Varun Many of us are attempting our first Himalayan Trek post this pandemic and are often unsure of what to carry. We do not want to carry any additional stuff and at the same time not miss out on any important stuff needed during the trek.
Here’s an ultimate guide for you to know what to pack so that you can do your trek in a pleasant way.
Clothing
Definitely, one of the main priorities for us is to keep ourselves warm up in the mountains. For that, appropriate warm clothes are needed. It is also very important to know when to use them so that you do not fall sick misusing them.
- Inner Thermal Wear – both top and bottom. This is needed when you are at the campsite and when you sleep. Thermals are a warm clothing layer that traps your body heat and so it will keep you warm. In those freezing temperatures, this helps keep you warm when you sleep so that the next morning you do not wake up with numb body. Note – Thermals are not to be worn during trekking. Trekking is a physically intense activity which will generate enough heat to keep you warm even in freezing temperature.
- Woolen Beanie – Woolen Beanie is a woolen cap. This is so used almost the entire time. Woolen Beanie provides you cover for your head and ears against the cold winds. They ensure that you do not have a headache and stay fine. Woolen beanie can be combined with normal cap when trekking.
- Woolen Gloves – The most exposed parts are our fingers. To prevent our hands from becoming numb, we need to wear Woolen Gloves at all times. You can choose to skip this during trek if the temperature are quite high.
- Woolen Socks – It’s not just our hands but also our legs. We need to protect them so as to walk and trek comfortably. Keep atleast 2, if not 3 pairs of woolen socks. Woolen socks provide a very good insulation and keeps your legs warm during night when inside the sleeping bags.
- Jacket – There are hundreds of jackets available in the market. The most favourable destination are Decathlon stores. You can buy a down jacket for 2200 INR or 2600 INR and they are good enough. You can also get a fleece jacket for 500 INR. The fleece are useful warm layer while trekking and down jacket protects you at the campsite. Do not wear the down jacket while trekking (same reason as for thermals).
- Neck Warmer – A neck warmer proves quite useful to cover your neck, nose and ears against the cold winds. Wear them at all times and pull it up when you feel your nose getting numb or when there are strong winds.
- Waterproof Gloves – The woolen gloves are useful when it’s dry area but when trekking, you might slip or keep your hands on the snow. The woolen gloves might get wet and they don’t dry soon. Waterproof gloves here will help us. It will dry off quickly and not get much wet. You can also wear the waterproof gloves over the woolen gloves.
Trek Equipments
- Sun Cap – One important thing which trekkers usually ignore is a sun cap. You might think that you are the Himalayas, why to worry about sun? Well, the sun up there shines even brighter and harsher.
- Sunglasses – Another important thing is to carry a sunglass with you. The sun shines very brighly and if it’s a snow trek, then it’s even more needed. Snow is a reflective surface hence everything will look 10 times brighter during the day. Some even face snow blindness hence it’s good to be safe. The better ones are polarized glasses but a decent sunglasses which provides UV protection is also enough.
- Sunscreen – I cannot stress enough as to how much sunscreen is important to have. You need to protect your exposed skin at all costs. If not, by the time you return to your home, you will be all tanned and expose yourself to skin diseases.
- Head Torch – After sunset, it becomes pitch dark. You’ll need a head torch to laze around the campsite and to go for toilet :).
- Trekking Pole – Your third leg and often the important one. Trekking Pole will take over your body weight when ascending or descending. It is quite useful to move forward.
- Toilet Paper – There’s no water supply in the mountains. You will need to use the toilet paper roll to wipe out and clean.
- Poncho – Many times we would see snowfall or rainfall on the mountains. To not get wet, a poncho is quite useful as it covers your entire body along with your trek bag.
- Trekking Shoes – Your normal shoes are useless. You’ll need the trekking shoes as only those shoes have the grip which you’ll need to do your trek successfully.
Apart from this, you will need normal clothes – T-shirts and tracks and you will wear multiple layers at all times. Keep normal pair of socks too as you will need them during the trek and if they get wet, you can change them.
Other Items
- Power Bank – While it’s optional to have one, I guess you would need it as there are no sockets during the trek. So for the 3-4 days you will not have a way to charge your electronics hence a power bank will be quite useful then.
- Dry Fruits – One important energy pack during the trek are dry fruits. Have small packets of dry fruits for one-time use and you can have them during your trek. Good to have 1 packet for each day.
- Energy Bar – Along with dry fruits, you can keep Snickers or any other energy bar for instant energy. Often useful when you feel tired and need a quick boost during the trek.
- Insulated Bottle – An insulated bottle will be your only source of drinking water during the trek. The normal plastic bottles will not keep your water warm and at times will even freeze!
- Medicines – Always keep your own medical kit and include medicines for common issues like headache, motion, fever, altitude sickness, stomach ache.
- Wet Wipes – It is useful to wipe your face and feet after trekking. Face wash up there in those freezing water is quite difficult and this is a very good alternative.
The list is quite exhaustive but all are must-haves and serve their purpose nicely. Almost all the stuff can be rented or purchased at the base village of your trek. Some will be cheaper there but most of the time it’ll be costly.
Rent Rate List
As of February 2022, here’s the approximate price list for renting the items –
- Thermal – Rs. 500 (purchase).
- Beanie – Rs. 150 (purchase).
- Gloves – Rs. 100 (purchase).
- Socks – Rs. 50 per pair (purchase).
- Jacket – Rs. 500 (rent).
- Neck Warmer – Rs. 150 (purchase).
- Waterproof Gloves – Rs. 200-300 (purchase).
- Sunglasses – Rs. 250 (basic one – purchase).
- Head Torch – Rs. 250 (purchase/rent).
- Trekking Pole – Rs. 150-200 (best to rent it there).
- Toilet Paper – Rs. 80 (purchase).
- Poncho – Rs. 200 (rent).
- Trekking Shoes – Rs. 500 (rent).
- Insulated Bottle – Rs. 700 (1/2 litre – purchase).
- Wet Wipes – Rs. 90 (purchase).
These are approximate rates and will definitely change from time to time.
- Read about my trekking experience to the top of the Kedarkantha here.
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