The Coronavirus pandemic has taken the world by a storm. As we spend our days indoors, we can’t help but yearn to be outside. We, at TrekNomads, believe that this is the best time to prepare yourself for a trek! Whether you’ve booked your trek or are still deciding on doing a trek this year, this time period is golden. To help you, we’ve jotted down some super practical and easy trekking tips to prep you for a one-day, two-day, Himalayan or any other International trek this year! Not only will this get you active during the lockdown, it will also leave you with some positive vibes.
Trekking Tips That Will Help You Prep for a Trek
Get Fit!
Let’s admit it, to trek, you need to be fit. You can’t enjoy the beautiful view if you’re huffing and puffing for breath, now, can you? If you’re choosing an easy one-day trek like Skandagiri or wish to take up something more challenging like Everest Base Camp with Gokyo Ri, you need to be fit. The level of fitness required varies for various treks. There are a bunch of easy trek friendly workouts that you can do at home without equipment.
What are trek friendly exercises?
These are workouts work on very specific muscle groups that you use while trekking. They will help you improve your balance, strengthen your core, improve your endurance and help you trek with ease.
- Stair Climbing
How will this help – Pushing your body against gravity is a great cardiovascular activity. Stair climbing helps strengthen the muscles around your knees and helps build endurance. - Push-Ups
How will this help – Push-ups help you strengthen your upper body and your core, which is very important when you ascend while carrying a backpack. - Squats
How will this help – Squats are the best form of functional fitness. They promote balance and stability and strengthen legs, thighs, hips, buttocks, and hamstrings. - Crunches
How will this help – Crunches work on your abdominal muscles to build your core strength. This exercise will help you keep your balance on uneven surfaces. - Interval Running
How will this help –Running is a great aerobic cardiovascular workout that uses more oxygen. This workout helps makes your lungs stronger. - Burpees
How will this help – Burpees is a great full-body strength training exercise and the ultimate example of functional fitness which helps abs, hamstrings, chest, glutes, and arms. - Rest
How will this help – Rest is an integral part of your fitness routine which must not be missed. Overdoing can cause an unnecessary injury to your body.
Depending on the kind of trek, you can increase the number of sets. These trekking exercises will help you get to Skandagiri, Annapurna Circuit trail or even the summit of mighty Mt. Kilimanjaro
Take a virtual tour of the mountains through trekking movies!
One of the most crucial aspects of venturing out on high-altitude trek is making your mind for it. Watching movies and documentaries of trekking & mountaineering can keep you motivated while virtually taking you to the mountains. The next best thing to trekking to Everest Base Camp, is watching people trek to the summit of Mt. Everest. Say goodbye to that wanderlust!
Take Some Trekking Tips from Books!
While most of us love watching movies, others love their daily dose of literature. When it comes to trekking, there are a million books that have been written. Some of them have been made into movies, and the others remain close to our hearts for many various reasons. Books have detailing and they let you experience the thrill of adventure right from where you’re seated.
Here’s our list of 22 mind-blowing books on trekking, hiking and mountaineering written by some of the best writers in the world!
Plan your next trek!
Sometimes, planning your trek can be just as enjoyable as trekking. Most of the time, we see our Nomads plan treks in an impulse. Instead, take this time to learn more about the places that you can trek & have trekked to. Understand a little more about the culture of the region and their norms and traditions.
If you’ve decided on a region and the amount of time you can take off, here are some of our suggestions:
Valley of Flowers Trek
Departures from: June – September
Best time to trek: August
Number of Days: 9 Days (you will need five days of leave. We have departures every Saturday, and we return on Sunday)
Level of Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Best for: Beginners
Best part about the trek: Let’s put it this way, if you’re thinking of heaven in Uttarakhand, this is it! You get to:
- See 500 different varieties of flowers.
- Trek to the world’s highest Gurudwara – Sri Hemkund Sahib
- Visit Badrinath & Mana
- Get to visit Auli and trek to Gorson Bugyal as well!
Kashmir Great Lakes
Departures from: July & August
Best time to trek: August
Number of Days: 10 Days
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Best for: Beginners – Intermediate
Best part about the trek:
- Visit Srinagar, Sonmarg, Zoji la Pass & Zero point
- Trek to some of the most unexplored places in Kashmir and get a glimpse of its beauty
- Trek to and camp near 5 magnificent lakes in Kashmir
Everest Base Camp Trek with Gokyo Ri
Departures from: September
Best time to trek: September
Number of Days: 18 Days
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Best for: Advanced trekkers with previous high-altitude trekking experience
Best part about the trek:
- Experience the various aspects of Nepal
- Summit Kalapatthar and watch the sunrise there
- Trek to Gokyo lakes & summit Gokyo Ri
- Cross Chola Pass – One of the most challenging portions of the trek
- Come face to face with the incredibly mighty Khumbu glacier.
Annapurna Circuit Trek
Departures from: October
Best time to trek: October
Number of Days: 16 Days
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Best for: Advanced trekkers with previous high-altitude trekking experience
Best part about the trek:
- Witness stunning views of Annapurna, Lamjung Kailash, Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri and more
- Stay in teahouses of small villages
- Cross Thorong La Pass (5,416 m)
- Visit Muktinath, other holy temples, and monasteries
- Explore beautiful villages of Braga, Manang, Kagbeni, Jomsom, and Marpha
- Trek the 1,000 year-old trade route in Nepal
Mt. Kilimanjaro Summit Expedition
Departures from: August
Best time to trek: Jan – March & June – October
Number of Days: 11 Days
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
Best for: Advanced trekkers with previous high-altitude trekking experience
Best part about the trek:
- Trek and Summit Africa’s highest peak
- Tick off one of the Seven Summits Peak in the world
- Summit Kilimanjaro on a Full Moon night
- Watch the sunrise from Uhuru Peak
- 3 days of safari in Tarangire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater
Hone your photography skills!
When we speak of trekking tips, one of the most underrated things which is MUST HAVE while is excellent photography skills. From the aperture’s to framing to manual mode, this is the best time to learn all about photography and practice it in your environment too. This will help you capture incredible pictures of the trek, and you will learn a new skill!
Create a trek journal
A trek journal is a great way to store memories and pictures from a trek you’ve been on. Let yourself be nostalgic and appreciate all the fantastic experiences you’ve had so far. Take your time to enjoy the process and put the journal together. This journal will help you in the next trek you take up as well. Imagine having all of those moments captured in one place. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?
Be money-wise
The lockdown has put a stop on stepping outside and has cut down unnecessary expenditure. The more we’re staying inside, the more we’re saving. This is the time to be money-wise and start saving for that dream trek, travel or adventure.
These are some of our most recommended trekking tips to help you plan and prep for a trek. Make the most of this time, learn something new and most importantly, no matter how much you miss the mountains, always stay indoors.