Class 10 Expedition to Gangotri-Gaumukh-Tapovan (14640 ft)

16 students from class 10 and three teachers, Mr. Vijay Trivedi, Mr.V.N.Pandey and Ms. S.Randhawa, began our expedition to the Goumukh glacier on15th May 2007 on a hot, muggy summer day. We left Delhi by Janashatabdi Express and traveled to Haridwar. The train ride away from the heat of Delhi was liberating and we were all very happy as we had just begun our summer vacations. We arrived at Haridwar that night drenched from head to toe in sweat and set out to look for accommodation to spend the night. We found an ashram called Geeta Bhawan in the city and slept on the roof gazing up at the stars and listening to the sound of the Ganga calmly flowing by us. We barely caught a wink of sleep that night.

The next morning we woke up and caught a public bus to Uttarkashi. It was a local public bus we traveled in and though it was only a 200 km drive it took us nearly 8 hours to reach our next spot-Uttarkashi. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the city of Uttarakashi . The following day we traveled further north to the holy city of Gangotri , the first city on the route to the source of the Ganga . Gangotri was a majestic city, still entrenched in the roots of religion.

The following morning we began our trek to the Gaumukh glacier. The first day we walked nearly 14 kilometers to a village called Bohjwasa. The route we took was breathtaking. We walked along the Ganga . The route was cut on the side of the mountain so there was about a 100 meter drop. We also had to carry our rucksacks while trekking, which really took a toll on us. The only thing which kept us going was the idea of hot chai and maggi at the next dhabba.

That night we pitched our tents and spent the night in the blistering cold, high up in the mountains. The next morning we trekked a further 4 km to the Gaumukh glacier. The rest of the day we spent exploring the area around us, playing in the snow and drinking lots of chai. However, there is a great altitude difference between Gaumukh and Delhi and this started to reflect on our bodies. It was very hard to sleep at night and we all felt light headed. We thought the worst of the trek was over and we had finished the most grueling aspect of our trek until we set our eyes on the majestic but dangerous mountain leading us to Tapovan, a green field on the mountain.

We had an early start. waking up in the bitter cold before the sun rose. Running on coffee we started our trek up. At first it was a steep terrain which we had gotten used to but as we walked on melting ice and loose gravel, rocks falling past us on the way up, it seemed impossible to conquer and we moved fast because if we dint the ice would give way under us dropping us into the huge crevasses. As we approached the final rock face our bodies couldn't hold up any longer,wiht sheer will we pushed ourselves to run up the rock face avoiding rocks which tumbled past us. As we reached the top it was everything we had dreamed of and MORE. A vast expanse of lush grass surrounded by snow, a pool table with white edges. After resting for a while we ran back down eager to reach our base camp and fell asleep exhausted in our tents.

We trekked all the way back from Gaumukh to Gangotri in one day. We reached Gangotri tired and hungry. We were just happy to be back in civilization. What we normally took for granted like reading the newspaper and having accessible drinking water was now considered a luxury. The rest of the trip flew by with us traveling again by bus from Gangotri to Uttarkashi to Haridwar.

We spent two days in Haridwar just relaxing and recovering from our Endeavour in the unknown. We went into the city and ate kulfi and ice cream and fresh juices.

We started back for Delhi with heavy hearts as we didn't want to leave. We returned home to the Delhi heat happy to be home but also wanting to return.

As I think back about out trip to Gangotri I realize how much I have changed as a person. The amount I discovered about myself and my friends during this trip can never be matched by anything else. I found out how magical our country is and how diverse we are. This was an amazing experience for us as it was the first time we all had traveled by common uses. We had no itinerary and a very limited budget. I would also like to thank the teachers and the school for giving us the opportunity to take part in this life changing experience. This trip of ten days was a real stress reliever and every year students from class 10 should take a trip like this.

The memories from Gangotri can last us a lifetime.