Nervous, yet elated. Frightened, yet optimistic. The feelings before my first trek revolved in my head in the form of this plethora of adjectives. The moment to foray into a different ‘A’dventure had arrived as I eagerly waited to get rid of the monotony in my life. Instead of opting for a beach holiday or some spa session in the backwaters somewhere in the South, I asserted to spend time amidst the mountains, around the nature.
Living in tents. Walking around the dense forests. Huge pine trees. Crossing the valley streams on the wood logs and ancient handmade bridges. Relishing the instantly cooked hot food served in the company of unknown people. Making new friends over meals. Cold winds gushing peacefulness. Getting clicked around the bonfire sessions. A hot cup of coffee around the bushes and water under the dark sky. Interacting with the local crowd.
Wowww! The greed of experiencing such fun was enough to lock in my first camp package: Hiking to the Hampta Pass.
And irrespective of no luxury benefits, this camp turned out to be the most memorable trip of my life. So far, at least!
The trek, initially, appeared like a cake walk. I was so sure about completing it with enthusiasm. But I forgot to calculate the probability of success as I was dealing with inner-overconfidence.
Here’s the list describing how hiking can alter someone’s life through its inbuilt ‘A’ quality:
- Hiking evades stress, unhappiness or any kind of mental trauma or depression. Once you enter this beautiful part of your trip, it pacifies your mind and aids in forgetting tension. It allows you to rediscover the missing adventure levels within yourself.
- Can you stay away from the online social buzz? Well, trekking tests that. It’s a zone where the random use of mobile is kind of prohibited except a few necessary calls. It keeps you totally aloof from the buzzing mobile phones. A suggestion: ditch chatting for some time if enjoyment is your plan.
- It analyses your fitness potency by challenging you; be it climbing steep slopes, walking for long hours, or carrying heavy backpacks. This physical exercise, amidst nature, is definitely the one that you would prefer rather than the one done in the closed walls of a gym. Immediate refreshment!
- Trekking assists in augmenting exploration skills. The hesitation in trying new things or inventing new places, the nervousness of traveling among unknown people, shying from communicating with people and much more becomes passé. It gives you a confidence of traveling alone and tests your motivation and achievement levels.
- A clandestine odyssey with a group of unknown people amid the mountains and streams. Sounds interesting, isn’t it? Multi-day treks give immense time to make friends and bond with local people over cuisine and culture. Besides, the bonfire session gives another moment of friendship.
- Completing a trek requires determination, not over-confidence. It’s essential not to take circumstances for granted. The fear of walking over the river bridges and tiredness while crossing the boulders are habitual. And this is when our willpower is examined.
- All these moments spent during the trek is summed up in the form of images captured. A collage of a particular trip should be made to remind yourself to book your next trip as soon as possible to create fresh memoirs again.
- Last, and most important. Trekking educates you to be alert as it involves strolling in the middle of a jungle, steep climbing, protecting yourself from the insects etc. Ignorance, in any manner, can be dangerous. So, it depends on how well you deal with such situations.
REMEMBER:
“It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.” – Edmund Hillary
