It was October of 2016 when I and three other friends decided to go on a round Annapurna trek without much knowledge about the route. The hot blood of youth made all of us think we could easily complete the trek in 8 days. We started our journey from Kathmandu early in the morning via bus and ended that day in Chame, Headquater of Manang District from where we started our trekking from the next day. I love anything and everything about mountains, clear blue skies, vast green meadows and dense forests. I don't remember what kick started this love but it's there now for a while and one thing that I am sure of is that it will last till my legs give away. I often venture out to high altitude terrains to move away from the dust and pollution of city life, sometimes to take a break from repetitive and boring life and mostly to have some private exclusive time with the mountains. Believe me walking above 3000m in the steep path was really difficult with heavy trekking bag. As I saw mountain life is tedious and difficult. Hill people live in wooden houses with basic amenities and in areas that are always prone to natural calamities, bear tremendous cold weather, walk for miles to fetch water or woods from the forests. Kids with cracked red cheeks that hurt all the time, often walk for hours to attend school yet you will always find the locals hospitable with whatever little they have, ever smiling at you when met enroute. Sometimes they lend a helping hand or just pass a good luck smile and move on. One the 4th day of our trek we reached 4950m height to see the beauty of world highest lake, Tilicho. The pain of body all vanished once I see that mesmerizing blue lake situated just on the base of Annapurna Mountain. The temperature was freezing cold and the wind was icy cold. But who leaves the chance to take photos with that beauty on the background after that difficult climb so we took few photographs and slowly started our way back to base camp. Trekking is not always only amazing landscapes and verdant spaces with gushing rivers and glaciers, it is also about moving out of your comfort zones, pushing yourself hard, beyond your normal limits. It's almost like half a battle full of wounds. Yet these wounds are a sign of growth. They indicate that you have pushed yourself and are capable of trying to achieve something. Our next destination was Thorong La Pass which is situated in 5416m which is above Everest Base Camp 5380m. We stayed at Thorong base camp at night. On the big day of our trek we had to start early. We woke up at around 4 O'clock had some breakfast and started our climb wearing all the clothes we had because of cold. As soon as I stepped out from the door, I could see the White Mountains against the barely moon-lit sky. The moon rays had really brightened up the mountains. The best part was – the sky was clear, very clear. No clouds to be seen anywhere. As we moved on, the sun started coming out. It was amazing to see the sun peeping out from behind the mountains. Playing with the snow and battling the cold, slipping in the icy rocks, we finally reached there. We were there. We had reached the Pass and the view of the mountains everywhere and knee-height snow made us feel like we had conquered Everest. It was an Everest for us. Even though you are walking on snow or can view glacial mountain peaks all around you, while on trek your bottle of water becomes the most important possession for survival. It is true we always learn to value things in their absence.