There are journeys that end when you return home. And then there are journeys that quietly stay with you, long after the mountains disappear from your rearview mirror.
This Gulabi Kantha trek, led by Montaxe from 8 April to 12 April, belonged to the second kind.
A group of 25 students from the Adventure Club of Jalpaiguri Engineering College, along with their professor Souvik Datta, arrived not just as participants, but as a team already bound by curiosity and courage.
It was Professor Datta, an adventure soul in the truest sense, who chose Gulabi Kantha as their trek.
What followed over five days was not just a trek.
It was a slow unfolding of people into the mountains, and the mountains into people.
Day 1: Dehradun To Barkot – Entering The Mountains
The journey began in Dehradun, where the plains gently surrendered to the hills.
The drive to Barkot via Mussoorie felt like a transition, not just in geography, but in mindset. The air grew cooler, conversations lighter, and the horizon wider. By evening, Barkot welcomed us with its quiet stillness.
Under the fading light, our trek leader Shivam Rana gathered everyone for a briefing.
There was no unnecessary drama, no exaggeration. Just clarity. Safety protocols. Expectations. And a quiet confidence that comes from knowing the mountains well. It was enough.
Day 2: Barkot To Kandola Camp
The Forest Opens Up
The next morning, we drove to Hanuman Chatti, where the road ended and the trail began.
The forest didn’t announce itself loudly.
It revealed itself slowly.
Tall oak trees stood like silent guardians, their branches weaving a canopy that filtered the sunlight into soft patterns on the ground.
The trail was alive, but not noisy. You could hear your own footsteps, your own breath.
And then, just as the group began settling into the rhythm of the walk, the mountains decided to surprise us.
At Kandola campsite, light snowfall began.
In April.
It was unexpected, almost unreal.
No one spoke much at that moment. Some just stood still, watching the snow fall quietly around them.
It felt like the mountains were welcoming the group in their own way.
Day 3: Kandola To Seema Thatch
Learning The Language Of Snow
By the third day, the landscape had transformed.
The trail to Seema Thatch was covered in snow.
For many in the group, this was their first encounter with snow, not as something distant on peaks, but something under their boots.
With that came learning.
Snow gaiters were introduced.
Every step had to be placed with intention.
Seema campsite lay under nearly one foot of fresh snow.
And with it came a simple reality, there was no campsite yet.
We had to create it.
Under Shivam’s guidance, the group came together without hesitation.
Snow was cleared. Ground was prepared. Tents were pitched.
Hands went numb. Shoes got wet. But no one stepped back.
There is something about working together in cold conditions that strips away hesitation.
You don’t think too much. You just act.
By the time the tents stood firm, the group had changed in a way that is hard to describe but easy to feel.
From Seema, the towering presence of Bandarpoonch dominated the horizon.
It wasn’t just a view. It was a reminder of scale, of humility, of why we come to the mountains in the first place.
Learning Beyond Trekking
Some lessons are not taught in classrooms.
Over these days, the group learned how to pitch and unpitch tents.
How to use sleeping bags effectively in cold conditions.
How to manage basic needs in a remote campsite, including using toilet tents.
But more than that, they learned patience.
They learned responsibility.
And they learned how to depend on each other.
Day 4: Summit Day (Gulabi Kantha )
In The Silence Of Effort
Summit day does not begin with excitement.
It begins with discipline.
At 2:30 in the morning, under a sky that still belonged to the night, the group started moving.
Fresh snowfall had covered the trail again.
There was no clear path ahead.
The team had to open the route as they climbed.
Each step required effort.
Each breath felt heavier than the last.
But no one stopped.
And then, almost quietly, the summit was reached.
There was no loud celebration.
Just a deep, shared silence.
Because what stood before them was overwhelming.
A full 360-degree view of the Himalayan ranges.
Bandarpoonch. Kala Nag. Swargarohini.
Peaks stretching endlessly, as if the world itself had no boundaries.
It is difficult to explain what such a moment does to a person.
Words tend to fall short.
After spending time at the summit, the group descended, stopping at Seema for lunch before returning to Kandola by evening.
Tired, but fulfilled in a way that only the mountains can offer.
Day 5: The Return
Carrying The Mountains Within The final day began early. The descent from Kandola to Hanuman Chatti felt different.
The same trail, the same forest, but something had shifted.
Perhaps it was the confidence in their steps.
Perhaps it was the quiet understanding that they had done something meaningful together.
From Hanuman Chatti, the drive back to Dehradun began.
The mountains slowly receded into the background.
But the experience did not.
A Journey That Stays
This Gulabi Kantha trek was never just about reaching the summit.
It was about first encounters with snow.
About building a campsite from nothing.
About walking through uncertainty and still moving forward.
About becoming a team in the truest sense.
For us at Montaxe, leading this group was more than just an expedition.
It was a privilege.
Watching 25 students and their professor, Souvik Datta, come together, face the mountain with honesty, and return with stories that will stay with them for a lifetime is what makes these journeys meaningful.
And somewhere, between the forests of Kandola and the snowfields of Seema, a part of this journey remains.
Waiting quietly.
