Suiting up

Trekking may sound like the ultimate respite from your daily routine, but its a strenuous activity in its very nature. From walking,surviving in extreme temperatures,magnanimous heights and long distances to packing up for the whole activity, everything requires passion and motivation to accomplish. I have been to numerous expeditions in northern Pakistan. In these expeditions i have traveled with strangers, family, friends, office peers and each time it has been a different story. Traveling with different people gives you an altogether different experience of the whole activity. Based on my experiences i have penned down a plan that you might find useful if you are planning to go for a long walk.

Planning

Location:

Start planning early, if you are a lake hunter, then the ideal time to see lakes is late august. Since last two years monsoons have been shifting due to changing weather, so you will have to have flexible schedule. I recommend starting planning about two months ahead. Chose a destination, for that you can visit facebook groups, reach out to nature photographers, follow them on flickr, or probably read one of the travelogues of the great Mustansir Hussain Tarar – The Chacha Jee. Alternatively you can also contact PTDC, there staff is normally helpful and they will educate you with popular tourists destinations. If you’re into going into the wild, then Google Earth is your best friend.

The Route:

The shortest route is not always the best route. Infact in most cases its never the best route. So keep your physical fitness in mind and check for elevation, distance of your starting and finish point before taking a route. Make checkpoints on all possible routes, compare their elevation and with any existing track that you have been to, if you havent been to any, find a building that has about 10 stories, climb via stairs and check time. 10 stories are about 160 feet in elevation. it will give you an approximate idea of time, and distance. Other things to look while selecting a route are, water availability – very important, nearby villages, glaciers, forests etc. Plan according to your liking, since i dont like glaciers and i like forests, i take routes which are greener.

The Khana peena:

Your food consumption while trekking is high only at night, you eat light in the morning and at lunch. Snacks are optional since they add to weight and aren’t very effective. About Meals: There are two ways you can manage meals, either take packed food – boil and consume [Freshmate, delish etc], or rely on local villages. If you cant find packed food, find a food processing factory, they tin pack anything you give them – but its heavy. I recommend taking your own food, because people in villages generally have only enough food for themselves.

There is a simple way to calculate this:

Consumption 1 person/day:

• 3 meals
• Two tea
• 2 liters of juice
• Snacks – Nuts, dates, chocolates, High energy food

The number of people going are lets say 5 , so you have:

• 3*5 = 15 meals/day = 5-6 packs of 750 ml food
• 2*5 =10 teas, = 2 small packs of tea , for small sachets of everyday
• 2*5 = 10 liters of juice – 10 sachets that make 1 liter
• 2 chocolates * 5 = 10 chocolates

This is the food requirement of 5 people for one day. I am pretty sure, that it is more than sufficient and will accommodate an extra person, who is going to be your guide.

The luggage:

Here is a list of things you will need for yourself, these things will be in your personal use and shall not be shared with the group:

• rucksack
• shoes, rubber grips, slightly stiff soul, preferably water proof
• jacket
• warm trouser
• warm hat
• sleeping bag
• extra clothes – preferably warm and light weight (fleece or polyester internal linings)
• towel
• torch / headlamp
• mug
• spoon
• plate
• raincoat
• trekking stick – optional
• gloves – optional
• liquid soap – if you are the hygienic type – share this
• light weight sandals – optional but preferable
• two bottles (1 drinking water, 1 for natures call)
• sunglasses – for protection against blizzards/UV reflections from hardened snow

Here is a list of things that will be shared among the group members:

• Tent – water proof
• A deep pan
• medical kit – explained in detail
• bread
• rope
• lighter flint and matches – keep all three of them because at high altitudes lighters and matches don’t work
• Gas cylinder – 3Kgs / or collect firewood chippings from the trek – if available
• petroleum jelly  – if you plan to light a fire

Medical kit:

• Crepe bandage x3 – in case you pull muscle, ligament or cartilage
• anti inflammatory creams
• muscle relaxants – Nuberol forte – this is a painkiller as well
• painkillers : Ponstan, Panadol
• general purpose bandage  – for cuts, minor scratches
• polyfax – seals cuts, stops bleeding
• anti vomiting , anti diarrhea
• Sun screen SPF >100
• antiseptics – dettol or likes, since there is a good chance bugs will get into your tent 🙂
• Please ask for prescription from you physician before consuming any of these medicines

Shopping:

I have a separate post on where to get equipment listed above, you can find it here. While shopping keep in mind that you don’t want your gear to wear out any time soon. You should get quality stuff, even if it costs slightly more. Low quality gear either wont last till next season, or might as well give up during the trek. Start looking for stuff early and don’t wait till the end, since in the peak season the prices escalate and increase in demands creates a shortage of supplies, specially when most of your gear is coming from aftermarkets .

Do give special consideration to shoes, the soles should be of rubber completely or partly. The ridges firm and the whole shoe should be a little stiffer than you normal shoe, since it protects you feet from hard and sharp rocks, slipping on loose gravel and wet surfaces. If you can get one with ankle support it better, since it helps while you are carrying extra load on your body.

Rucksack should be such that it attaches itself as an extension to your body, don’t buy a huge bag if you aren’t tall enough. The bottom of the bag should NOT touch your bottom, it becomes annoying while walking. Make sure the straps are firm and reinforced. If you can find a bag with water proof cover that’s an added plus. Normally trekking bags have pockets for water bottles, but do check before making a purchase. Parachute bags are useless, get one with a rugged material, since you will be doing a lot of loading and unloading with them.

Raincoats, try getting raincoats that aren’t stitched, they should be thermally bound.

Sleeping bag, there are two types available in the market. The ones which occupy very less space but aren’t very warm and the ones which occupy some space but are made for glaciers – military gear. I have the military grade sleeping bag, i.e. even if it is snowing outside you can still sleep in it without wearing a jacket. I have used the smaller bag, but it isn’t very effective against cold weather. Coleman makes good sleeping bags, but i couldn’t find one that was long enough for me, get either a Coleman or a military grade bag.

Clothes: Get clothes made of either polyester or a material that is water resistant and internally lined by lightweight protection against cold weather. Wear full sleeves since it protects against sunburns, bugs an any other spiky plants. Don’t bring fleece, because you wont be able to carry a wet fleece, though its light weight.

Jackets, I haven’t bought a jacket ever. I have one since beginning of time and therefore i cannot advice you on this. Maybe next season.

Execution

Having jotted down all the required merchandise, you need to come up with the final list. Get help from other members in the group, if anyone refuses to participate, don’t take them to the trek since they will do the same during the trek. Come up with exact quantities, distribution of weight among the members, for convenience i shall share a list that one of my fellow trekkers and cousins made in our last excursion to ratti gali lake. Once you have this list, you fan out, Take printouts, of this list and the locations where you can get them and start shopping a month earlier. Keep asking people about other locations, where you can find more stuff. Keep an eye out even when you are not shopping. Dont buy stuff without comparing it from multiple sources, you’ll be surprised to see the price variations, since most of the outdoor gear sold unfortunately is smuggled or Chinese made, and the vendor charge what they feel like. Stay vigilant.

Meet your team members often, and coordinate your shopping. No more stress on shopping, I’ll have to write a separate post or that.

Once you have you entire load bought, dump it in one place. Divide as you please, since not all members in a group are capable of carrying weight while trekking. Once divided, start squeezing stuff in the bags. Try keeping things in this order from bottom to top:

• Sleeping bag
• Spare clothes
• Shoes
• Any other Item
• Jacket

Make sure you keep jacket on top, since you might require it during you journey on road. A sleeping bag at the bottom gives your bag a good foundation. Squeeze raincoats, bottles, snacks into outer pockets.

Transport

I mostly take the local transport whenever i have to go north. Since it is cheaper, the drivers are road veterans and it goes round the clock, well almost. the only disadvantage with local transport is a strike, but they aren’t very frequent. Make sure they fix your luggage on the roof with a harness and a tarpaulin.

Cash

Distribute cash among members, note down your expenditures, Its always comes in handy after the trip.

Timings

Plan your timings as such, that you reach your base camp at sunset max, roam around the area, after pitching in your tent. Walk and get acclimatized, it is very crucial.

Tent

There are a couple of rules that you should be aware of while pitching in your tent:

• Keep it out of the winds
• Keep it on a slight slope so as to protect from rain water
• I am not very convinced if making a water way with a shovel around the tent is a good idea
• Keep the tent closed at all times, you don’t want bugs to enter inside
• Do not tent very close to water
• If there are animals around, camp in an open space, animals are shy and usually don’t leave the camouflage of the forest
• tie your knots tight, i have seen tents fly because of loose knots
• Put your luggage inside

The Trek

Most people start trekking in the morning, it is recommended that you take an appropriate breakfast. Not too much, not too less. Don’t start walking right after breakfast, let the food settle, first. Food intake differs from person to person, generally it is hard to eat while you are trekking for hours, so do not expect your body to accept everything. Take lots of water, and ORS. Do not drink in bulk, smaller sips after regular intervals.

Keep a steady pace, do not exert yourself more than you can sustain. Running is forbidden, No, never. If the group splits, keep in visual range, ask the guide to stay at the tail. If you have two, one can be at head. Do not split if the conditions are hostile i.e. steep cliffs, water falls, makeshift bridges, loose gravel, cracks etc.

Follow the map at all times, Since you have planned the routes follow them, make appropriate stops and do not rest for more than 5 minutes. Short milestones are helpful, though i am too consumed in the surroundings to think about anything else, you should too. As you climb on altitude, breathing becomes difficult, you get tired more frequently, slow down. This is the most strenuous part of any trek, and you will need motivation of the highest level to make it through.

Quick Tip: Onions are known to help breathing at altitudes. They are also useful to kill any bacterium that you may catch from wild forestry.

Communication

Walkie talkies are good; if can get your hands on them, you’ll find them useful. We found them to be very useful when one of our groups advanced into wrong direction in Kashmir. Sat. Phones are ultimate but these things aren’t cheap and getting two of them, well do the maths. Keep a whistle if you cant get anything.

General guidelines

• Try staying with a group
• Don’t let people who meet you during the trek change your plan, they are most likely to demotivate you, no harm in chit chat
• It is best to get rid of litter by throwing it into the fire you made to cook food
• If water is scarce, You should have at-least a liter in reserve for one day, if it is abundantly available fill whenever possible, don’t carry extra weight
• Don’t poop/pee in the water or near it
• Tent in an area where you are safe from falling rocks
• Keep telling your partners to to step up
• Never ever leave, a member on the trek, even if they are willing to take responsibility of the group. The group stays together.
• Self defense weapons – keep one
• Keep away from local’s homes, because there are no fencing for privacy in villages since they don’t expect foreigners, Let your guide be the first to enter

One last  thing:

do NOT litter

retweet this if you made it to the end.

— ibhatti (@whizzyifti) October 13, 2013

I would like to thank Mr. Shehzad Ahmed, for his calculations of expenses and jotting down the inventory.