Tips for trekking with Safety what to carry

Continuing on my previous blog on what to do and what not to do in a trek, this blog is on what all to carry and what to wear on a trek. 

I remember very clearly one of the treks in my very early days of trekking, it was a rain trek and the pre trek mail said “do not carry or wear jeans”, I was still in the college mind set, doing everything you are told not to do was perceived to be cool. So instead of paying heed to the mail, I decided on wearing jeans, thinking it’s the best all weather wear. 

I couldn’t have been more wrong. I am no trek fanatic, I always prefer travel over trekking, but rain is something I love and green places are something I would walk a lot for. I was already the slowest in the gang, and to add to this was my jean which had soaked all the rain water that was dripping onto us incessantly. It was like carrying a loaded bag on each leg, I was sore and worn out because of a stupid wardrobe choice.

So the first thing to keep in mind is , a trek is nothing like travel, while traveling you can always chose to stop catch a cab and get back to your hotel room and change into whatever the weather is, even if you are a hard core backpacker, you are still very less in the mercy of nature when compared to when on a trek. Most people , though it is obvious, tend to forget this. So if you get a mail telling you to stick to a particular kind of clothing, adhere to it and wear that.

Second thing while choosing clothing is , if you are headed to an area with a possibility of animal sighting, wear green, greys, browns, and muted colours,  avoid bright and jarring colours that don’t merge with the background. Faded T shirts, soft cotton clothing, thick cotton pants are preferable. Some places have a high infestation of leeches, if that is the case wear pants with a tying thread or elastic near the ankles, so that you can tighten it and stuff it into your shoe.

 Carry “snuff” which is a superb leech repellent, along with odomos – or any mosquito repellent, a sprain spray or ointment, lacto calamine or any equivalent which soothes  allergies or irritations.

Always carry your medicines, protein bars, some biscuits and water. Even if the estimated time is well before lunch, for you to reach a place, there is not guarantee you will.

One more incident I remember while writing this, three girls, we were in Bhutan/Paro and we were headed to the Taktsang monastery. We guessed we would get some food on top near the Monastery and carried water bottles and a few chocolates, but the steep climb was taxing and the only restaurant on top was heavily over priced and one had to book lunch in advance. Though we used our sweet talking and loads of smiling to procure some biscuits and uncooked Maggi noodles from the Monks,  it is advisable to carry some substantial amount of food. 

Do not carry extra luggage on a trek, always stick to bare minimal, the chances of you wearing accessories, hand bags, playing video games and such extravaganzas are almost nil and you can save a lot of energy which will go in carrying the unwanted luggage.

Always put everything in polythene covers and put them inside your backpack. So that you will not have soaked clothes and gadgets inside your backpack in case of a downpour, or you have to cross a water body and you slip and fall, you will have all your luggage intact.

If you are camping in the open, or in a tent along with your sleeping bag carry a mat. It is cheap and not heavy to carry. It will keep you warm and you can avoid the hard and stone filled ground from poking you through the night, it will also keep you from insects that dwell in the grass. Always carry a rope, a lighter or a match box, a knife and a torch. There are chances you will be needing one or all of these.  

Parinitha Konanur