Trekking is something that has always been on my bucket list. I always wanted to go trekking but was always skeptical to do so. This all changed when I went to Sandakphu Phalut, a trek offered by Indiahikes, and it was more of an experience than a journey. Located on the Indo-Nepal border, the trek started at an altitude of 6900 ft and the highest point was 11950 ft. We saw many sights, from the Sleeping Buddha to some of the smallest villages and towns in India. We experienced the hospitality of the locals and their way of living. We saw three different types of forest and some of the highest mountains and mountain ranges in the world. It was an experience that was a sort of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Learning outcome 1:

It was imperative for me to identify the strengths and weaknesses I possess so that I was able to better prepare for the trek ahead. For me to prepare, I was able to identify areas of improvement, and thus I was able to make a plan through which I was able to understand and plan my course of action. Not only this, but it also helped me identify on the trek what my pace should be and how I should go about the trail.

Learning Outcome 2:

The reason why the experience was challenging is that it was one of the toughest and hardest physical challenges that I had taken on. The reason why the experience was challenging was that it was one of the longest continuous physical activities that I had done and at certain points, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere was low. However, after the trek was over, a sense of accomplishment and joy took over my body and a sense of satisfaction were prominent by the end of it.

Learning Outcome 4:

It was important to show commitment to the trek because then and only then would I have been able to complete it. There were times while the trek was going on that were demoralizing, however, due to a growing commitment to complete the trek, I was able to find the motivation to go to the finish. It isn’t easy to commit to this but due to the growing desire to see the various sights and finish the goal, I was able to commit till the end of the trek.

Learning Outcome 5:

Even though the trek was a personal goal, it wouldn’t have been possible with the help of others around me. People tend to become more of a unit rather than individual on a trek where they start helping each other, tending to each other’s wounds and even planning how to go ahead and what route to choose. Not only this, working collaboratively brought everyone closer and helped everyone appreciate the whole trip.

Learning Outcome 7:

Even though I was on a trek, I still had to look into my actions and their impact on ethics. One reason is that we were going to villages where locals had minimal contact with the city. Due to this reason, we had to look at our behavior and take care of our actions not offending any of the locals. Not only this, even in the group, we had to take a look at our choices and make sure that they don’t cause any type of harm or distress to any of the members present in the group or even the group as a whole.

Evidence: