From a Students diary

The Trip Started on Monday, June, 2015. We had to leave for Manali by 4:30 pm but one of the tires of the bus got punctured and we got late by an hour and left at 5:30pm. On the way we listened to songs and chattered a lot. Some of us slept in the evening but around 10pm everybody woke up and we stopped for dinner at a dhaba. There we had some food and got back to the bus. After sometime we reached the hills and we feared that someone would puke on the way to Manali because one of us had motion sickness. Fortunately everyone slept peacefully. In the morning the bus stopped at another dhaba for breakfast and we had tea and paranthas. We enjoyed having them because they were quite tasty and we were hungry too. After one hour or so we reached Manali and got down from the bus. Three taxis were already waiting for us to take us further to the camps. As soon as we reached the camps, we kept our bags inside the camps and had lunch. After the lunch we had to leave for a small trek of about 5 km. It seemed to be really tough and it even was but we completed it. When we were back we got to know that it was just a trial for the next day and we had to go on a trek of 9.6 km up and 9.6 km down the next day ( A total of 19.2 kms in two days).

In the evening we got time to do any activity we wanted. Some of us started painting and one of our teachers wrote a poetry sitting near the beautiful hills. I chose to do some photography because I really enjoy doing it. Bikats issued me their camera and I used it for half an hour. Then we had some soup and after an hour we had our dinner.

We were issued bags for trekking and were told that we will have to stay up there itself after the 9.6 km trek of about 3000 feet above from there. We packed our bags and slept. The next morning we had to get ready and move for the trek .We got chocolates and frooti packs for the trek and after some briefing we moved on. In the beginning everyone was quite energetic but slowly and slowly most of us got too tired. All those who were still not tired, helped others and motivated them to keep going and not stop. Luckily I was among the helpers. We had to wait a lot for those who were moving slowly and after a trek of about 6 hours we reached there on the top. I, Jai, Deepen and AdIti were the first to reach there along with Shruti Ma’am.

After reaching there, we got squash to re-energize ourselves. It started raining and didn’t stop the whole night. In the evening we had tea and in the night we had our Dinner. After dinner we were called up for hot-chocolate as it was too cold, about 2 degrees Celsius out there. We even had a session on survival in the jungle if we were lost which only few of us had the energy left to attend.

In the morning at 3:30 am all of us in my camp woke up due to some noise outside the camp. We went out and saw that there were more than 200 sheep out there. Slowly and slowly everyone woke up and we had tea and breakfast and sat around a bonfire which was lit by dry wood collected by our group itself.

Then we started our trek downwards and it was even more difficult than the trek upwards because due to the rain during the night the mud was wet and it was really very slippery. Many of us had fallen down many times on the way. We were told that if we reached the camp by 12:30pm, we would be able to do the river rafting. This even gave us more motivation to move quickly. We reached the camp by 11:30am, much before the expected time and we were told that it was a record breaking timing.Hoorah!!!

We went for river rafting and it was really the most enjoyable experience during the whole trip .In the evening we played a few games and were divided into two teams. The result of the games was a tie and then we had some soup. After some time, dinner was served .The next day we had to go for rock climbing but due to rain in the morning it wasn’t possible to do it so we went for river crossing and rappelling. It was also a 5 km away site. .Although we were too tired after so much trekking we managed to reach there .Everyone did the activities and we were also told about the instruments used in these activities.

On the way back, it continuously rained and we all got wet. After reaching back we changed clothes and got ready for another activity. We were given chocolate to reenenergize. Half of it was to be eaten and told why we appreciate ourselves and gift ourselves that chocolates and the other half was to be gifted to that person who helped us during that trip. I got about half chocolates from 3 friends and I felt really good on the appreciation of the effort I made to help others. I ate 2 full chocolates instead of 1.

Then the trip organizer took our feedback and also asked us about what qualities we learnt from this trip and would like to retain these qualities in future.

Back home journey…

Then we sat into taxis with our bags and went to the bus stop .From there we caught our bus. On the Way we listened to music and gossiped all the way. In the night we stopped at a dhaba going against the advice of Bikats. No one liked the food there and we took some bananas and some cucumbers from outside and shared them amongst ourselves.

After few minutes we slept and when we woke up we were already in Delhi. As the bus stopped, we changed our bus and reached the school. Our parents were waiting there and we met them. We were greeted by the school principal and she enquired about our experiences and took feedback from the teachers and bikats.

Though it was a very hectic trip but it helped us learn a lot about life. We realized the need of team spirit during the whole trip.

It was really a good experience and I enjoyed it a lot.