Trekking
The best idea for escaping from daily hectic, dull, and boring life is hiking and trekking. If you are wondering what is trekking? Then consider it as a long-distance walk or hiking that continues for several days to several weeks. It could be a mission, party, objective, motive, and commitment for you. You can make it longer or shorter according to your desire for two to three days or a week to months.
This distant walking offers you chances for finding new friends around the globe and getting to know about their lives, traditions, and cultures. You get much experience and satisfaction of your soul by travelling to different places on earth like on beautiful mountains, unspoiled and enchanting wilderness areas.
The trekking spirit is just about assembling your bivouac at twilight, enjoying looking at stars, and discovering new terrain every day. During trekking, you can set your bivouac at any place like in a vast desert, countryside, or on a beautiful mountain. It challenges your physical ability, mental and psychological capacity as well as endurance.
Although trekking is not just mountaineering, it could still be great to trek on mountain ranges to explore the most charming and fascinating world areas. It could be a great adventure for you because there are no roads nor trouble-free life and facilities like in cities. You will enjoy fascinating views of magnificent panoramas, as well as the traditions and cultures of native people.
For trekking, you have to be physically fit and mentally strong. Prepare yourself by hiking daily at a particular place. For getting to know your aptitude and ability, plan trekking with a professional trekker or be a member of an adventure club. Before going trekking, you must have the basic training of camp crafting, first aiding, and map reading for any unpredictable situation. Also, get information about your trekking areas, native people, weather conditions, and rescue facilities before starting your track.
The Importance of Trekking and why to trek:
What is trekking? It is a question that pops up in your mind when you get to know about the brave trekkers who explore the world. So, you can consider trekking as a unique and amazing learning experience as well as a vigorous exercise. It provides you an opportunity to enhance your experience and knowledge about other cultures in this world. By overcoming the uncertainties and difficulties during trekking, you will surely enhance your abilities to face troubles in your life.
Indirectly, it polishes your physical and psychological abilities and improves your fitness. Above all, you can satisfy your soul, your mind by enchanting nature views and feel the blessing of living on such a beautiful earth. After such amazing experiences, you will forget about stress and depression.
Trekking changes your point of view of seeing nature and your life out of the box. It improves your interacting skills as well and ultimately you find a lot of friends from different societies and cultures. During trekking, you also encounter wildlife and see the most fierce to tamed animals with all their varieties and beauties.
Tracking tears your ticket of failure by removing your negative thoughts and filling your mind with positive vibes. These vibes come from your passionate, strong, and happy trek fellows and from the charming nature that attracts your mind and your heart. It tells you that nothing is impossible and you can achieve whatever you want as your goal to explore the highest peak of a mountain.
This experience of overcoming negative thoughts and following positive vibes ensures you a happy and satisfied life. It makes you more determined, more believer, and much more independent from others. You cannot describe your feelings about overcoming the fear of failure and reaching your destiny. Every day is a new and different day from the previous one in trekking with new people and new places.
When to Trek?
Before planning for a trek, you must gather information about the weather and crowds of that place. Generally, the crowds depend on the weather, pleasant weather means more crowds. During the season of tourists, the hotels and flights are fully booked and the trails are very busy. So, you have to be more careful and active in this season.
The best answer for what is trekking and when to trek is when the weather is bearable and most pleasant for trekking. In the mountainous regions, the nights are colder and the days are pleasurable during autumn. Here the mornings are pleasantly cool and clear. The clouds build in the afternoon and disappear at night revealing an amazing starry sky.
During winter, the temperature is colder to 10 degrees. The monsoon is also a good time for trekking. But, it is possible if you can endure the rain and slippery trails. The seasons may vary for different trekking place. For some places, summer is the best and for some winter is great. Usually, spring and autumn are best for trekking.
Also Check: Hiking Gear List.
Types of Trekking
If you are looking for what is trekking and what are its types? Then here is the answer. Trekking has three main types: Teahouse trekking, camp trekking, and hiring of porters and guide.
Teahouse trekking means you can sleep and eat during a trek at a local lodge. A teahouse is like a lodge that always provides accommodation and it is not like a restaurant that only offers food. After arranging your accommodation and food, you can set your schedule for trekking. You can walk slower or faster and make your side trips that are not possible with large groups. Also, you can spend your time photographing flowers, mountains or people, and much more. You can spend your day only resting in a beautiful place or by wandering and interacting with natives.
On the other hand, a camping trek is a completely assembled supported trek. This trek includes a group of cooks, guides, porters, and Sherpa for your company. You just have to carry a small bag of your necessities during the day and at night you will be provided with dining, sleeping and toilet tents.
In this trekking, you have to pay service charges or wages to the porter and guide as per day or for a full trip. Trekkers in such trekking have a great, enjoyable, enriching, and rewarding trek. You can search for any agency or company that offers such arrangements. These companies provide you all the facilities that satisfy your needs. You just have to tell them what you exactly want.
World’s Trekking Regions
The best regions for trekking are the Himalayan ranges. These are the chains of the youngest and highest mountains of the world. It also encloses a great region with deep cultural and religious traditions and an amazing variation of people. Kathmandu is another best region that cannot be missed for trekking. You will see the unique culture and specular beauty. There are only a few roads that extend deeply in the hills and are the only way for visiting the kingdom’s remote regions most intimately and slowly like walking. Although it takes a lot of time and effort, the reward diminishes all the fatigue.
The world’s most popular regions for trekking are GR20 (a legendary place for landscapes diversity), Inca Trail of Peru, Pays Dogon in Mali, the Indian Himalayas, Overland Track, Route burn Track, The Narrows (Zion National Park), The Haute Route and the Baltoro Glacier and K2 (the second highest peak of the world).
Trekking’s Equipment
As you know, trekking is another name for walking and everyone wants to fully enjoy this walk in the hills or mountains for a day or many days. Many difficult challenges may occur in front of you when you are going on a trekking journey. You can secure yourself and fully enjoy your trek in the Himalayas, Nepal, or anywhere in the world where you want.
Using the right trekking equipment is essential according to the area and weather conditions. Purchasing the best trekking equipment is now possible and you can buy all the necessary gear. But firstly you should know all the essential trekking gears before buying which are given below:
- Warm jacket (Waterproof and Windproof) with hood or poncho
- Tracksuit, Shorts, Trousers, or Skirts
- Pair of Gloves, Sandals, and Track Shoes
- Long-Sleeved Fleece Windproof
- Woolen Hat, Shirts, and Thick Sweaters
- Thermal coat
- Towel and Toilet Towels or Papers
- 2 pair of thin and woolen socks, lightweight running boots
- Snow glasses and polarizing sunglasses (check our sunglasses guide here)
- Headlamp or torch and chargeable batteries
- Some of the other essential trekking Equipment are Camera, Trekking Map, Sleeping Bag, Pillow, Swiss Army knife, Matches or Lighter, Reading Books, Umbrella, Water Bottle, Plastic Bags; and Backpack cover, Trekking Sticks, First Aid kit, Whistle, Rope, Soap Bar or Liquid Soap, Water purification tablets, Earplugs, Sewing/Repair Kit, Tant, Stove, and Fuel
Trekking Risks and Preventions
It is a thrilling and risky activity that depends on your track selection. Trek on the dangerous path is such a great risk. If you follow the given instructions during the trek, the risk can be minimized and you can save your life. Every risk is different and there are too many dangers, you should try to avoid all the risks such as unexpected weather changes, mosquitos, wildlife, sunburn, bad footing, and many more.
When you make a plan of trekking, you should be ready with all the essential equipment to face any type of risk. Must bring clothes, a torch, socks, gloves, and other important gear to survive in bad weather. If you are trekking in the forestry, don’t try to play wildlife. They can bring some unwanted conditions for you.
To avoid the bad footing pain on mountains, just buy trekking shoes that keep your feet safe and move on easily. On a sunny day, you must wear sunglasses and drink water as much as you can. To avoid mosquito bites, you should stay in tents and apply mosquito repellent cream on all uncovered body parts.
