It was another normal day in office, when my college friend called me to check about my plans during upcoming holidays. I had no clue what I am going to do. He proposed to do a trek in Himachal Pradesh. I had never heard of such trek in past. He proposed to plan a week long trek to Shrikhand Manadev, which is a pilgrimage but can be a challenging trek as well. The word 'challenge' always creates some sort of excitement for me, but this time I was not sure if I want to commit for this trek or not. I asked for more time to decide.
Next morning I got another call from Vikas's brother, who also keen on going for this trek. He simply asked the time that suits me and we shall accordingly. I had no words or excuses to delay the decision. Now that I had committed to join them for Shrikhand Manahdev trek, I had no other option but to get prepared for one of the most difficult treks in Himalayas.
For some week I was ignorant about the fact that I would be trekking 40+ kilometers at the altitude of 17000+ feet. As the date was coming closer, I was getting nervous. I had done some 1-2 day treks in Himachal but those were easily manageable. For a long time I have been staying in Delhi and I was not confident about my stamina. My lifestyle made me most uncomfortable about the fact that I might not be able to walk for such a long distance, that too with steep inclination.
Anyways the journey started from Delhi. We were four folks, all working in IT companies in national capital region of India. We were driving in a car and things were all good till the time we hit Jaon village, which is base camp of Shrikhand Manahdev. This was first time, when I actually realized that I am going to trek for next few days and will be around hills surrounded by clouds. That's what I always love to do, then why I was worried about it.
'Fear' makes you look at the things which are probable and risky. It forces you to think & rethink about the negative facts or probable events. And suddenly there a switch happens from 'fear' to 'courage'. 'Courage' defines things in very different way. It makes you think that you want to do something then why are you worried about the failures. Just move on and experience what happens. Even if you fail, you wouldn't have regret that you didn't give it a try and also gain experience to succeed next time. It's not as simple to explain in words but moving out of a fear is a great feeling and suddenly start feeling very happy about everything that happens. And if you succeed, the sense of achievement is unmatchable.
This switch happened at the base camp when I saw trekkers of different age groups who had come from different parts of the country and a few from other countries.
The night spent on bonfire, discussing various various trekking experiences was quite encouraging and fun. And this journey continued with lot of experiences, good and bad. Such experiences teach you a lot, which can't be gained without rising above the fear and doing what your heart says.
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