I’ve heard a lot of people say how fun treks were which made me want to try them too. While considering what trek to take as a first timer I came across some pictures of chadar trek and decided I had to do this. A lot of people warned me against it...my parents weren’t very supportive of it knowing how much of an issue cold temperatures are for me but I had made up my mind to take this leap of faith. Excitement overpowered all the anxiety and I didn’t know how to feel until I reached Leh. Stepping out on Leh airport I could finally feel all the anxiety take over but I knew I had to keep a strong mind. The acclimatisation didn’t go very well for me but clearing the basic medical tests got me some confidence. I started the trek with people none of who were first timers so I did get a lot of support from them which made things a tad bit easy. While trekking a lot of obstacles came in the ice creaking under our feet, walking through ice cold water, slipping on the chadar, mountain climbing and then came the very cold nights (-23 to -30 degree Celsius) where not even bonfires helped but the desire to complete the trek and reach the summit was so much more than all of this. Eventually with a lot of spontaneous changes in the itinerary (which involved trekking for 11 hours a day)we were able to reach the summit and the feeling of accomplishing the first half of my trek struck in and I was left bewildered at the sight of the surrounding. The return journey was equally challenging but I made it through with a lot of help from the fellow trekkers. And now here I am 6 months after my first trek ever all set to plan the next one.
