Bhrigu Lake Trek

In the summer of 2019 I decided to go on a trek in the Himachal valley cause I had never really gone trekking in my life. The thrill of climbing mountains with a backpack saddled on your shoulders seemed to be something I wanted to experience. More than anything it was the need to be cut off from the crazy virtual world, something I wanted desperately then. So with my brother and friends in tow, I decided to do an easy trek that wouldn't be physically daunting. One of them who was a pro at treks suggested we do the Hampta Pass trek in Manali which is meant for beginners. We booked our trek through Himtrek. By the time we actually reached Manali since it's a long drive from Delhi and I would recommend people to drive from Chandigrah instead cause those couple of hours also matter is what I have realised, it was very late so the organisers recommended another trek which is the Bhrigu Lake trek. It's a moderate to difficult trek and since there was no other option we agreed. We spent the night in a hostel in Manali and early next morning around 7 am or so gathered to start our trek to the base camp.

It took us about 5-6 hours to reach the base camp. It was quite an ascend and although I had packed light, it was still heavy. The pain of the climb became bearable with beautiful views of the lake and mountains around.

It was early evening by the time we reached the base camp. The caretakers of the trek were very sweet. They would constantly keep motivating every time anybody was tired or unable to move ahead. It felt like some achievement after we made it to the base camp.

It was my first time staying in a tent and although it wasn't the best feeling but it was an experience in itself. There was a water stream flowing around which came handy for our utilities. The next morning we had a sumptuous breakfast, packed lunch and snacks and started the real trek around 7-7.30 am. The entire trek from reaching the lake and back to the base camp was going to take us about 10-12 hours.

We were all divided in groups according to our pace. After a point of climbing up we were greeted with lush greenery all around. A lot of people decided to just be there and not continue further cause the destination was still 3-3.5 hours away. I was feeling fine until this point so I continued according to my pace. My friends with who I started out had paced further so I was with my brother and his new friends. We finally reached the mountain peak which was covered with snow and I thought to myself that it'll barely be few more kilometres until I finally see the lake but it was far from that. The walk in the snow was scary, slippery and I was dead by the time I made it there.

I decided to walk as much as I can but the guide told me to take it easy since I had to also go all the way back down. Since the lake was another 2 hours away I decided to chill in the snow with another friend who did not continue further. From a deadly slide in the snow to feeling super sick with a thumping headache I was feeling all sorts of things. Even the thought of going back felt like a task. Thankfully a guide who was on his way back saw my condition and lugged me like a sack on his shoulders and started descending down like I was a feather. My brother completed the trek and the view of the lake was to die for.

I got down that evening and all the sickness made sense and I promised myself never to plan a trek again close to my periods. We spent another night at the base camp before heading down to Manali the next morning. It was quite an experience for me considering I hadn't trekked before. Only made my resolution stronger to finish one the next time I do it.

All images © Kainat27