My Happiest Trek Moment – Personal Stories of Accomplishment, Farewell and Realisation – Part 7

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!

| The Bliss Of My First Himalayan Summit

“I always felt a strong calling towards mountains. This time the calling was straight from the Himalayas, thousands of miles apart. 

Constantly coming across Himalayan trek pictures, friends telling stories about how they were blown away by its beauty, and my long pending urge to go there, all summed up to me finally deciding to answer my calling no matter what comes up in between that calling (I even quit my job just to give myself a break I needed for long time). 

And here I was on my first Himalayan trek, Brahmatal. For me every moment I spent on this trek was a happy moment, waking up to the beautiful sunrise and signing off the day with a mesmerising sunset, the tasty food, the snow slide, the trek and the summit.

If I have to choose my happy trek moment, then it definitely would be the summit. 

The “on top of the world” feeling, getting star-struck by the legends like Mt. Trishul and Mt. Nanda Ghunti, the Indian flag, the sense of accomplishment, the panoramic view of the mountain ranges and the peace and the comfort I felt. This moment will stay with me till the eternity.

I’ll keep going to the mountains to live this moment again and again, and I’ll never miss a calling till I’m alive. :)” – Sameer Kadam

| Farewell from a Rose

“It was the last leg of Goechela Trek in October 2019. I had my heart and Phone full of happy memories. 

It had been just my kind of trek, I had paid homage to some Great Mountains and on the way I had seen flowers and trees of the variety I had never seen before. This Trek has one of the most beautiful Trails. It takes you through a forest beyond compare, complete with broad leafed vines, pale orchids, bright wildflowers and more waterfalls than you can count. I recall crossing a small waterfall and at the same time passing below a vine and flower draped log and thinking this can’t be real. 

The one thing I could see I had missed was the Wild Rose season, the Trail was littered with their orange-red stalks but try as I may, I could not locate a flower still in bloom.

Finally it was the last day of descend. I found myself alone on a small stretch and took that moment to stand still and thank the Mountains for letting me visit with them. After I opened my eyes, I must have walked not more than a couple of steps and there it was, a single rose in full bloom, surrounded by bare bushes, giving me a happy farewell – i could not but think, it was the Mountains’ way of saying ‘gratitude accepted.”  – Radhika Gautam

| Overcoming fear at 16,200 ft

“It was the summit day of the Roopkund trek in June 2018. We heard about Junargali throughout the trek how beautiful the view is up there! And not everyone gets a chance to go there as the weather plays an important role! And then there was me with fear of heights,worrying whether I should go to Junargali if we get a chance. Because all we heard was that it is very difficult and risky to climb and also heard stories of how some people had a narrow escape!

We started at 3 in the morning and reached Roopkund lake at 6am. Job done, that was easy! Oh wait,the weather is clear and hence Junargali is ON! Few of our trekkers stayed back and few started walking and I was looking at the peak which was about 100mts above roopkund.

The technical guide shouted, ‘Agar chalna hain to jaldi chalo varna mat aao’. I spoke to myself, this is the time when I can kill my fear. So I started climbing and after reaching Junargali, most of the people broke into tears seeing the view of Mt Trishul! It was mesmerizing and definitely worth going! The sense of pride and satisfaction after holding the Tricolor at a height of 16200 ft was unmatched! Roopkund is beautiful,but Junargali is another level!

P.S. I am standing second to our trek leader Gourab Nandy.” – Aadeesh Kelkar

| Enduring Memories Of A Surreal Trek

“I had the pleasure of going on my debut trek to Bhrigu Lake with two of my best friends from college.

The photo is of the last day of the trek when we were trekking back to Manali and we stopped for a group photo because of the gorgeous weather and scenery. Actually, I guess the three of us were in reality extremely sad due to the trek ending but we clicked this fun photo to capture our last day of perspiring, laughing, etc. Every day of the trek felt surreal.

This photo takes me back to all the fun we had and memories that were made to last a lifetime. Also, a big shoutout to all the others on the trek. I took back a lot of stories, fun and wisps of mountain air.

Thank you Indiahikes.” – Yamini Tyagi

| Blessed By Lord Tungnath

“So this is the third day of our trek to Deoriatal-Chopta-Chandrashila. We were four friends from Engineering, gathering together after 3 years. For first timers, the Trek did take a toll on all four of us. But somehow the picturesque trail kept us going.

It had snowed on the Chandrashila peak, a few hours before we started our trail on the third day, though it had stopped snowing by the time we started.We were very enthusiastic to reach Tugnath & then the much tslked-about Chandrashila peak. It was clear, the trail wasn’t going to be easy, given the snow.

Other co-trekkers had made-up their minds to return back, and we were also almost certain that we might not be able to reach the peak. We were sad, no doubt. The weather also did not seem to be favorable. Tempted we were, to keep going. But then trekking is not just adventure, but also responsible behavior. We started walking back down the trail around 200 meters before Tungnath.

It was merely three minutes into our down-trail, and it started snowing. and God! It was gorgeous. All four of us had experienced snow-fall for the first time. I guess we were compensated by lord Tungnath for not being able to reach the summit ;-)” – Prakhar Pagare

| A Glimpse Of Our Inner Child At Phalut

“We were on the second last day of Sandakphu trek. At the Sabargram base camp, trek leader gave us two options, one via Phalut to Gorkhe and one directly to Gorkhe. The first route is a distance of 21 km and second one, 15 km.

Obviously there were mixed opinions. Myself and 8 others opted via phalut to get closer to sleeping Buddha. As we had to walk a distance of 21 km, we started walking early in the morning..Trek lead also accompanied us. At around 9 am we reached Phalut. The view point is on the hilltop. After keeping the rucksacks at the base we climbed on top of hill to see the majestic view of Sleeping Buddha one last time. After this we started descending.

On reaching top of the mountain, Trek lead Bhupi had some freaky idea- ‘Everybody form a circle, bend inside and give some random pose and we shall take a photo from the bottom.’

That moment was really great and saw some innocent childish faces in the camera.” – Nikhil H

| Hugged A Tree, Ever?

“For anyone this picture might seem to be an ordinary picture with a cluster of tall alpine trees with a carpet of snow. But, what If I told you we spoke to them? What if I told you we hugged them and they embraced us?

Yes, this was the happiest moment of my trek to Brahmatal in February this year. The following excerpt from my poem on the trek says it all about the surreal feeling all of us had while hugging a tree and pouring our heart out –

“We glided a few kilometres, panting with exertion, looking for some respite on a relaxing spree,

Which is when, our trek leader beautifully lent us the breath of solace and delight by making us hug a tree.

I will always carry that moment with me, when I simply spoke out and the entire tree wrapped me with empathy,

I still feel the wetness on my cheeks when those appeasing tears rolled down quietly rendering sympathy.”

I will carry this moment forever with me and fortunately none of our phones have a picture of us hugging a tree, for the picture is captured in our hearts and minds for eternity. This was one of the moments when none of us were bothered about clicking pictures, the exertion, the discomfort or how difficult it’s gonna get ahead with the increasing altitude. 

All of us simply lived that moment, effortlessly sulk into the comfortable silence and gasped the air of relief and solace. Some of us were in the awe of doing such unusual thing while a few of us had all the emotions woken up within.

Even after two months, sometimes I sit in quietude and relive this moment, feeling happy about the fact that during a trek, I made a very special friend who is also my secret bearer and I know that it will never be leaked to anyone.

So, now if you look at the picture again, you would find each of the tree to be a very special friend to the trekkers, who knows his/her deepest fears and secrets.

So this simple and grounded gesture was the happiest and most memorable one for me which taught me that when I want to run away from the chaos in life with traffic in mind, all I have to do is run to a tree, hug it tight and just let it all out.

Thanks to this I love trees more now and feel more responsible towards safeguarding the beautiful nature around me.” – Sonu Mehta

| Cheeselover Dog

“Kaley, such an amazing dog. I met him during KBC trek, when I had 2 days acclimatization in Dzongri. So we used to have breakfast, dinner, lunch in this tent. Our kitchen staff had loads of cheese and they were feeding us cheese day and night as they wanted to off load and I never liked cheese.

This furry companion somehow realised as I was holding this cheese paratha in hand, that I didn’t want to it. He entered the tent and looked at me and I took one nibble of paratha and showed him. He quickly ate it and the next whole paratha.

Whenever I see this picture I am thrown back to that enduring trek of KBC and how we live such bundle of tiny moments, not just with the trek mates but also with the animals. He also accompanied us till Dzongri top that night to see sunrise and Kanchendzonga.” – Mrunal Vaidya

| Dil Bhi Kahin Hai Pahadon Mein 

“We all have our reasons to get attracted to mountains, some like the elevation, the exhaustion, some like the snow capped peaks, while some just like to connect with nature. One thing that unites everybody  is how insignificant we feel, when infront of the mammoth structures.

We were enroute Hampta Pass from Balu ka Ghera, all we saw was snow, monochromatic scenery everywhere with occasional play of shadows and the cold wind.

I stood here, looking at the gigantic landmass, a few friends ahead of me, and the brilliant shadow cast by the range on my left. We had a long way to go, before the descent would start and we would be taken over by thoughts of going back to the monotone.

Standing here, with my jaws dropped, trying to imbibe the atmosphere and the view, was possibly the happiest moment I have been on the mountains.

This is where I realised how high we think of ourselves and how contradictory the reality is. 

Hope this manages to cheer some folks up.” – Suraj Bhakat

| Another Side Of My Daughter

“My 13 yr old was on her first trek to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Saheb in 2017. Every day, in every way, she surprised me with her willpower and tenacity. We did not give her any tips before the trip, as we wanted her to be one with her maiden experience without any spoilers. And boy, did she take to it like a fish to water!

As parents, we think we know our children well, but some moments give us a clearer insight to their personalities that they develop over time and experience. The contentment on her face after reaching the Hemkund Saheb knew no bounds. There will be many more treks that we would take up together or separately, but this image would remain my pride and joy.” – Shweta Mane

This just the beginning…

We have so many more beautiful stories shared by trekkers.  To read them, check out the rest of Happiest Trek Moment series!

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 continue 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.  🙂