My First Trek — Kareri Lake

It was my summer vacation, and we wanted to go somewhere special. My Papa and Ma planned a trek to Kareri Lake. I was so excited that I could not stop talking about it, because it was going to be my very first trek ever.

Before the trek, Papa said we had to make our legs strong. So every single day, Papa and I went for a 3 km run. Some days I did not want to run, but Papa said mountains do not wait for tired legs, so I ran anyway. We also packed all our trekking things for the three of us, and my bag felt very important on my back.

On 12th June, we started our journey by bus to Dharamshala. We reached early in the morning, and then a tempo traveller took us all the way to Kareri Village. There were so many other trekkers there. Everyone said hello to each other, and that is where I met my new friend Zayra. At around 1:00 PM, we started our trek. It was raining when we began, but I did not mind at all. I think rain makes an adventure even more exciting.

There were 23 people in our trekking group. And guess what, two dogs decided to come with us too! Zayra and I gave them names. We called the black one Dark Chocolate and the brown one Brownie. They walked with us like they were part of our team, and I felt like they were our special trek dogs.

It kept raining and raining while we walked. The jungle trail went up and up through big green trees, and everything smelled fresh and wet. After about 3 km, we came to a bridge and stopped for hot Maggi and tea. I was so hungry that the Maggi tasted like the best food in the whole world. I could hear a river singing somewhere close by.

Along the way I made another friend called Rhythm. He was really fun and he walked with me all the way up to the campsite. Papa and Ma were a little behind us, and Rhythm, Zayra, our trek guide Vicky Bhaiya and I walked in front like a little team of explorers.

Soon we came to a wooden bridge. It looked very, very scary! My legs felt a little shaky, but Vicky Bhaiya held my hand and helped me cross it safely. Dark Chocolate and Brownie did not cross the bridge and stayed behind. I felt a little sad, because I really thought they were our trekking friends now.

After walking a few more kilometres, we reached another bridge, this one made of metal. There were so many goats near it, and I decided the goats were very clever. Do you want to know why? I asked them three funny questions in Hindi. First I asked, “Hum dono mein se kaun bakri hai?” and they answered, “Maaaaa!” Then I asked, “Which month comes after April?” and again they said, “Maaaaa!” Then I asked, “Hum dono mein se kis ke poochh hai?” and once more they said, “Maaaaa!” Everybody started laughing, and I laughed the loudest of all.

The boulders were huge, and I had to use my hands and feet to climb over some of them. Vicky Bhaiya and Zayra stayed close to me the whole time, and I felt very brave.

Around 6:30 PM, we finally reached our campsite. I loved it so much. I quickly got comfortable and played and played with my new friends. It was the best feeling.

Then something surprising happened. When I took off my trekking shoes, my socks were full of blood! Ma got really worried because we did not know where all the blood came from. We checked very carefully, and we found two leeches. They had bitten both my legs. I was not scared at all. I was actually very curious, and I kept asking Papa so many questions. What is a leech? Why did I not feel it bite me? Why is there so much blood? It was the first time I had ever seen a leech, and I wanted to know everything about it.

At night it became completely dark, so dark that we needed our headlamps just to walk around. Before sleeping, Papa and I looked up at the sky. There were so many stars, more than I have ever seen at home. Papa showed me the Milky Way, and he taught me about lots of different constellations and how to find them. I love watching the stars with Papa the most. Then it was time to climb into my warm sleeping bag inside the tent.

I woke up early and saw so many birds all around our campsite. Papa took out his camera and started taking photographs, and of course I joined him. Papa and I both love watching birds and learning how they behave. We saw a Brown Dipper with its baby, a White-capped Redstart, a Plumbeous Redstart, and many other beautiful birds.

After breakfast, we started walking towards Kareri Lake. On the way we crossed a little stream checkpoint, and we saw many Himalayan Griffon Vultures flying high up in the sky. They were enormous! I told Papa they looked almost as big as me.

Higher up, the trees stopped and we could see a big white glacier on the mountain behind us. We stopped there to take photos. Ma and I did our special pose with our arms out wide, like we were flying over the mountains.

After walking about 2.5 km, we finally reached Kareri Lake. I really, really wanted to swim, but Ma and Papa said no because the water was freezing cold. So instead I took off my shoes and socks and put my feet in the icy water. It was so cold that my toes went numb, but I loved it. The view was the most amazing thing I had ever seen in my life. The snow mountains stood all around the lake.

We stayed at the lake for about an hour. We ate our packed lunch, and the whole group took a big photograph with the trek banner. I was the smallest trekker there, but I had walked every step myself.

On the way back we had to cross a river that comes from a glacier, so the water was super cold. Papa lifted me up so I could cross safely over the slippery stones. But then something happened very fast. Papa’s foot slipped, and both of us fell right into the freezing river!

The water was so cold that I got a big surprise. Papa’s camera fell into the river with us too, and I thought it was broken forever. But we were both okay. Papa only got a small scratch on his right hand. And the best part is, the camera was completely fine and worked perfectly after that. I was so happy. That day I learnt something important. We should always be careful near rivers, and we should never let electronic things touch the water.

Our clothes and shoes were fully wet, but we still finished the walk back to camp in our wet clothes. In the evening we all played Dobble, a super fun card game. I played with all the grown ups and we laughed so much. It was one of my favourite evenings of the whole trek.

It was time to say goodbye to the mountains, and I did not want to leave. In the morning I sat by the stream near our campsite for a long time, just listening to the water. Ma came and sat with me, and we did not even need to talk.

After breakfast, everyone got a certificate for finishing the Kareri Lake Trek. I felt so proud, because I had really done my very first trek all by myself. Then I sat with Zayra and Vicky Bhaiya on a big rock and we posed for one last photo together. My trek friends were the best.

Soon it was time to go down. After we crossed the Goat Village, it started raining again, so everyone quickly put on their ponchos. We also had to cross the same scary wooden bridge one more time. But this time I was much braver, because I already knew I could do it. I even stopped for a photo near the colourful prayer flags.

While walking down, I saw so many beautiful things I had missed while going up. The mountains looked even bigger from this side. The waterfalls looked like magic falling down the rocks. The river sparkled as it rushed through the valley. The forest had so many different greens, and little wildflowers grew right beside the path. And I could hear birds singing everywhere.

I understood something on the way down. Trekking is not only about reaching the top. It is also about enjoying everything around you, like the mountains, rivers, waterfalls, birds, forests, fresh air, and all the little surprises that nature gives you.

At around 1:30 PM, we finished our trek and everyone celebrated together. At the hotel I changed into dry clothes, and then I played chess and table tennis with the bhaiyas who were staying there. I won some games and lost some, but every single one was fun while we waited for our bus.

In the evening we got on our bus to go back to Delhi. I looked out of the window for a long time and kept thinking about the mountains and all my adventures from the last three days.