We have completed the shakedown and now I am more excited, yet worried about the ten-day trek. The shakedown was a ten-mile loop close to the Hanifl Centre. As we started the trip everyone had high hopes knowing it would be a great first experience. We went on a very difficult and steep incline for the first half of the hike. Eventually we made it to the bottom of the valley where we took a lunch break for about an hour. We were able to eat lunch, fill our waters that we had to purify, and relax for a while. It felt so nice to lay down and take everything in as many of us are getting used to hiking in this environment. The difference in the styles of trails in part with the elevation creates a rough environment to try and adapt to. Anyways, as we continued after resting for a bit, we made it past the tree line and the valley began to open. We saw a lot of villages among the many ridges within the valley. They had amazing multi-colored buildings and a great community. As we continued hiking our guide, “G”, told us that we needed to find the camping spot for the night. This was an issue since we had no idea what would be best, especially for such a large group. We went past the campground that we were supposed to stay at and stumbled across a village. At this point the group had no idea what to do, until a farmer in the village approached us. With the help of G communicating for us, we were offered to set up our camp in a field by the farmer’s home. It was very high up on one of the ridges and the view was amazing. Something debatably more amazing was the villages temple. It was beautiful and sat on top of the village because as G said, “The villagers are to not be above their god.” We then began to cook dinner and wind down for the night. It was warm enough to where I could sleep outside under the stars, so I did just that. It was amazing and I soon dozed off because I was exhausted from the hike. The best of this came in the morning as I woke up naturally to the sunrise. I sat there on the edge of the farm and watched as the sun quickly rose over the valley. Soon after sunrise we headed home and enjoyed some lunch before relaxing for the rest of the night.

Pictures by: Lilly Moul

After experiencing the short trek, I am very excited to be surrounded by the ice capped mountains and enjoy quality time with the new friends I have made. On some of the lower elevations campsites I may be able to sleep outside again, and I will. I am also very excited about developing my many backpacking skills further, especially cooking. I think that creating great food on the trek will create a sense of motivation for others. I am going to try and hold myself to creatively think on how to make my dishes better. However, I do have some worries about the trek.

I am worried most about the distribution of weight as it is crucial to having a successful trek. If we can do this correctly, while staying organized it will save us many issues and headaches. Another thing I am worried about is hygiene on the trek. I was able to experience some pieces of it on the shakedown, but I need to get more comfortable with it. This will come with time though.

To conclude I am extremely excited about the ten-day trek, but also very nervous. However with the way this group is forming, I do not think we will have many issues that we can not solve.