We are now back at the Hanifl Centre after the 10-day trek. Here are my thoughts, learnings, and experiences. After WAFA, we had a day to prepare the trekking gear and all the necessary foods. We divided the food items between the cooking groups for the 10 days. Our bags included: a sleeping bag, basic clothing, food & water, and other small personal items. Each bag was around 45-55 lbs. Early morning on the 13th, we left Hanifl to head to our destination of Khanyasani. We got there around 5 pm, so we camped there. The morning of the 14th after breakfast, we left in 2 teams. It was a sunny day, so heat was a big problem throughout. Around 3 pm, we found our campsite. Day 2 was a lot of uphill on a rocky surface. I learned that our bodies can do way more than we think. I was walking uphill with a 50-55 lb backpack, and I was struggling at times but with little rest in between we made it to a campsite in the middle of a forest. The campsite was filled with horses. It was a beautiful and big campsite. Day 3 was our first rest day after a big uphill. We have time to relax, heal, and get ready for hikes again. We also took time for ourselves to reflect and soak in the beauty of the land. On day 4, we climbed up above the tree line. It was a beautiful site. However, we did run into a problem when it started raining. It is highly risky to be up that high during a thunderstorm, so we decided to head back to the tree line and wait for the storm to go. After the storm, we camped near the treeline. Day 5, we trekked through the highest point of almost 13000 ft. We camped around 11000 – 12000ft. It was a beautiful place with mountains all around. Day 6, it was our second rest day. It was a relaxing day with one solo time during the day. On day 7, we woke up around 4 am to climb up a mountain to see the sunrise. From the top, we saw the sun rising from beautiful snow-covered mountains. We then started our journey downhill. We hiked down and camped at a beautiful campsite around 9000 ft. Day 8 was another rest day because we were so close to the end destination. We took the day to reflect and share feedback with each other one-on-one. It was a very helpful day for the group dynamic. On day 9, we hiked down to a village named Rala. We were early to the campsite, so we had time to make lunch and do a quick village tour. On the last day, day 10, we walked only a few kilometers to another village named Kasla. We got a jeep from there to another nearby village where we stayed the night in a hotel. And that is how we ended our 10-day trek.
The trek was great and I enjoyed it a lot at times. However, it did also bring forward a lot of issues that we had to overcome as a team. One of the biggest challenges was working on the cooking team, as well as the trekking teams that constantly changed. We realized that there would be tension in the cooking team as time went on, so, we divided the roles of cook, helper, and cleaner. We always performed the same tasks and continued getting better at the specific task as time went on, so it helped us avoid conflicts and do the best job possible. Another challenge was working with a new trekking team every day. We had to overcome it mostly by being flexible, trying to learn the pacing of the new team, and sharing any troubles we were facing during the hike.
