Recently, I took an unforgettable trek with my buddies to Kedarkantha trek. It was a thrilling trip that completely transformed my outlook on life in general. We were four friends who decided to use the full potential of the final year of college as well as our Christmas break, and before we knew it, the plan was fully formed. The trip was split over ten days. We left in the early morning hours for a flight towards Dehra-Dun, where we met our trek group. We joined the famous trekking group known for its outdoor activities along with nature-based trails. It was a group of 20 people who'd never met before joined together as one big family.
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The trek began with a steep climb up to the first camp. Nature beckoned us, and we felt at one of the mountain ranges. The path we took on our first day was a grassy one and offered stunning views. Our guide and leader explained the different Himalayan peaks and the myths that go with these mountains.
As we arrived at the basecamp for our first day after 5 hours of strenuous walking, we found warm "Chai" waiting for us as well as sandwiches that the porters prepared for us. The campsite was situated on snow that was cold and was barely 5 feet in depth. The evening's sunset was awe-inspiring; the first time in my life I'd seen an ethereal, clear sky with shooting stars. In the evening, the temperature dropped to -2°C, and we all froze. We put on four layers of clothes, but yet the cold wind gave us chills.
The summit day was the toughest because we climbed the KedarKantha trekking trip summit at 12,500 feet before returning to our base camp. We left just before the break of dawn to witness morning light from the summit of our mountain. The climb was challenging and exhausting, and our guide and other guides have continually inspired us. At the top of the climb, my body was ready to give to fatigue; however, the drive to keep going and achieve the feat took me by surprise. The stunning mountain drop capped with white, fresh snow solely walked on by our footprints provided me with an opportunity to recount my story for the rest of my life. There was nothing but a single human in the vicinity for at least 50 kilometers.
Then I could finally see the summit ahead of me. My four companions and I were pushing one another up the mountain, and in the last few minutes of the hike, we were also motivated and helped each other climb to the summit of the Kedarkantha mountain. The views from the summit were undoubtedly worth the effort we faced in the last several days. Training for hours for this trek and dealing with the harsh weather conditions all worked. We spent about an hour at the top taking photos and reliving the memories from this trek before returning to our camp. I'm sure that this was the most memorable excursion of my life. My family and I have become so close after this experience as I gained a new perspective on how I'm just an atom in the vast universe.