The story of my first Himalayan trek in -20 degrees and all the adventures and misadventures that happened along the way :)
00:00:01
Speaker 1: Hi, my name is Siddharth Day and I am a
00:00:04
Speaker 1: personal transformation coach and founder of Supersonic Success Academy. I'm
00:00:09
Speaker 1: on a mission to transform 1 million lives and I'm
00:00:11
Speaker 1: not going to stop before I do that. So this
00:00:14
Speaker 1: is my first podcast and I would like to tell
00:00:18
Speaker 1: you the story, the story of about my first track,
00:00:23
Speaker 1: my first Himalayan track. And you would just be amazed
00:00:26
Speaker 1: by this whole adventurous story.
00:00:29
Speaker 1: So how, how many of you would like to take challenges?
00:00:35
Speaker 1: Uh Similar thing happened to me. I had done plenty
00:00:37
Speaker 1: of one day and two day tracks in Maharashtra uh
00:00:40
Speaker 1: around the Sadri range. And now I wanted to expand
00:00:44
Speaker 1: my horizon. So I decided to go for my first
00:00:48
Speaker 1: Himalayan track.
00:00:49
Speaker 1: So when the thought came, I just searched one thing
00:00:52
Speaker 1: on Google like toughest tracks in India and suddenly a
00:00:57
Speaker 1: name popped up and I went to the track, the
00:01:00
Speaker 1: Himalayas website and I saw this other track though. It
00:01:04
Speaker 1: was not the toughest, but it was the coolest track
00:01:09
Speaker 1: uh in the sense, the temperature during this track is
00:01:12
Speaker 1: minus 10 degree temperature to minus 20. It ranges around
00:01:16
Speaker 1: this range
00:01:18
Speaker 1: So when I decided to go for it, I was
00:01:21
Speaker 1: so ill prepared, I didn't have any idea what to do,
00:01:24
Speaker 1: how to do. But anyway, I took the leap of
00:01:27
Speaker 1: faith and stepped up
00:01:30
Speaker 1: on the day of the track. Uh First day, I
00:01:33
Speaker 1: was so confident during
00:01:36
Speaker 1: the, when I reached the Delhi airport and I met
00:01:40
Speaker 1: uh Joseph uh who came from Kerala and there was
00:01:45
Speaker 1: another doctor. Uh he was Shanmugam. So we three met
00:01:49
Speaker 1: at Delhi airport and then we uh
00:01:54
Speaker 1: set up for the flight to Ladak.
00:01:57
Speaker 1: So I was so confident that I was just wearing
00:02:00
Speaker 1: a shirt and I thought like it would be fun
00:02:03
Speaker 1: and it's the month of January.
00:02:06
Speaker 1: So as soon as our flight landed and we landed
00:02:09
Speaker 1: at such a small tiny beautiful airport uh in LA.
00:02:16
Speaker 1: So as soon as the door was opened and I
00:02:18
Speaker 1: came down and I was just uh I spread my
00:02:21
Speaker 1: arms and I was going round and round like feeling
00:02:24
Speaker 1: this heavenly feel and suddenly I started feeling cold and
00:02:30
Speaker 1: it was so within seconds, it became so cold cold
00:02:35
Speaker 1: that um
00:02:36
Speaker 1: I just went to the luggage rack. And as soon
00:02:40
Speaker 1: as my bag came, I opened it and
00:02:43
Speaker 1: uh took out my jacket and gloves and everything. And
00:02:47
Speaker 1: within seconds, I was all layered up.
00:02:50
Speaker 1: So soon a van came and we reached our hotel.
00:02:53
Speaker 1: Um we had a very delicious breakfast in the le market.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: It was like uh Samosa Chana and it's a very
00:03:00
Speaker 1: small and beautiful market and we could see the Strahan
00:03:04
Speaker 1: peak uh calling to Conquer it. And right in the
00:03:09
Speaker 1: middle from the whole city, you can see this beautiful peak,
00:03:13
Speaker 1: uh all covered in snow
00:03:15
Speaker 1: and I had no idea. A few years down the line.
00:03:19
Speaker 1: I would be climbing that peak.
00:03:21
Speaker 1: So there we met our whole group of team with
00:03:26
Speaker 1: whom we will be tracking And also a few, all
00:03:29
Speaker 1: of our group mates and the guides who would lead us.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: The one thing we learned on the day one is there,
00:03:37
Speaker 1: everyone greeted the other person as Jule, like we say hello.
00:03:41
Speaker 1: So they say Jule. So this one word would change
00:03:46
Speaker 1: everything during this track because, you know, during the track,
00:03:50
Speaker 1: you feel so lonely, so alone. Uh There were times
00:03:54
Speaker 1: when we were left far behind
00:03:56
Speaker 1: and the group was going and like not everybody would
00:04:00
Speaker 1: walk at the same pace as you. So I was
00:04:03
Speaker 1: walking slowly and slowly and then it became very lonely.
00:04:07
Speaker 1: So as soon as someone crossed, even if it was
00:04:10
Speaker 1: a porter or, or some other person, so we all
00:04:13
Speaker 1: greeted each other and the other person who greeted all
00:04:17
Speaker 1: the unknown faces, greeting each other. It was such a
00:04:20
Speaker 1: wonderful feeling.
00:04:22
Speaker 1: Uh It, it was a way to come out of
00:04:26
Speaker 1: that loneliness. So the day one, we uh started our
00:04:32
Speaker 1: hike and it, it's mostly a plain route. Uh the
00:04:36
Speaker 1: whole river is frozen
00:04:38
Speaker 1: in mid in between. The river still flows. And uh
00:04:42
Speaker 1: at outside, it's all a very thick layer of uh ice,
00:04:46
Speaker 1: uh 1 ft to 2 ft. So we can see
00:04:50
Speaker 1: uh through the ice that the water is flowing below.
00:04:54
Speaker 1: And it's the most magnificent thing I have ever seen
00:04:57
Speaker 1: in my entire life. The water is so crystal blue,
00:05:01
Speaker 1: so crystal blue. I have never seen anything.
00:05:05
Speaker 1: It's so amazing.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: So two of the group mates, what happened was they
00:05:10
Speaker 1: went a bit ahead and we lost them. Uh We kept, uh,
00:05:15
Speaker 1: we waited for them for quite a while, but then
00:05:18
Speaker 1: we decided that, ok, I, we think that they crossed us,
00:05:21
Speaker 1: but we were unaware.
00:05:23
Speaker 1: When we found them. A few hours later, they were
00:05:26
Speaker 1: drenched in water. They placed their feet at some wrong
00:05:30
Speaker 1: place because they were without any guides and they didn't
00:05:35
Speaker 1: know where to step, where not to step and somehow
00:05:38
Speaker 1: they are below the waist, they were completely wet. So,
00:05:44
Speaker 1: uh they had to change and everything. Uh But luckily
00:05:48
Speaker 1: they survived, they survived. And on the very next day,
00:05:52
Speaker 1: one of our teammates, he slipped. And so what happens
00:05:57
Speaker 1: is the ice is very slippery, very slippery and we
00:06:00
Speaker 1: have to wear gumb boots. There is no other way.
00:06:03
Speaker 1: The gumb boots are like, uh covers your whole ankles
00:06:06
Speaker 1: and are like knee length.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: So it helps a lot. Uh Even if you are,
00:06:11
Speaker 1: if you place uh misplace your step and your uh
00:06:16
Speaker 1: feet goes into the water, you will still be safe.
00:06:21
Speaker 1: So
00:06:22
Speaker 1: when we met them and
00:06:26
Speaker 1: what happened next was
00:06:28
Speaker 1: we uh placed our tents and
00:06:34
Speaker 1: during the night, uh
00:06:37
Speaker 1: it became so cold.
00:06:39
Speaker 1: If you, if you are a tracker, you would know
00:06:41
Speaker 1: that during every track we were, we are given a
00:06:44
Speaker 1: sleeping bag, but in other track, you are given two
00:06:47
Speaker 1: sleeping bags. It's so extreme cold. So in the middle
00:06:52
Speaker 1: of the night, mm uh my sleep opened up and
00:06:55
Speaker 1: I couldn't even see the time. It was so dark.
00:06:59
Speaker 1: I was with uh Jeremy, he was from England and
00:07:03
Speaker 1: he was my 10th mate
00:07:06
Speaker 1: and we uh so you can't do anything even in
00:07:09
Speaker 1: the middle of the night, you are feeling so cold
00:07:12
Speaker 1: and then I just passed the whole light looking at
00:07:15
Speaker 1: the top of the tank and uh tent and keep
00:07:18
Speaker 1: wondering like why the hell did I come here? So
00:07:23
Speaker 1: this is how the first day went and the second
00:07:25
Speaker 1: day again uh at morning 7 a.m. we used to
00:07:28
Speaker 1: wake up. We were given a hot black tea that's
00:07:33
Speaker 1: very helpful
00:07:35
Speaker 1: once we had it and then we proceeded for the break.
00:07:41
Speaker 1: So when you will notice the life of the people there,
00:07:44
Speaker 1: it's so tough. They, they carry all our luggages on
00:07:48
Speaker 1: their back, few of them, they pull it on trolleys
00:07:53
Speaker 1: and Rs, they have to pull them because there is
00:07:56
Speaker 1: no system to of roads or anything. Uh no animal
00:08:01
Speaker 1: can wander there. So all they have to do is manually.
00:08:06
Speaker 1: So once you will see their life, you will feel.
00:08:09
Speaker 1: We are so fortunate. We are so fortunate that we
00:08:12
Speaker 1: live in such abundance, uh such a comfortable life and
00:08:17
Speaker 1: the temperature where we are feeling so cold in six layers,
00:08:21
Speaker 1: they survive in that temperature for whole year.
00:08:26
Speaker 1: So during tracks, you learn a lot. You have so
00:08:31
Speaker 1: much experience and you start feeling uh what other people
00:08:37
Speaker 1: are feeling. You start seeing their struggles and you start
00:08:40
Speaker 1: being grateful and thankful to God for the life you
00:08:42
Speaker 1: are having.
00:08:44
Speaker 1: Now for the second day as soon as we started
00:08:48
Speaker 1: and there was no sunlight.
00:08:51
Speaker 1: But even in six layers, we were shivering with cold
00:08:54
Speaker 1: and slowly step by step, we just kept moving and moving.
00:08:59
Speaker 1: It was a very plain route. Uh But that's how
00:09:03
Speaker 1: it was. And during the day, we could see the sunlight.
00:09:07
Speaker 1: We were in a valley. So both of the sides
00:09:10
Speaker 1: were covered with mountains, all the barren brown mountains and
00:09:14
Speaker 1: we were in the middle walking on that whole river
00:09:18
Speaker 1: which was frozen.
00:09:20
Speaker 1: So we even had to take safety that we don't
00:09:23
Speaker 1: act few places. The snow, the ice became very narrow.
00:09:28
Speaker 1: So you just have to be super careful because if
00:09:30
Speaker 1: by chance you just fell in that water, it's deadly.
00:09:36
Speaker 1: Now on day two, we paced our tents and we
00:09:41
Speaker 1: started playing with the ice cube, like sort of football.
00:09:44
Speaker 1: And suddenly I slipped and I fell and, uh, my,
00:09:49
Speaker 1: hit my eyebrows
00:09:51
Speaker 1: and I started bleeding during, it's so cold there that
00:09:55
Speaker 1: nothing can stop that blood. Uh, we tried a few
00:09:58
Speaker 1: things but nothing happened and then somehow someone came up
00:10:03
Speaker 1: with a bandit. I washed my wound and
00:10:05
Speaker 1: placed a bandit. Uh, even the bandit was full bloodied.
00:10:10
Speaker 1: Uh Then, then I just silently sat in the tent
00:10:13
Speaker 1: and even that was even worse day. Uh Now I
00:10:16
Speaker 1: was even more skeptical that why I came here, all
00:10:21
Speaker 1: the negative thoughts start coming. Who suggested me to come here?
00:10:24
Speaker 1: Uh Why I, I should have done something better with
00:10:27
Speaker 1: this and all the food, food start going across my
00:10:32
Speaker 1: mind that once I will reach back Mumbai, I will
00:10:35
Speaker 1: eat power bhaji. I will eat pizza. And I, I
00:10:38
Speaker 1: made a whole list.
00:10:40
Speaker 1: So never in my life, I made such a less
00:10:44
Speaker 1: uh natural of simple food. Also, even we craved for
00:10:47
Speaker 1: Chapati and Dhal. Mostly we were given one day, we
00:10:51
Speaker 1: were given Kia or something in during the lunch and
00:10:54
Speaker 1: one day we were given Maggie and at night we use,
00:10:58
Speaker 1: we were given uh roti dal and rice, mostly rice
00:11:06
Speaker 1: was uh very common.
00:11:09
Speaker 1: Um On day three again, they started and so the
00:11:14
Speaker 1: whole thing was going like this and I was very
00:11:18
Speaker 1: disappointed and disheartened by everything that was going on
00:11:23
Speaker 1: on day four. There is a place uh that's the
00:11:26
Speaker 1: final destination.
00:11:28
Speaker 1: So once I reached there and what I saw in
00:11:31
Speaker 1: front of my eyes was there was such a huge
00:11:34
Speaker 1: waterfall and it was frozen frozen waterfall, pure white and blue.
00:11:42
Speaker 1: It's so magnificent, so beautiful that I just couldn't resist myself.
00:11:48
Speaker 1: I just went there and hugged that waterfall and I
00:11:51
Speaker 1: just gave the water frozen waterfall a kiss and like,
00:11:55
Speaker 1: it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in
00:11:57
Speaker 1: my life.
00:12:00
Speaker 1: So uh as soon as I saw that waterfall, all
00:12:04
Speaker 1: of my pain went away, the pain in my legs,
00:12:08
Speaker 1: my body, everything was paining before that particular moment. But
00:12:13
Speaker 1: as soon as I saw that it was all worth it,
00:12:16
Speaker 1: all worth the pain, all worth that. Four days of
00:12:20
Speaker 1: so much exhaustiveness.
00:12:24
Speaker 1: And I simply loved it.
00:12:26
Speaker 1: And I can't ever explain that in words. And the
00:12:29
Speaker 1: person who was Jason's friend who clicked all my photographs
00:12:33
Speaker 1: in the end, the his memory card got corrupted and
00:12:37
Speaker 1: I never received, I hardly had few photographs from that
00:12:42
Speaker 1: particular friend.
00:12:44
Speaker 1: And then on the second last day, we we were
00:12:48
Speaker 1: even had to cross uh do a little hike and
00:12:52
Speaker 1: it was super exhausted. And there, you know, there is
00:12:55
Speaker 1: even a more funny incident that happened during the first day.
00:12:59
Speaker 1: So everyone was having a stick, the tracking pool. What
00:13:04
Speaker 1: I got ordered was uh by mistake when uh as
00:13:09
Speaker 1: soon as I opened my tracking pole, it
00:13:11
Speaker 1: turned out to be a walking stick that old people
00:13:14
Speaker 1: use for walking. And as soon as I got it
00:13:17
Speaker 1: out and everyone started laughing at what have you got
00:13:20
Speaker 1: along on this track? So I just packed that back
00:13:23
Speaker 1: and
00:13:25
Speaker 1: placed it in my bag. So everyone was having the
00:13:28
Speaker 1: support of the
00:13:30
Speaker 1: tracking pole, but I completed the whole track without any support.
00:13:35
Speaker 1: All I had was that huge bag on my shoulders
00:13:38
Speaker 1: and just we kept going. So do prepare well before
00:13:43
Speaker 1: you go for any track, uh you will be in
00:13:47
Speaker 1: huge danger and you will be in trouble. So you
00:13:53
Speaker 1: will learn by experiences. There are so many helpful people
00:13:56
Speaker 1: who will sell uh help you in some way or
00:13:58
Speaker 1: the other
00:13:59
Speaker 1: um tracks have been a most wonderful
00:14:03
Speaker 1: thing where I have met the most amazing people in
00:14:06
Speaker 1: the world.
00:14:08
Speaker 1: I will tell you many stories going forward where I,
00:14:11
Speaker 1: I have slept under open sky, under a full moon.
00:14:16
Speaker 1: I have slept in caves. I have slept in
00:14:20
Speaker 1: um many regions in tents and all I have even
00:14:26
Speaker 1: slept on rocks.
00:14:28
Speaker 1: It's so magnificent. You learn so much. You, your tolerance
00:14:33
Speaker 1: level goes to the next level, your patience becomes uh
00:14:36
Speaker 1: amazing and you learn a lot. When you live in
00:14:40
Speaker 1: the arms of Mother nature, you start respecting nature, you
00:14:44
Speaker 1: start respecting animals.
00:14:48
Speaker 1: Also on the last day, uh what happened was we
00:14:51
Speaker 1: reached back the starting point
00:14:54
Speaker 1: and there was this water flowing and it was so
00:14:58
Speaker 1: cold water and we were given a challenge. So we
00:15:02
Speaker 1: ourselves decided that we will jump into this water. By
00:15:05
Speaker 1: the seventh day, we were so dirty, so dirty that
00:15:07
Speaker 1: my whole hair and everything was uh I was so
00:15:12
Speaker 1: irritated with every single thing I was wearing. And
00:15:16
Speaker 1: so I decided to go for a jump. And as
00:15:19
Speaker 1: soon as I started opening my clothes, few of the
00:15:21
Speaker 1: other people also got motivated, few of the other groups
00:15:24
Speaker 1: uh who came with some different tracking groups. They also
00:15:27
Speaker 1: got motivated and step by step, we jumped. And as
00:15:31
Speaker 1: soon as I jumped into that
00:15:34
Speaker 1: frozen that flowing river, it felt like I, I was
00:15:39
Speaker 1: hit by an electric shock. It was so cold. And
00:15:44
Speaker 1: as soon as we jump, I just turned and grabbed
00:15:47
Speaker 1: the ice wall nearby and just climbed back and you
00:15:52
Speaker 1: won't believe I wasn't feeling any cold after that moment.
00:15:56
Speaker 1: But it is highly recommended that as soon as you
00:15:58
Speaker 1: are out,
00:15:59
Speaker 1: just uh uh dry yourself from a towel and get
00:16:04
Speaker 1: rest back
00:16:06
Speaker 1: as you will fall ill.
00:16:08
Speaker 1: So that was a very amazing experience. Uh We jumped
00:16:14
Speaker 1: into that water and then we came back and to
00:16:19
Speaker 1: our hotel. It was uh after such a long seven
00:16:23
Speaker 1: days that we experienced living in a room again and
00:16:27
Speaker 1: it felt mighty blissful.
00:16:30
Speaker 1: So I will come back with lots of stories for
00:16:33
Speaker 1: you guys. I hope you made some notes and you
00:16:37
Speaker 1: learned something guys, you need to take risk without taking risk.
00:16:43
Speaker 1: You will never learn in life. So
00:16:46
Speaker 1: be prepared. Go for tracks, go live in arms of
00:16:50
Speaker 1: Mother Nature and have a beautiful day. I will come
00:16:53
Speaker 1: up with many, many more experiences that will help you
00:16:57
Speaker 1: and
00:16:59
Speaker 1: inspired.
00:17:00
Speaker 1: Have amazing day. Bye.