Hey guys! Sorry, I was out of town for a while and wasn't able to publish any posts. Here's my post on practically what things to carry for a trek and how to use them. I know, each trekking organization gives you a list of items to carry, but they do miss out on some bare essential items or tips on how to use them.
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| “When preparing to climb a mountain – pack a light heart.” — Dan May Pic @ Hampta Pass Trek, Manali |
Okay, so here's my list of essentials that one needs to carry while trekking through an organisation. The organisers will be carrying things like tents, sleeping bags, mats or cooking gears for you; you need to pack only your personal belongings.
- Trekking shoes: Needless to say, the most important item for a trek! First time trekkers, please invest on a good trekking shoe. Sports shoe will NOT work for treks, especially the high altitude ones. Quechua Forclaz 500 is a good model for high altitude treks; it also has a water resistant feature which keeps your shoe dry while you hike on snow. Also, while buying the shoes, make sure your feet has breathability. Wrong shoe (or even wrong size) can ruin your trek! So prudently decide on what shoe you are carrying for the trek.
- You can carry one slipper to wear in the campsite. You will be wearing your shoe the whole day; it would feel good to take it off in campsites.
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| That's my shoe enjoying some good view. Pic @ Har Ki Dun Trek, Sankri |
- Backpack: Backpacks of 50-70 litre range, with good back and shoulder cushioning is ideal for long treks. It is an added advantage if the backpack has lot of compartments, as it gives you an easy access to many items (if packed wisely, of course :P ). A small 20 litre daypack is needed if you are offloading you backpack.
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| The things that go in my backpack when I trek. Yeah I am obsessed with blues and purples! |
- Warm layers: Pretty much all high altitude treks will be extremely cold. So, in order to enjoy your trek and not fall sick, it's important that you carry warm clothes. Always remember to dress in layers when it's cold as the air between the layers provide thermal insulation to your body.
- Fleece/woollen sweaters: 2-3 fleece or woollen sweaters are needed depending on the altitude at which you are camping and your tendency to feel cold. Fleece is recommended over woollen sweaters as they are light and can be compactly rolled up.
- Thermals: Not all treks need thermals but if you are camping at an altitude of roughly 12,000 ft or more, thermals will be needed. If you are a person who wears jacket in Bangalore's weather, thermals is a must for you! Please keep in mind that you should not trek with thermals on; it retains body heat, making you sweat more and thus, dehydrating you. Use it only while in camps.
- Wind jacket: When you are nestled inside a tent, with an added advantage of body heat of 2 other people, the outside wind will not hit you. But when you step outside the tent, which you should during the day, the wind will catch up with you. So carry some sort of wind cheater or down jacket to wear outside the tent.
- Trekking pants and t-shirts: Take 3 pairs of trekking clothes; 2 pairs used for trekking, 1 for the campsite. The reason for this being, during the whole day you would be hiking in mud, dust, animal dung ( yeah, more than you can imagine!) and what not! Also, your t-shirts will be sweaty. It's not a good idea to sleep in the same clothes, is it? So keep one pair exclusively for campsites. After trek, you have plenty of time anyway, so change to a relatively fresh pair of clothes and spare your tent mates from the sweaty odour. You can change back to trekking pair the next morning. If the t-shirts and pants are of quick dry material, it will be an advantage.
- Undergarments: Two to three pairs of undergarments is good enough for most of the treks. If you are going to carry your own backpack, then remember guys, every gram is going to matter when you are climbing uphill! Also you are not gonna take bath anyway, so don't fret too much about fresh undergarments.
- Warm cap/monkey cap/balaclava: Its significance is not stressed enough, but at high altitudes your head should always be covered so that cold won't seep into you. Monkey cap is good but make sure to leave your ears open, as you need to acclimatise for the next day.
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| Covering my head with warm cap such that ears are slightly open. Pic @ Hampta Pass Trek, Manali |
- Gloves: Heat dissipates from your fingertips and toes. Therefore, cover your palm up with fleece/woollen gloves. Waterproof gloves are useful when your hiking involves snow or rains, but people manage without waterproof gloves too.
- Socks: 3 pairs of socks are sufficient for a long trek, one of them being woollen socks. As mentioned above, it is important to cover your feet. To keep your feet warm during the cold night, use the woollen socks and use them only inside sleeping bags for hygiene purposes.
- Sun cap: The sun at higher altitudes is going to be harsh. And many people tend to get headache when sunlight hits the eye, and I hope you know that headache is a bad sign when you are hiking! Don't get in unnecessary trouble; carry a cap. I would recommend a round hat, as it avoids tanning of your neck.
- Sunglasses: If your trek involves snow, then sunglasses is mandatory for the trek. Why is that? Because the crystalline structure of snow reflects the UV-intense sunlight. Now imagine a whole mountain reflecting sunlight! You are bound to go blind (FYI: the term is Snow Blindness). Hence, UV protected sunglasses are mandatory if you are hiking on snow. If you have spectacles, then clip-ons is a good and feasible option. You can also go for photo chromatic glasses or just wearing sunglasses on top of your spectacles.
- Poncho: The weather on the mountains are highly volatile and unpredictable. Its important to carry rain gear for yourself and your backpack (even if you have offloaded your bags). If you don't know what a poncho is, its this huge rain cover which seems like a Halloween costume! Ponchos are light, compact and can be worn quickly when rain decides to surprise you! But a normal raincoat will also do just fine.
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| That's me in a poncho, with some seriously amazing background! Pic @ Har Ki Dun Trek, Sankri |
- Trekking pole: It acts like a third leg usually as it reduces the pressure on your knee while hiking uphill or downhill. It also comes handy in light snow. But its not an absolute necessity; some people prefer to trek without trekking pole.
- Toiletries: Pack these items in your toiletries - sunscreen with SPF 40+ (absolute necessity even for 'macho' guys), tissues, toilet paper roll and wet wipes (to wipe your face and other 'important' places after 'important' businesses), cold cream, lip balm/chap stick, hand sanitiser, and small liquid soap. Also, carry the medicines recommended by your trekking organisation. All the pretty girls, don't bother carrying any cosmetics: when you are hiking the whole day, you won't have time or patience to use cosmetics.
- Cutlery: Carry one tiffin box, spoon, a mug, two 1 litre water bottles. Tiffin box can be used to have both packed lunch while hiking and hot meals at the campsites. Anything else will just be a burden to your back.
Okay, that's pretty much everything you need to carry for a high altitude trek. For girls, I have some additional tips, so please read on. And for guys, this is it. Bye-bye. Wait up for my next post guys!
Okay girls, lets have some girl-talk here! Hiking is physically strenuous and hence you tend to experience some white discharge ( known as vaginal discharge). Since you will be repeating your undergarments at least for 2-3 days, it gets unhygienic with all the discharge. Hold your horses, I have a solution! You get these small, thin pads called as liners in shops like Health and Glow. You can use them everyday while you hike and dispose them later; unlike normal sanitary napkins, the liners are thin, causing you no discomfort while you hike.
Another thing that worries most of us when we plan any trip is periods! I agree its not the best thing that can happen when you are hiking but its gonna be fine. Due to heavy physical activity, girls tend to get their periods sooner and unexpectedly in treks. So do carry sanitary napkins, tampons, or menstrual cups. Many, many girls in India do not know what a menstrual cup (or diva cup) is! They are eco-friendly, non-messy way to handle your periods. If this sounds like Greek to you, please read more about it! Also, if you are using sanitary napkins or liners, they have a plastic layer. So please, please do NOT throw them in the mountains and ruin its sanctity. Bring it back in your garbage bags and dispose them at the base camp.
A friendly fashion tip: You can carry your colourful, light scarfs and use them. They protect your neck from cold and makes you look good in all the pictures :P
Okay then, that actually completes all the items to carry for trek and how to use them. I hope this was unique and actually gave some useful tips to you all! Comment, follow, and share if you like what you read people :)
PS: I know all you guys also read the last two tips inspite of bidding you bye. But its fine, I am sure your GK improved a little bit!
