I recently completed the Sar Pass trek at Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh. Trek enthusiasts know how spectacular this area is and the amazing experiences it offers when you venture into the woods and climb up the mountains. However, some of the not-so-keen may wonder, what is the point of going through arduous days to just get some nice views?
After experiencing this fantastic adventure, I might be able to shed some light on why you should consider trekking too.
The company of nature and solitude
Needless to say, the mountains are a huge contrast to a Metropolis. As soon as you reach the place you enjoy the peace and quiet. But once you settle down, you notice that it is not just quiet and serene but start to appreciate the sounds of uninterrupted nature. Some are subtle like the gushing winds, tweeting birds, and the changing sounds of your steps with the changing terrain. Some are not-so-subtle like the raging Parvati river with fresh water from the melting glaciers. For me, the change of scenery alone is so therapeutic.
When you go on group treks, you generally meet like-minded people. You get to exchange experiences and sometimes make genuine connections. I love listening to people’s stories, especially when they come from different walks of life. It not only improves the quality of the trek but also broadens your perspective. But what’s more important is the individual experience.
When you trek through steep slopes, every now and then, you pause to catch your breath, take in the views, and see how far you have covered. At the end of the day’s trek, you throw out your rucksack into the tent and maybe find yourself a nice spot to sit down, relax and just stare at the views. It makes you feel as if time has stood still. Perhaps during sunset, you gaze into the orange tint on the horizon, the slow-moving clouds, and the fading gradient shades on the mountains in front of you.
Or perhaps, you sit down under the clear night sky and stare at stars that are light-years away. These moments—where you are present with nothing else running through your mind—are what I like to call moments of silence. These are moments when you feel weightless as you don’t think about what lies ahead or in the past. You realize you are merely a minuscule part of nature. It is truly humbling, so you remember to not take yourself seriously and just live in the moment. These very moments are as close as I have gotten to a spiritual experience.
The thrill of adventure and the lasting effects
Adventure for me is the one of best ways to stay young. And not just physically. When you brave through the hard climbs, the narrow ridges, slippery ground, and the rough weather to those pristine places, it is exhilarating. Adventure also makes you realize how fragile life is. There’s always risk involved after all. It feels like a personal victory because you made it there on your own feet. You are treated to spectacular views that leave you awestruck. This is when you awaken your inner child and think about the world in wonder.
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| Two furry friends who trekked with us all the way |
In this hyper-connected world, where everything is delivered to your doorstep and even hill stations are commercialized, for you to trek into whatever is left of remote and untouched pockets of heaven, will set you apart. The richness of what you feel in these adventures is tough to match. You have to really be there to truly understand the thrill and exhilaration. By the end of it, although your body might be exhausted, your mind hits refresh. Adventures give you personal lifts. I try to channel this into my life when I eventually get back to my normal routine. Having both your body and mind feeling young is key to the quality of life. It leaves you open to new experiences and always ready to learn. As far as I have learnt, this is a great way to keep moving towards success, however you define it for yourself.
Growing your resilience
When I leave the comfort of my bed, I realize how dependent I am of it. We tend to make our everyday routines as comfortable as possible. This limits our capabilities both physically and mentally. We get so accustomed to our urban lifestyle that we expect to get everything we want with just a tap on our smartphones. Trekking demands more of you. More of you to physically get yourself moving and mentally tell yourself to keep going. When you are going on a trek spanning days, like the one I recently did, you leave behind homely comforts and make do with whatever you have. It pushes your limits in more ways than just your fitness levels. It might sound unnecessarily tedious as you read this, but if you’re the adventurous type, it is exciting and also empowering because you can be independent of your material comforts, at least for a short while. What makes it easier is seeing the people who actually live there.
What is adventure, for someone like me, is just normal life for the people in the mountains. These people effortlessly make their way up and down steep and slippery terrain regularly, carrying heavy loads on their backs. What’s more, they manage to do it with nonchalance. These very people crossed us during our trek loaded with heavy luggage, which they unpacked to set up shop for us when we arrived at the rest stop. By the time we hobbled up till there, they had their stove and cylinder fired up, ready to serve us with delicious chai, Maggi, and much more. And these were not just young folk. Most of them were middle-aged.
Looking at
people like them, I realize that there is so much that human beings are capable
of. In our competitive academic and corporate worlds, intellectual aspects
are more often highlighted. But out in the wild, it’s also the physical
perseverance that counts. There’s no denying that you need basic physical fitness
to be capable of making the journey on foot. But it all comes down to your
mindset. If you can find it in yourself to accept the natural discomforts and recognize
that you are more than equipped to deal with them, all that is left is to enjoy
the experience. After all, our biology hasn't changed since our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
You will be surprised by your capabilities when you push yourself. This is a truth that stands for many other facets of life too. But during this adventure, I along with two fellow trekkers did what none of us could’ve imagined we would do.
Our group started the day at 3 am from Camp Nagaru. We had to climb 1500 feet through slippery ice, rock-solid snow, and downright scary paths on the way to the summit. The trail had frozen overnight, so we were barely able to place our feet and get a grip even to stand upright at some stretches. To our right was a massive drop. How massive? Well, we were climbing a mountain at around 13000 feet, so you can imagine. No one even dared to peek down from that mountain slope. Since the trail was narrow, we were climbing in a straight line. So even seeing someone in front of you slip was scary. We continued to climb carefully with bated breath on each step. The decreasing oxygen levels didn’t help either. So cautious steps with deep rhythmic breaths were the way to go. As we inched closer to the summit, I decided to just make a run for it through the fresh snow to reach the top. Once I started, I knew I couldn’t stop till I reached the top. Or else, I would just slide down. So, I composed myself and went for it. A few seconds later, I was at the summit. The sun was up, and it was as bright as it could get with the fresh snow reflecting the sunlight. We greeted each other with high fives and clicked a lot of photos walking and running around the summit. The views were absolutely magical! We could see the Shivalik range in all its glory along with the Parvati glacier which looked like a massive ice tabletop between mountain peaks. We had done it. The hard part was over. Or so we thought.
From there on, we trekked through the snow-filled pass on mountain slopes for around 5 km and began our descent with an adrenaline-filled joyride—sliding down fast for around 400-500 feet down the snow. After recovering from that rush, we continued the descent through open meadows and bushes, with wet clothes from the slide. After lunch and chai breaks along the way, it was almost 4 pm when we reached Camp Bishkeri. At this point, my elder brother-in-law with whom I had come on this trip, was suffering from a bit of mountain sickness and the hard schedules we were on. He decided he had had enough of the camping life. The two of us found company in another veteran trekker in our group who was happy to accompany and guide us down the trail. Although we were exhausted, we “wisely” decided to continue the descent to reach the closest village, and take a cab to the base. This was when another adventure was about to begin.
We were still hours away from civilization. So, the guides warned us against it saying that it would be quite unlikely that we would complete the trek before dark, especially with almost-lifeless legs. Predictably, we were not even halfway through our trek back to the village at sun-down. But what was not planned was us getting utterly lost. The trail we were following hit a dead end. We reached the edge of a cliff with no other trail in sight. The only possible way was to walk into the dense forest beside the cliff and try to find another way. Our seasoned trekker led the way. I was perplexed by the pace he was going on, while the two of us were struggling to keep up. We were running out of time and barely managing to bend our knees. What’s more, we ran out of drinking water! This is probably when I experienced what some might call “Second Wind”. Fear was setting in, not knowing what was lurking in the woods as it had reached nightfall. Desperate to make some ground and reach our destination, I almost numbed out the pain and got some momentum, albeit nowhere as fast as fresh legs. My brother got going too. We had nervous laughs at the expense of our misery, turned on our head torches, and carried on. We jumped over streams (where we finally quenched our thirst), fallen trees, slid down loose soil, and large boulders. The dark woods seemed to be going on forever. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached the village and managed to get ourselves a cab. It was truly a “Far Cry/Man vs wild”-like experience. It was such a contrasting scene when we reached safe ground, that we were laughing in disbelief thinking about what we had just done! An hour back, we were only thinking of survival. Our bodies, no matter how exhausted they were, had to continue to move. There was simply no other choice. Oh, and did I mention? We had our rucksacks on, weighing 7-8 kilos, all this time.
Now, I strongly discourage anyone from venturing out into unknown terrain without a guide, simply because it’s plain dangerous. We probably got lucky as it did not rain that evening though it was very likely. I can’t imagine what we would’ve gone through if it had started pouring. But thinking back, it is fascinating what we are really capable of doing when we are pushed beyond our rational limits. We were certainly not the fittest trio as well. My brother that day remarked, “I come from a lifestyle where I sometimes sleep at 2 am and definitely not rise at that hour.” So, if someone said we had to reach 13800 feet from Camp Nagaru and descend to 7250 feet to Phulga village, all in a single day’s trek which lasted about 14 hours, we probably would’ve thought it was impossible for us.
This is why I most certainly believe that going on treks makes me more resilient. I move away from my material comforts, place myself in rough terrain, and sometimes even rough weather. Sharing a tent with other trekkers, using ice-cold water for everyday needs, and being ready to go in the chilly dawn might all sound too uncomfortable. But if you accept it without much struggle, and go on to enjoy being in the wilderness, you are resilient. When you enjoy the trek despite these hard things, and finally complete that last step, you can’t help but feel accomplished and empowered.
Here's a shout-out and kudos to our trekking veteran, Mr. Shah Jahan and my brother, Sunil, with whom I had that crazy adventure in the dark and dense woods. I don’t think any of us will ever forget that day. It was without a doubt the most adventurous day of my life.
With this, I have given you three solid reasons why you should go trekking. It is definitely not for everyone. But if you can find the courage and adventure in you to try, it just might change your outlook on life. Start small to see if it is your cup of tea and work yourself up gradually to longer and tougher treks.
If at all
you do decide to venture out into the wild, feel free to give me a call!
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