Carry less enjoy the most
Bob wants a vacation and plans a trek to Nepal’s breathtaking rugged landscape, saturated with excitement and packed with every essentials. Mid-trek, he’s burdened by regrets and exhaustion because he didn’t read this. Don’t be like Bob, read on, know how to prepare for a perfect trek, pack smart, and make your trek as awesome as possible.
For Most dissatisfied trekkers, one of the main reasons behind their disappointment is packing too much-unneeded stuff causing heavy backpacks. Moreover, Over-packing can lead to discomfort, physical strain, and unnecessarily challenging hike, while under-packing may result in difficulties in any conditions or emergencies in your wonderful trek experience.
So, this is where smart packing comes into play which is crucial for a perfect trekking experience. Right preparation not only ensures that you have all the essentials but also affects your enjoyment and efficiency on the trail.
What do you mean by smart packing?
Suppose your phone is dead, you have every other charger than the one that supports your phone, yes this sucks. Similarly in Trek, you don’t require all the essentials. You just need those gears that actually are required in the trek and are lightweight and portable. For this, you need to know about smart packing.
Packing smart means selecting gear that matches your necessities, choosing versatile items, and considering the demands of your trek also being light-weighted. This can enhance your comfort, mobility, and engagement with the serene vistas.
Why packing smartly is important?
You are going for a trek in Nepal, As you make your way ahead on the enchanting trail, you’ll encounter challenging steps, steep ascents, unpredictable weather, and rugged terrains that test your stamina, and agility at every step.
Making your journey both adventurous and mesmerizing but the experience can suddenly turn into a struggle if you have stuffed your bag with too many unnecessary items. You want your trek to be more enjoyable rather than more like a physical test. To prevent these uncertain situations, you need to stick with essentials only and choose wisely what to carry on your trek. So, for your comfort knowing smart packing is very much crucial.
You Can Always Hire a Porter
If you have booked a package with a company you will be assigned with a porter. The assigned porter will carry a maximum weight of 25kg of weight and one porter can easily carry a load of two trekkers.
In case you are going on a solo adventure you can hire a porter for a reasonable price. A porter will cost anywhere upwards of $25 per day. Another thing to keep in mind is the ethical treatment of the porters. Be careful you don't pack stuff that you won't have much use for, avoiding problems that may arise later on.
What Not to Pack?
To make your trekking experience the best, You should be careful while selecting your essentials. Carrying heavy and unnecessary bulky items will just take up more space and weigh you down on your trail.
In addition to that, if you think you need more gadgets in your trek, you are wrong because even a phone or lightweight mirrorless camera is enough to capture memories as it has some really good quality nowadays still carrying a bulky camera is not a good decision as you won’t be using it much. Hence, carrying too many gadgets, jewellery and valuables is of no use while trekking. Furthermore, the risk of getting damaged or lost increases.
Even if you are trekking into serene mountains, you don’t have to misunderstand that there won’t be any homestays or shops on your trail. You will always be treated in a luxurious way. You don’t even require a sleeping bag, you’ll be ending your day at different homestays on your way. Even thinking of carrying too much of snacks is a waste because it will just add weight when you can find many tea shops and local shops where you can find snacks easily.
Common Packing Mistakes
Mistakes are very common, everyone stumbles but knowing the mistakes and preventing them next time is what should be done for growth. We don’t want you to make the same mistake, so why not know about the mistakes and try to prevent them?
Recently, it has been found that many trekkers regret their trail walking due to overpacking. Bringing too much of unnecessary weight has made their journey less enjoyable. Some trekkers even think it better to pay for porters due to overpacking rather than suffering. Whenever you plan a trek to the Annapurna Basecamp, Langtang Valley, or others you should check the season and plan it accordingly.
What trekkers do wrong while packing in a trek is that they think carrying unnecessary things like bulky jackets, and books for reading however they don’t get any time for that, and other just-in-case items will be beneficial but the reality is they are just adding weights on themselves.
If you are with a proper guide, you don’t even need to carry any medicines for altitude sickness, motion sickness, or others as a guide will provide those in case of need. Guides will also provide oxygen gas cylinders in case of emergency. However, you must carry lip balms, sunscreen, and other products more than you think because you need to apply them many times a day.
Being less careful with packing and ignoring necessary items has also led to difficulties in cold temperatures and higher altitudes. So, always be careful.
What to carry for a trek?
This is how treks are planned, you get too exhausted with your daily work life, craving peace of mind. When you have finally decided to go on a trek, you start preparing. You then try to pack every just-in-case gear which is rarely or never used in the trek.
Due to this, on your trail, the same exhaustion that you wanted to get rid of from trekking hits you back. So, what’s the point of hitting the trails if it ain’t going to get you the peace and relaxation with the nature you wanted?
Always be careful about what you really need in a trek. Trekking gears that you must require;
Right Backpack for trek:
The first thing you need for packing is of course your backpack. Choosing the perfect backpack for a trek will help you manage your stuff easily and give you enough space for all the essentials.
The backpack is what you’ll be carrying most of the time on your trail unless you pay for a porter. So, it must be lightweight, comfortable, and durable with manageable straps and a hip belt.
A breathable back panel for reducing sweat, a detachable rain cover, and a hydration sleeve should also be available on your backpack. Neither too big nor too small, a medium-sized (40 – 60 litres will be enough) bag and a day pack (15-25 litres) with multiple compartments should be your choice for a trekking backpack.
Clothing required for the trek:
When you are done with choosing a backpack for your trek, you can now start selecting the required clothing. Most of you will think that you need to wear bulky clothes but in reality, you will be heading on to your trails with just one t-shirt on as you’ll feel the hit even while walking through the cold breeze. You need such clothes with which you’ll be layering as it is the best way to stay warm, dry, and comfortable at the same time on your trek.
You’ll need lightweight layers that can be easily worn and taken off for unpredictable weather.
Your clothing should contain;
Hiking jacket, Hiking pants, Undergarments, T-shirts and shorts (3-4 warm), Ordinary Shirt/T-shirt(long sleeve), Socks(4-5 pairs), Leggings, Thermals(2 pairs), Hats, gloves.
Rainwear should also be considered as the weather can be unpredictable on a trek. Rainwear includes; a raincoat and rain cover.
Packing clothes by balancing comfort, protection, and weight is a good strategy for smart packing.
Footwear for trekking:
Selection of footwear can change your trekking experience. You should carry primary hiking boots and sandals. A bad choice can cause blisters and sore feet, this can make your enjoyable trek into a painful one.
According to the trekking trails you should consider lightweight shoes for easy trails and high-cut boots for difficult terrain. Ensure that your feet are well-fitted with enough space for thick socks. Waterproof boots are better for wet conditions but may be less breathable. Look for good support and use your boots before the trek to avoid blisters. Choose a boot that is safe and comfortable for your feet.
Essential gadgets for the trek:
In this digital age, we all are surrounded by rapidly developing gadgets. Gadgets have become one of the essentials in our daily life. Even when trekking, different handy gadgets can help you in trekking. They allow you to ensure safety, navigate through the trails, communicate, and most importantly capture beautiful moments.
In your trekking experience you must carry these gadgets;
GPS device for navigation, personal locator beacon(PLB) for sending SOS signals, Lighting tools are a must in the dark, a portable power bank is essential for charging your other gadgets, a Camera for capturing beauties, and a mobile phone for multiple purposes.
Additionally, you should also carry maps in any case of gadget failure.
Other essentials:
Moreover, you have to prepare with necessary documents (permits, insurance, passport) for trekking through the Himalayas legally and insurance for your own safety in case of any uncertainty. Carry local money as you may need it anywhere such as tea shops, transportation, etc.
Most importantly you have to strictly care about yourself as the UV exposure at higher altitudes increases along with the unpredictable weather. Carry items like sunscreen, lip balm, a reusable water bottle, and toiletries. These items will be used frequently over all in your trek so don’t forget about them.
