came gushing – maybe from the tremendous struggle of keeping these emotions bottled. But in the end, I felt liberated, thankful, and small. The enormity of the beauty and kindness around me went unnoticed until this hug from the majestic mountains.

I rediscovered myself on that trek and I’m back to my crying ways now.” – Krishnaraj CK

 

| Soaking In The Silence Of The Mountains

“There were several occasions throughout the trek where I had the opportunity to soak in the silence of the mountains and spend some quality time meditating.

I remember clicking this photo whilst the team was hiking down in unusual silence. I don’t think it was physical fatigue, rather the reminder that It would be at least another year before most of us could get adequate paid leaves from our jobs and come out to experience the energy of the mountains.

As I looked at the picture after clicking it, I noticed the snow-clad mountain ranges in the background. I immediately kept the phone back in and just stood there for a while, taking it all in.

I think it is vital that we always find time to stop and appreciate the beauty around us and not just the trail ahead. This implies to life as well.

Let’s not be so focussed on the trail of lockdown and disease that we forget to appreciate the beauty – the dawn of new times, we are probably not going back to our old ways of living!” – Akash Nair

 

| Better Than Carrying A Rucksack

“Back in February I was leading my folks on a trek to Brahamatal in Uttarakhand. So i carried a porter’s gear which was typically simple but effective. In this example, the load goes into an oversized basket, or doko, which rests against the back. A strap runs underneath the doko, which bears most of the weight.

Over time slavery diminished and technology advanced, but the role of porter for specialized transporting services remains strong.

If one wants to experience real life struggle for a piece of bread then they must definitely experience the hardwork done by such porters” – Raj Shah

 

| My First Solo!

“Trekking up solo to Kareri lake had not been a simple job for me. All along the journey, I had been asking myself whether I’ll make it or not. I would look back and remind myself that i haven’t made it this far for nothing and would continue again.

I began my trek and probably after climbing my way up for about 4 hours i was done with the intense part and the trek opened up to this view leaving me dumbfounded. Everything else around me felt numb.

Tears gushed in my eyes and I just stood there absorbing that stunning view, the peace. I pat myself and told myself that finally I had made it.

The next thing I did was ask a villager who was on his way up to his shack to click a picture of mine so I could simply take a gander at it later on and recollect what I felt at that point.

I rushed to the top, put down my rucksack, went upto a shack to get some tea and sat down to simply appreciate what was before my eyes.

Till date, I still remember every bit of it and it is that one moment that has stood out for me.” – Divesh Arora

 

| When Clouds Parted To Reveal Mt. Nanda Ghunti

“The Brahmatal Trek was the first trek that I took with Indiahikes, and ever since that my love for mountains always been at its peak.

So one of the moment that is absolutely unforgettable was one night before the climb to the summit. As everyday we finished our evening games and were sitting together for dinner, when it started thundering and there was heavy rainfall. Scared and wondered on how we would do the summit and get to see the wonderful Himalayas as it rained heavily the entire night.

Our Trek Leader Afreen, had told us we would be starting early so we were all ready on time and we started off our journey and thankfully the rains had subsided the morning. We reached the summit earlier than Raju da anticipated, it showed the excitement and how entralled the entire group was after the doubtful night. All huge smiles as soon as we were on the summit, but just one disappointed was it was cloudy and the skies were not completely clear. Afreen, Raju da and Yashpal told us that it would clear out and kept our hopes alive. All of us were busy clicking pictures when we were told, “There you can see Nanda Ghunti and Mount Trishul.”

I still vividly remember the joy on everyone’s face! And there I sat admiring Nanda Ghunti, living the moment and just being completely overwhelmed with what I had experienced in the entire trek.

It’s the most priceless feeling and words are never going to be enough to express it.” – Mitalee Jain

 

| Hello Sunshine!

“It was the morning after the day we had trekked to the Har Ki Dun Summit and back.

I remember it being a struggle as our trail was messed up by the sudden downpour. Amidst slush, rains and chills, I remember every single one of us pushing ourselves to make it through and get back to our campsite.

The morning after, I woke fresh, satisfied with our accomplishment. The weather was beautiful, one could see the saffron glint on the peaks around us and this little ruff was outside our tents, basking in the minimalist sun rays, looking beyond.

Although we had many furry friends accompany us during our journey, there was something about him that brought a smile to my face. As we left the site, he didn’t follow us like the rest, but just sat there, looking content.

Amidst times like these, I can’t help but think – we can overcome all slushy trails and get through to the sunny times. This too shall pass” – Pavithra Rajagopal

 

| Being independent at 18 years of age!

“In 2019 , around June – July , I booked for my third trek with Indiahikes which was the ‘HAR KI DUN‘ trek in the month of November.

So the thing here was that, all my past treks ,I did it with my entire family and for the first time, I had registered for a trek ALL BY MYSELF. I was excited and at the same time I was scared. I was scared cause I wasn’t sure if an 18 year old girl from the city would be able to manage at the mountains all by herself.

And so, months passed and it was finally time for me to leave for my trek , I was nervous (not gonna lie) but deep down I knew that I would be able to manage without any dependancy which I usually had on my previous treks.

The trek was for a total of 8 days and I can’t tell u how much of an independent girl I’ve become after the trek. The mountains had thought me a lot and such important lessons that changed me as a person completely.

I learnt to manage my expenses, learnt to clean my vessels (which I never did on my previous treks) , learnt to manage my own waste, learnt to make friends who later turned out to be FAM.

Now when I think about those 8 days, I feel very PROUD and ACCOMPLISHED and at the same time, looking around me, I realised that not all 18 year olds have done what I’ve done and it just makes me feel happy.

Once the trek ended and I came back home, I felt that sense of ACHIEVEMENT and I gained the confidence that I can do things like these also by myself and all this wouldn’t have been possible without Indiahikes, so a big Thank you to you guys too!” – Gayathri Nair

 

| A Sense Of Liberation On Kedarkantha Summit

“As someone with a lot of nihilistic thoughts, it’s hard to believe that someday you will experience something that will actually make you appreciate nature, appreciate beauty. We like to believe that everything revolves around us, and that only makes our lives unnecessarily hard. I’m guilty of it too.   

This is a picture taken at the Kedarkantha summit. I reach the top, and I realise that I’m standing on something that has probably taken thousands of rocks to come together in the exact shape and form that they have, over thousands of years, and suddenly I feel small. This though may sound depressing at first, but it gives you a sense of liberation when you realise how insignificant all your problems are. Right at this moment, I felt grateful, I felt happy, and I felt at peace!” – Ayush Surana

 

| A Slice Of Heaven

“Hours of trekking through the rain and fog with frequent slips and falls, but the journey was worth it.

Awaiting us was a secluded valley nestled high in the mountains, an escape from the chaos of urban life, untouched and unspoilt by technology, where the only sound was the gentle rustle of bamboo leaves in the breeze.

The vast undulating stretch of green was a visual treat and none of us have observed anything like it before. Its inaccessibility and minimal human interference adds to the beauty of the valley.” – Soumik Das

 

| The best apples ever tasted

“My last trek with India Hikes was at Chainsheel Bugiyal in Uttaranchal in 2017 September.

The next day was foggy and rainy so we were advised to stay for one more day at the same Campsite. We could proceed with wet tents and mattresses.

Day after we walked through meadows and by late afternoon again hit by rains and chilly cold winds. The rains were heavy and Trek Leader had hardly any knowledge of the land to decide on the Campsite.

We somehow managed our Campsite near the traditional stop of the Shepherds. I can’t forget that night as we were drenched in cold wet mattresses and tents. I was feeling lucky that our tents didn’t get washed away.

Next day Trek Leader took a decision to abort the next Champ site stop and decided to turn back considering hostile weather. We walked back all the distance in one day which took us two days to ascend.

By late evening we were back near the village Apple orchards. I walked through the whole day without much food since we had not been able to have any lunch provisions. And decided to gorge on the fresh Apples left there for Horses and other live stocks.

No food would taste any better at that time while sun was setting and I could see the glimpses for the village nearby!!!” – Sadanand Tungare

This just the beginning…

We have so many more beautiful stories shared by trekkers. We’ll be sharing all of them in this space. Stay tuned to our website!

If you’d like to contribute your photo and story, send them to tws@indiahikes.com

Use the subject line: My Happiest Trek Moment

We’ll be featuring the best of entries that we get.

Meanwhile, stay home, stay safe. While we’re locked down physically, let’s allow our minds to wander and feel the joys of trekking.  🙂

Latika Payak

Senior Content Writer

About the author

Latika is a Senior Content Writer and one of the rare team members who has seen Indiahikes from its initial days. She was among the first few to begin creating content at Indiahikes, documenting treks around Maharasthra, interviewing trekkers and writing their stories.

Latika started trekking after joining Indiahikes and has trekked to Roopkund, Hampta Pass, Kedarkantha, Dayara Bugyal, Tarsar Marsar, and Har Ki Dun.

With a strong background in print media and have worked with several publications. Latika is always hunting for great stories hidden in the folds of the mountains. Horror stories from ancient routes and villages of the Himalayas are her favourite.

She is presently working on bringing out news from the remote trekking regions of our country.