My Happiest Trek Moment – Personal Stories of Love, Awe And Humour - Part I

Share this story

My Happiest Trek Moment – Personal Stories of Love, Awe And Humour - Part I

Category My Happiest Trek Moment Trekker Space

By Swathi Chatrapathy

2020-04-24

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!

| That moment when she said “yes” 🙂

“The happiest moment during my most recent trek was proposing to my long time girlfriend. I had been living in the US for a year while she was in India. After a long struggle due to the caste difference, our parents had finally agreed to our union. I came back during the summer break to celebrate and we took our first trip together to Hampta pass via Indiahikes.

As an avid mountain lover, I had been going on treks since I was a teenager. I wanted my girlfriend to experience the same thrill. And by the 4th day she was just as mesmerized and in love with the mountains as I was. It was like she was made for adventure. Looking at the fearless and untiring way she carried herself, I fell even more deeply in love with her.

So I decided to propose one morning before we set out for the day’s trek. I had bought an engagement ring a few months before just waiting for the perfect moment. What better place than the mountains with stunning views all around to do such a thing? I took her aside, confessed my love for her and got on one knee to propose. My heart was beating wildly waiting for her response. When she got excited and said yes, it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I will forever remember this trek and that day. Thanks to Indiahikes for such an amazing experience.” – Jay Sandesara

That moment when she said yes is the happiest moment of my life - says Jay Sandesara, a trekker who shared this heartfelt moment with us.

| A journey and an adventure I won’t ever forget.

“The happiest trek moment of my life was at the summit of Chandrashila.

The trail from Chopta was covered with snow. There was something beautiful about walking on the snow and at the same time it was an adventure. I was afraid. I was deeply unsure of my own feet, barely trusting them. Still, I loved it, withstanding the challenges I had.

Because that hike involved tons of fun, frolic, rhododendrons and breathtaking views. It was like a fantasy. I felt so special. And it’s something I would cherish for life.

There’s blue..there’s green..there’s pink..there’s white.. there’s this melange of different hues that left me enchanted. Once you open your eyes to the beauty, peace and serenity of nature, you are hooked. You can’t unsee it, you can’t escape it and you can’t live without it. For me, I was taken, taken for sure, thankfully.

Once we reached the summit, I couldn’t have been happier. We spent some tranquil moments at the summit. Our trek leader asked all of us to close our eyes and just be there in the moment and to feel it. It was a moment to be treasured. I exactly can’t describe that feeling of ecstasy in words. But I can quote a dialogue from one of my favourite movies.

Trekking for me became like a mediation.

Insaan ko apni ek ek saans ka ehsaas, ek ek pal ka ehsaas hota hai. Just imagine agar hum apni saari zindagi aise hi jee sakte.

To be more precise climbing the summit made me happier. I discovered a strength, I did not even know I had. I fell in love with the journey. The journey which was an adventure in itself has became my home now.

And that’s how I also fell in love with the mountains and this life.” – Bhagwati Lakhwani

Trekking in the blazing trail of rhododendrons is an experience that makes you fall in love with the Bhagwati Lakhwani

| How little we are compared to mother nature!

“The trek was Lamkhaga pass, June,2019. We crossed this trek from Harshil to Chitkul. The picture was taken when just crossed the pass. This was the hang on situation. I felt, we are too little than our Maa (nature). Took a breath and walking.” – Prakashendu Mondal

This picture clearly justifies the trekkers thought - we are very little compared to the mother nature. Picture shared by Prakashendu Mondal

| Chasing the Milky Way

“I would like to share my best trek moment with you which i had experienced while trekking in the beautiful green meadows of Roopkund.

My trek was in may 2018 which i had successfully completed with a group of friends from college. It was a wonderful experience with Indiahikes.

The trek moment goes like this.

It was 11:30 at night, me and Atish (trek friend😁) were hunting for a milkyway at patar-nachauni campsite. Other trek mates were Playing antakshari in the dinning tent, so we both were alone 😅.

We had failed to find the milkyway while at previous campsite bedni , so we were hoping to see one at patar-nachauni. We were ready with our camera shutters and finally after few minutes as soon as the clouds disappeared i saw a Majestic milky way for the first time in my life and i was literally dancing after seeing it. This moment made me very cheerful and this experience was a cherry on the cake.

It was my happiest trek moment i have had while trekking.” – Rushiraj Dev

Nature knows how to surprise you when you are least expecting it. Picture shared by Rushiraj Dev

| That moment when the sun painted the mountains red and orange

“It was on a cold and windy morning on the 4th of March at Sandakphu that I had my happiest trek moment. My team had reached Sandakphu on the previous day and camped at Aahl, 20 minutes from the highest point in West Bengal, for the night. James, my trekmate, and I woke up early the following morning to catch the first rays of the sun hitting the Sleeping Buddha. Thankfully, the skies were clear and there was not a cloud in sight.

We started our trek to Sandakphu by ourselves since our guide, Nima da, was waiting for the others to join. We lost our way and had to wait for him to join us. A few minutes later, the event that we had climbed 5000 ft in 3 days for unfolded in front of our eyes in real time. The Kanchenjunga was the first to be lit followed closely by Kabru and Kumbakarna. Over the next few minutes the entire range was coloured orange before slowly returning to the bluish-white of ice. Those few minutes of the sun painting the mountains with red-orange hues while I stood on fresh snow hundreds of kilometers away, still brings a smile to my face.” – K. Prahlad Narasimhan

Alpen glow on the snow-clad mountains during golden hours has the power to make anyone go week on their knees. Picture shared by K. Prahlad Narasimhan

| A moment of eternal bliss

“I had been to the Kedarkanta trek this winter and my legs had been sore due to wet sock and had rashes in and around my thighs, had difficulty in climbing yet managed to summit as the first member of the group'' - Samarth KS

The sense of achievement you get after a difficult summit climb is unparalled. Picture shared by Samarth KS

| Nature’s perfect photo frame

“Even though I was a first-time trekker, I adventured to test my endurance in snow for the Dayara Bugyal trek during Christmas this December 2019. With the sole purpose of landscape & astro photography in mind through some snowy adventure, I packed a ton of my photography gear and was eager to go all out for some serious compositions in the lap of nature. I couldn’t wait to test my skills which, I have been developing through self-learning over the years.

This was on Day 2 of the trek from Nyata to Chilpada after an arduous ascent. As luck would have it, the weather was clear and to my delight, it was the most ideal setting I could have imagined as I waded through snow towards the edge of the mountain at the golden hour seeing the snow clad peaks through this perfect photoframe of nature. Through my entire journey and even till date, I have been reminiscing that one picture, which I thought, was well worth the travel of 5 days. While I captured some of my best landscape and astro photos during this trip, this one remains closest to my heart.

PS : I was looking forward to more treks with IndiaHikes but this pandemic has become an impediment for now. But I know for sure, even having started at the age of 48, you have awakened the trekker in me and I’m eagerly waiting for treks to open up. Till then, cheers to you and IH team !” – Namish Gulati

Not just the summit, when the campsites on a trek also offers such stunning views! Photo shared by Namish Gulati

| My learnings from the Mountains

“One fine day last year, I had decided to go on a trek to the Himalayas, considering my love for the mountains.

For those of you who know me, know that I’m the laziest person – EVER. However, my love for the mountains had overpowered my laziness and nothing could change my decision.

They say mountains teach us. Though I wasn’t very sure about what we would learn from the mountains, I wanted to experience the very same thing. I have this habit of trusting my own experiences over someone else’s.

When I booked for the trek, I thought I can easily complete it and that the terrain would be flat. But, I was wrong. It was a climb.

I believe we can never be fully prepared for anything in life, because, yes, life’s unpredictable. I always put myself into situations that I have no prior experience on and then learn my way through it all (also, an excuse for not doing enough homework about my trek)

The first three days of my trek was a climb, and I was gasping for breath through the entire climb. I thought to myself, why do I have to go through this to see the Himalayas?

You see, we never get to experience anything magical in life unless we are willing to work really hard for it. And through our journey, we learn about our strengths and weaknesses.

This is what the mountains had taught me. I learned to train my brain that I can withstand the climb and that I WILL and I CAN complete it and guess what? I did. I know I’m making it sound like Sandakphu trek is really hard, but hey, I’m lazy, remember? It’s was a big deal for me.

Learning from mountains is not sitting in front of them and thinking through life. You learn from the mountains through the “climb.”

I kind of know my abilities now, not completely but yes, I’ve taken all the learnings I can and I will learn more through another experience

I always told myself that human beings can do anything and everything in life, if they really are willing to work hard for and that there is absolutely nothing that we cannot do. I guess I was right.” – Harikamini Nanduri

You don't always have to go on a himalayan trek, even the local treks have the power to transform you. Photo shared by Harikamini Nanduri

| The happiest moment for a 6.5 year old and her parents 🙂

“I should probably call this as my daughter’s happiest trek moment. It was in 2017 that we brought our daughter for her first Himalayan trek to Kedarkantha.

While I and my husband were pretty used to snow having trekked before, for my daughter who was of 6.5 years, it was the biggest event.

The day before we did the summit it was raining heavily so we were greeted by snow all around during summit climb.

At one place where we were resting, my daughter had the fun of her life making up a snowman. On some of the rocks, water had frozen into icicles and she broke them off – ate half of it calling it super tasty and used the other half as the snowman’s snout.

A pretty pair of lavender coloured flowers which had escaped the freeze became the snowman’s coronet. So much of fun and joy for a 6.5 year old girl.” – Padmini Nanjundaswamy

When in snow! Photo shared by Padmini Nanjundaswamy

| Running into Kedarkantha’s Bob Marley

“I was doing Kedarkantha trek for second time as first time I volunteered IIM Indore batch so was busy with organising team. So I thought let’s do it again for myself. So reached KK peak and quitely enjoying the moments. Not thinking about past or worried about future. While taking pictures from mobile thought listening to some good music. Opened music library and start to choose best suitable song. Just saw Here I Am This Is Me being Bryan Adams and started listening and enjoying the view.

Meantime trek helper Subhash approached me and asked to play again. Suddenly I saw him and could imagine he looks so close to Bob Marely. I even mentioned him same. Then we both listened to couple of songs even Bob Marely songs also. We were last people to leave the peak. So whenever I hear same songs I repeat the story to everyone what happened at KK peak.” – Manjeet Vader

The bonds that you share on a trek with total strangers are the one to cherish. Trekking always brings people together. Photo shared by Manjeet Vader

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.  🙂

Swathi Chatrapathy

Chief Editor

About the author

Swathi Chatrapathy heads the digital content team at Indiahikes. She is also the face behind India's popular trekking video channel, Trek With Swathi. Unknown to many, Swathi also writes a weekly column at Indiahikes which has more than 100,000 followers.

A TEDx speaker and a frequent guest at other events, Swathi is a much sought after resource for her expertise in digital content.

Before joining Indiahikes, Swathi worked as a reporter and sub-editor at a daily newspaper. She holds a Masters's in Digital Journalism and continues to contribute to publications. Trekking, to her, is a sport that liberates the mind more than anything else. Through trekking, Swathi hopes to bring about a profound impact on a person's mind, body and spirit.

Related Videos

How My Experience Was Trekking In India For The First Time 

Why Silky's Indiahikes experience was beyond the views of Sandakphu

My First Trek Experience With Indiahikes to Valley Of Flowers