Adventure Camps 2011

Class 12 - Rafting Expedition on the Alaknanda River

How long does it take from being a junior to a senior getting ready to go river water rafting on the Alaknanda rafting expedition? The moment was sooner than we thought; we had barely found our feet in class 12 after bidding farewell to our seniors and giving our first exams when camp was just around the corner.

We started rafting on the very first day after a tiring 17 hour journey. There weren’t many rapids on the first day but our good humoured guides kept the euphoria alive by starting water fights and teaching us rafting chants.  On the second day one raft nearly capsized on something  that wasn’t a rapid at all and was even more petrifying than the “Daniel’s Dip”  which was highly overrated- none of us even got wet!  The feel of floating in the water along with the current with all our batch mates was something we knew we’d never experience again and we definitely made the most of it. Then finally came the last day with the most anticipated rapids- The Wall(which was entirely worth it with 3 rafts capsizing completely), Three Blind Mice, Roller Coaster etc. We were especially impressed with the classy names of some rapids(T-Off- Golf course- Clubhouse).

The best four days ended too soon and it was only when we entered the gates of Vasant Valley that we realized it had been our Last camp. It was a landmark trip for a landmark batch and  will  be etched in all our memories forever along with the distant echoes of “Forward PADol”  and the sound of the waves against the rocks- the best and last camp of the batch of 2012.

Mallika Pal