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
