What to carry during a trek?

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Good shoes

For most treks normal sport shoes (also used for walking, running) are ok. However, for some treks through rough, uneven terrain, steep uphill or downhill, rainy/muddy weather it's better to wear trekking boots (thicker soles, weather proof). Trekking boots are available at Woodlands but also at Reebock, Nike and Adidas. Two common problems faced during treks: people using new shoes (not worn before) or people using worn shoes and loosing their soles. In both cases people can be in serious trouble.

Good back-pack

Number two on the list is a good, solid back pack to carry your luggage (water, food, clothes, sleeping bag, etc.). Buy it neither too big, neither to small. Best size is medium to medium plus. Most treks include only one overnight stay so we mostly travel light. Good brand for back packs is Livya available at Roshan in T. Nagar.

Sleeping mat

Most treks involve overnight stay in the forest or on a mountain. For a comfortable sleep on uneven (and sometimes cold) underground a sleeping mat is recommended. You can either bring your regular plastic sleeping mat from home (heavier) or better is to buy a thermocoil mat. A thermocoil mat has two benifits - it's light and provides excellent isolation against the cold underground. Available at following place: near to Sathyam theatre (vehicle) exit gate, there is a watch tower near to the 4 cross-roads junction with a traffic signal. In that area, there will be lots of shops that would sell packing materials. You can buy 2 meters of that packing material and cut it into half length wise. Which would provide sleeping mats for 2 people. 1 meter packing material (black / white ) of 3/4 inch thickness would cost around 80 to 85 Rs Max. Other location: Parrys in Moor Street opposite to the police station. Very near to Parry building. 

Sleeping bag or blanket

In case over overnight stay it's good to have a sleeping bag which protects against the cold. Important is to go for a compact and lightweight one as you will need to carry it during the entire trek. A sleeping bag also provides a more comfortable sleep on uneven underground. It's recommended to buy your own bag. We buy ours in Wildcraft Bangalore (950Rs). On few treks (passing through Bangalore) we can rent sleeping bags in BMC Bangalore. Alternative is to carry a blanket which is also fine for most of our low-altitude treks.

Torch

For treks with overnight stay you should carry a torch to find your way around in the dark (cooking, setting up tents, playing UNO, ...). Buy an LED torch (120Rs) available in your local electricity shop. It's cheap, light to carry, compact and has long, long battery live. I have been using mine with the same 3 x AA batteries for the past 5 treks.

Sun cap

Although we mostly go for green, forest like places for trekking, we sometimes need to trek in the open sun during the hot hours of the day. At that time a sun cap and some sun cream are indispensable.

Clothes

Use light and comfortable clothes for trekking. A t-shirt (preferrably the club's ;-) with long pant or shorts is good. You will be sweating during most treks so airy clothes is recommended. Don't use bright colors which will attract animals when trekking in the forest. Some treks happen in more dense jungle, or through thorny bushes at times which you should use more protective clothing. One caution to jeans fans - in many treks we get wet (streams, waterfalls) and there is nothing heavier then a wet jeans pant. Also carry one extra set of clothes with you - it feels good to change after a sweathy 2-day trek through forest.

Toiletry

For overnight treks, bring along your brush & tooth paste and comb. Leave your makeup kit, beauty items, gels, soap, shampoo, ... at home where they belong. Remember, it's important to minimize your weight. Trust me, you can survive without all of this. We mostly trek near streams or waterfalls where you can freshen up your face and if you are lucky jump into the stream.

Camera

Compact camera, SLR, anything will do. Leave camcorders at home (too bulky to carry). Your camera is an essential tool to make non-participants of a trek extra jealous for not joining the trek. Don't forget to keep shooting while trekking. Many people bring it along but come back with few photos. After each trek, everyone uploads his/her photos online and all albums are posted on our blog.

Snacks

If you want you can bring along some snacks  with you like energy bars, dates, nuts, dry fruits, etc. Take healthy stuff. It's highly recommended to bring a glucose or glucondy packet with you (most like the orange flavor). Nothing more tasty and energizing than fresh mountain water mixed with glucose. That definitely keeps you going during the trek.

Jacket

During winter or rainy season it's good to bring a warm sweater or raining jacket along with you. Some higher altitude (2000m) places like Kodai, Munnar can be very cold during the nights. Other places (max 1000m) are typically comfortable during the night with just your sleeping bag. During summer season or low altitude treks there is not need to bring either one along with you.

Important

There is one fatal mistake you can make and that is carrying too much weight on your back. As most treks go through more challenging terrain or even uphill climbs it's important to minimize your weight as much as possible. Note also that we will distribute water, food and other stuff to carry extra in your back pack. Every extra kilogram carried over 10-20-30 kilometers can come down on you very hard.

What NOT to carry

Water and food for the entire trek is arranged by the club organizers. These things are much easier to buy in bulk. While trekking to virgin forest and mountain locations we actually carry minimal weight and fill up our bottles in water streams and waterfalls. Mother Nature's water tastes heavinly compared to the bottle of mineral water you buy in the shop.

The organizers also take care of tents if required - mostly we sleep in the open. Only during winter or raining season we carry tents with us. Otherwise nothing beats sleeping under the open sky beneath the bright stars. We also bring along our cooking gear which consists of a cooking pot, spoon and lighter. Three big stones are used to make a cooking place and fire wood is gathered from nearby our camping site.

That's it!

Happy Trekking,

Peter.