Hampta Pass 1/3

This post is about how I prepared for my first high altitude trek. Almost all Himalayan treks fall into high altitude treks in India. 

I always wanted to do a Himalayan trek after my friend Shruthi showed pictures of her trekking. The places looked nothing less than extraordinary. Growing up in the mountains, I was curious to know what mountains and rivers in the Himalayan range looked like. Shruthi makes sure to do one Himalayan trek every year. Since I had shown my interest in trekking to her, she asked me if I am interested to do a Himalayan trek this year. 

I was hesitant initially because of the trek duration which spans over multiple days and also extreme climate conditions. Shruthi assured me it will be fine and going with a trusted group like India Hikes is safe. After mulling over for few days, I ended up registering for the trek with India Hikes! 

The trek I signed up for was Hampta Pass trek. From online reviews, I discovered that its a trek recommended for first timers and decided it is going to be apt for me. I was always excited about the valley of flowers in Himachal Pradesh and when I read in India Hikes that Hampta Pass trek will also have flowers on its journey, I was even more excited! 

The most important thing about this trek was fitness. IH had sent a fitness guide(shown below) to follow for a month. Even though I could not religiously follow the plan, I made sure I worked out 5/6 times a week. I started with jogging in Cubbon Park on a weekend along my friend Sachin who helped me pace, who has experience in high altitude treks. He was one of the biggest motivators during the prep. Since I was never used to waking up early, it was a challenge to wake up at 6, take a bus to Cubbon Park and run there. Though it seemed tough to start, I liked how fresh I felt after the run.

On weekdays, I used to run in a park nearby home. It was not easy to  pace by running alone and that is when C25K application came in handy. Its an app that helps you pace and make you run 5K in 30 minutes with practice plans spread over a month. Morning run became tough when work at office started getting hectic. I then had to switch to running at office gym which turned out well with guidance from gym masters. 

At the end of one month, I was able to run 4K in 30 minutes. I personally feel its the endurance we build is what pays off more than how much we can cover in limited time. I also started taking stairs wherever possible. 

This helped me trek tirelessly for 5 days with an average of 5 kms a day. I also suggest doing some shoulder strengthening exercises because you will end up trekking with your backpack of at least 7 kgs on your back. 

While I enjoyed getting fit, I dreaded over shopping for the trek. I will share the checklist I made to do the required shopping. Videos by Swathi of IH was helpful in choosing right shoes and clothes for the trek.  I preferred Decathlon for buying most of my checklist and Jockey for the rest. Most important item is your trekking shoes. I chose to buy Forclaz 500 as it was recommended by IH and Decathlon for a good grip on rough terrain and snow. 

I bought three light weight hiking t shirts, a fleece jacket, a pair of thermals, wind jacket, two quick dry trekking pants. It is important to wear several layers of clothes to prevent cold and wind at high altitude. It is also important to cover your feet always. I recommend having 3 pairs of normal socks and a pair of woollen socks for use at night. Key is to keep your luggage as light as you can because its you who carry your backup throughout unless you chose to offload. 

Eastern Stores in commercial street is also good place to buy woollen clothing. 

I will write about trekking experience in the upcoming blog posts. 

This is what my checklist looked like:

References:
This is a blog I referred of my college junior Sujaya Maiyya, a high altitude trekker, has written eloquently shared her expereince. 
http://wanderin-soul.blogspot.in/2016/08/things-to-actually-carry-for-trek.html