I was totally thrilled by the adventure that awaited me when we were well into the second day of our trip, travelling on a jeep to Chame. The view of the rolling hills there was amazing, to the say the least. It was nature at its best. We would stop the jeep every once in a while to take in the stunning view and congratulate ourselves for choosing to go there. We'd have to convince ourselves that it was just the beginning and the best was yet to be seen in order to go back to the jeep and continue our journey.We were not disappointed as we moved further. The gorgeous Lake Gangapurna awaited us in Manang as we reached there on the third day. Our next stop was Khangsar, where we reached after a three-hour hike. The next morning, as I opened my window, I couldn't believe my eyes: I could see the magnificent mountains right there. They were so close that I thought I could touch the snow just by stretching my hand. I felt so blessed.
It was the fourth day when we actually started trekking, and boy was it difficult! As we walked uphill, I could clearly hear my heart beat. I was so exhausted, all I could think of was my mom remarking why I was so keen on torturing myself when I'd told her of my trekking plans. The skeptic faces of my family members, asking me 'Can you really do it?' started dancing before my eyes.
I remember a point where we had to cross a trail where a major landslide had occurred. As we went forward to cross the steep, slanted, dreadful, one-foot-at-a-time trail, I was carefully watching every single step my friend Sachin, who was walking right ahead of me, took. It felt like a glorious achievement when we made past the risky trail, safe and sound.
The following days were challenging, too. There wasn't a single muscle in my body that didn't know pain, and waking up every single morning needed quite an effort. There were moments when I was absolutely hopeless about making it to our final destination. I would mostly brush aside these thoughts and set off on the adventure, but there was a time when I decided to give up. Five days into our journey, as I reluctantly woke up and followed my friends, there was zero energy in me. Not even a bit of enthusiasm. My legs refused to go any further. That's when I told my friend that I couldn't make it.
Shocked, he didn't say a word for a moment. Then he sat down on the cold snow, and mixed some oral rehydration solution (ORS) in the water bottle. He knew how much I hate ORS, but I was ready to do anything to refill my energy. He stared at me while I drank it as if it was hot chocolate. Then he spoke: "Do you know we're just couple of hours away from realizing that dream? Do you remember you carried my bag yesterday up to the Tilicho base camp? Chetna, you're stronger than me. Don't you hear Tilicho calling us? You don't need to walk fast, just walk in your pace. Pause if you must, but don't even dare think about taking stepping back."
I needed that push, and I was ready to go ahead. But we had a deal that the moment I felt my lungs wouldn't take it, we'd go back.
Further ahead, the warmth of the sun's rays gave me confidence. All of my fear just vanished, and I heard myself say, "I can do it." I was so ready to reach Tilicho at the height of 4800 meters.
I couldn't conceal the joy my heart felt when we were just couple of bends away from the Lake. I couldn't believe I had made it. Believe it or not, but I could hear Tilicho calling out my name. And when I finally saw her, I was totally stunned. I just stood there, motionless.
Every little thing around there overwhelmed me, and I broke down—my fears, the grief deep in my heart, my ways of lamenting over small things and self-loathe—everything broke down. That negative shell compounding me cracked, and I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks. They were tears of happiness. It took me sometime to make sense of what was going on. I stood there staring at her in disbelief like she was a fairy with a wand in her hand, asking me to ask for a wish.
I couldn't believe I was actually there. Tilicho felt like a dream until my friend poked me and said, "We made it." That's when I realized I was living my dream.
Chetna is a student of medical science, travel blogger, and co-founder at Thrillmytrip.
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