Trekking tips for a safe and enjoyable trek through the Himalayas

While you would of course have taken at most care to address all the aspects of preparation, we thought of letting you know of some of the most important aspects we realized through our experience. In some cases, we were well prepared and in some we were not. While everyone plans things differently and cares of different aspects, we think that this set should help you consider in your preparation plan any aspects you may have inadvertently missed out. We will be happy if you write to this blog and add any other aspects we did not realize or encounter, but you believe could be useful for other fellow trekkers. These are in no particular order.

1. The best season to trek in Uttarakhand is 15^th September to 15^th October, a week here and there depending on how early the monsoon sets in that year. You would hit the most perfect weather possible, with little rain and not as cold as it would get later on in the year. This is also not the thick of the pilgrimage season, so you will not hit too much crowd on the way back and forth to the trek base. The second best would be between 15^th April and 15^th May.
2. Early morning between sunrise and 9:00 am is the best time for clear views of the peaks and the mountains. Post mid-morning, the clouds invariably start gathering restricting the view significantly. So, try and camp as close as possible to the mountain top (I know it will be much more open and cold the higher you camp), so that you could reach the top within an hours’ trek up.
3. Start you day as early as you can. Have an early breakfast; pack your lunch for the break on the way and try to reach the next camp before 2:00 pm or 3:30 pm at the latest. The weather tends to be great till about 2:00 with the Sun shining, but is very likely to turn nastier beyond 2:00 pm with gusty cold winds and likely showers (mind you the Himalayan weather is quite unpredictable really, but does demonstrate this basic pattern anyway)
4. However much you hate it, stretching exercises at the start and the end of the day everyday are absolutely important to a healthy and happy trek. Ensure you spend at least 10 minutes stretching every part of your body from head to toes. It is best if you assign a member with fitness orientation the task of leading everyone through this.
5. Eat a lot through the day, predominantly proteins. Eggs, milk and bran (daliya) for breakfast, dry fruit, dink laddus, khajur and alepak work best along the way, cooked pulses  and a candy bar with the lunch, warm soup in the evening greatly help. Avoid oily/spicy food, alcohol and smoking, if you can; though small measure of alcohol in the evening could help keep you warm in the night. Remember you would lose about 500-600 calories per every hour of your trek. For a 15 km trek through the day, typically you would lose at least about 3500 calories.
6. Ensure you are always properly hydrated. You should consume at least 3-4 litres of water every day during the trek. You don’t need to carry a lot of bottled water; as the water from the streams is extremely clean and cold. It is important to carry lot of Electral or Glucon-D though; mix it with the water at the start of the day. A water bag with an attached sipper works best, as the weight of the water gets spread evenly (water weighs a ton) and the sipper allows you to drink small quantities at a time and multiple time. You will feel exhausted quicker if you get dehydration.
7. Ensure you wear good shoes. Trekking shoes work best, as they have thick soles that allow you to step on the stones more comfortably. It is great if you can apply the water proofing spray to the shoes to keep them dry, even when you step through the flowing water or even if it rains. Keep in mind that the trek lasts longer than a day and there are no easy ways to dry and heat up your wet shoes to wear the next day. I like to carry another pair and it surely helped me this time round.
8. Even in the best of the seasons, the Himalayan weather is as unpredictable as you. It is warm and sunny during the day, but shifts to cold after 2:00 pm and gets quite cold. The best way to manage this is the dress up in layers. Wear at least 3-4 layers of the clothes. Layers create intermediate resistance for heat dispersion and protect you well. A thermal layer inside (compression layers work best as Prashant and Nikhil can tell you) and a layered jacket outside (ask Pramod) will surely protect you. Carry a poncho with you for protection from rain if the outer layer of your jacket in not water proof. Ditto for the legs; wear warm, semi water proof breathable trekking pants and thermal if you feel cold.
9. It is important to bring along a local guide, who knows his way along the trek. With significant limestone content, the Himalayan ranges are much more prone to land sides and rock falls. The landslides block your usual route and the guide must be able to understand a safe workaround for the missing trails. He will also ensure that you don’t lose your trail. Being on a wrong path after 2:00 pm is inviting for trouble.
10. Nothing better than having a guide with you who is equipped with all the good gadgets such as the compass, the GPS etc; and someone who knows his peaks and rivers correctly irrespective of which direction you look at them.
11. Ensure you carry good tents (double layered to protect from rain), double mats below the sleeping bags for comfort from the uneven tent ground and warm sleeping bags. You will need to carry enough warm cloths and also protection from rain. Ensure all your clothes are packed in plastic bags for protection from rain, unless you carry a plastic cover for your ruck sack itself which will provide overall protection.
12. It gets pitch dark in the night at the camp, so you need to carry a strong torch at a minimum. An LED based white light with sharp focus that covers long distance is good. Carry extra batteries if needed. Pramod and Nikhil carries head mounted (hands free and auto focus) torches, which were quite popularly borrowed by everyone. Even when you have a good torch, don’t venture out alone in the night for any reason; don’t hesitate to wake your buddy up and ask him to join you.  Umedji had a clever gadget of solar lamps that we could charge during the day and use through the night as needed. They supported us well through the cooking and dining in the night. He provided one such lamp for each tent for the night.
13. Hopefully you don’t need them much; but you can never be underprepared with medicines. Treat them like insurance; thank god if you don’t need to use them, but you should have them handy in case of need. Carry all kinds of medicine including cold, cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, stomach flu, loose motion, allergy, insect bites, muscle pull, pain medicine and whatever else you can think of. We carried some Ayurvedic medicines such as the oil of Bhimseni Kapur, Narayan oil and Divya dhara oil from Baba Ramdev. These are all useful to massage and relax your muscles in the night and I used them regularly to good effect.
14. There is paucity of good medicine in the villages that you will pass through the journey due to the lack of accessibility and you will come across hordes of sweet children asking you for medicine. Typically they don’t even know which medicine is to be used for what purpose, so you will need to carefully tell them about it. Carry a lot of additional fever and pain medicine specifically to distribute in the villages. And give away all your medicine that you don’t need towards the end of your trek. We are also planning to carry a bunch of chocolates for the little ones that you meet along the way.
15. And last but not the least, the golden rule of “No littering” anywhere during the trek. We take all the effort to visit the parts of India for their pristine unadulterated nature; so let us make all the attempts to keep it that way. Nothing makes me madder than seeing a torn Lays packet at the top of a majestic mountain. Otherwise, these places will not remain worth visiting any more. You would have observed this as well; while you see clean mountains and forest away from human civilization the moment you approach human population (and it gets worse in the dense cities such as Mumbai) you start seeing a lot of cleanliness issues. It pains me immensely to see all the places of pilgrimage so full of unclean surroundings; nowhere in the western world would you see this; something we all can learn from.

     For your convenience, I have added below a small table listing all the items you should carry for the Himalayan trek. Even though your list may differ and I am sure this will evolve for us as well through future years; it should still serve you as a guide.