First Travel(An article for Shoshin Tribe)

Discovery of self and love for mountains

I come from a humble background, so traveling, documenting, and photography wasn't a big part of my childhood growing up. I've lived in Dehradun throughout my 20 years until my college life took me to Delhi. But in Doon, I was often out with my friends exploring new routes, trails, and mountains nearby. I've often bunked school to go to the unexplored treks near Doon like the Bhadraj Temple, George Everest trek, and other locations like Shikhar falls, Dalai Hills, and the supposedly haunted Lambi Dehar mountains.Back then, I didn't realize the importance of these places in my life. I used to go to these places to find my true self, inner satisfaction, and peace. It didn't take me long to figure out my true love for the mountains when I shifted to Delhi for college.I got so homesick that I couldn't concentrate in college. I dreamt of going back home just to visit the mountains once more. I was Homesick of the hills- I knew the mountains were my home. I got around 3000Rs to spend on college. I did internships, didn't eat out, cut down on luxuries, all to save for a trip to the mountains. Finally, my friends agreed to go with me to the Kheerganga trek in Himachal. We were a group of some 20 odd people being taken by a tour guide.The freshness was so pure to me I cannot put it in words. I stuck to the tour organizer and continuously tallied the map, learned about the history and transportation available nearby. I didn't have proper photography gear, so I carried my friend's one plus 7 to shoot and click pictures with of the people, architecture, landscapes, income sources, work, and much more. We arrived at Barshaini village and began our trek with two guides and the tour operator.Now I'm going to skip some details and keep the story as short as possible. Trekking up, we got separated into two groups. The first one had around 7 people and a guide. I decided to stay back and ensure everyone was moving together in the second group. Apparently, our guide was a novice and took us to a different route than the one taken up. We roamed around for 2 hours in circles near the starting point without making any progress.It was then he decided to head out and look for a route. He didn't make it back to us even after half an hour of wait. We had the tour operator with us, and he decided to move on without the guide. We were already a lot behind schedule, and people were moving very slowly. Reaching the top before sunset seemed like a dream come true at this point.The operator wasn't very seasoned at finding directions and made us lose our way 7-8 times more, only to switch our path and try to get to the top through a different route. By 6 p.m., we had almost 1/4th of our food left, very little water, and had severely run out of energy. As the sun went down, we felt a chill in our spines because now it dawned on us that we were in a forest with no cell signal; it was getting tough to see, and apparently, we were lost too. After the repeated effort to move forward, chanting hymns, bhajans, and songs, we felt going up was worthless. It was around 10 p.m., and we had no food and water left. Thankfully my experiences taught me to carry two flashlights, energy bars, and a compass with me. THose came very handily as we cut our way through the forest shouting for help.We moved Scouting our way forward, some of us crippling through the mud and bushes, unable to find the energy to get up. It was then when one of us accidentally saw a bee nest and threatened them. The cries for help changed into loud shouts as bees stung him and a few others. We ran with all the might we had through the mud, bushes, and thick forest fauna, hoping to outrun the intruders. We gave up. All of us were down on the forest floor, wondering what got us here, cussing at the guide who got us into this situation. We thought we wouldn't make it.Grasping for breath but still crying for help, we started moving again. A bright fluorescent light shone in our faces, almost blinding us, rather contrasting to the soft moonlight showing us our path.It was the guide with the other group! He had safely led the 7 people to the camp, and when we didn't make it, he alerted a few villagers who then we're out in the jungle to search for us. Our cries led him to us.Drinking some water he had on him felt like God wanted us to live. He was an angel in disguise. It was already 1 a.m., though, and the cold had become unbearable even with all the walking. We started moving again, with quite literally the last breath of life we had in us. Our last obstacle, for me, was the stairway to heaven.Giant steps that led to heaven, i.e., the tents and our camp called ice and fire. Somehow, with no life energy left in us, we reached the base, wet, dirty, injured, hungry, thirsty, and walking since 11 in the morning.This was my very first trek to any place where I would stay overnight. It was a frightening experience for sure. But the sense of responsibility, exposure, belonging, the true meaning of being alive that I got from it was unparalleled. I got a purpose in life to travel and make more such memories.Since that day, I've been traveling the mountains almost every other month. To live more such breathtaking experiences and add the color of other people's lives into mine!