Pick and Pack for your next Trek

Hi, I am Kuldip, who loves to be in the mountains. My soul lives there. Today I will be sharing what to carry in your winter backpack. I will be also sharing useful product links if you like to refer to buying them for your personal use.

So before I start to tell you what to pack let me tell you how we will start to pack. So normally I go from bottom to up. We will list out all the things we need from the bottom and we will gradually go to the upper.

1. Shoes: I recommend that you spend a good amount of money to get good and reliable shoes for your trekking journey. (If you are not the usual trekker and only go a few times then don’t buy shoes.)
   Link:
   Men Waterproof Trekking Boots 100 Grey
2. Socks: I mostly keep 2 types of socks with me. Both are woolen socks only but one that I wear during the campsite which is much warmer than normal woolen socks. Because at the campsite, you will feel much colder. And other that I wear usually during the trek time, that is also woolen socks. Some people also wear waterproof socks during trek when they have to walk through snow. But if there is not much heavy snow you can ignore it.
   To wear socks during the campsite I mostly keep 2 pairs of socks, and for trekking, I keep one pair for each day, suppose I have 5 days of trekking then 2 pairs for the campsite, and 5 pairs for trekking I keep with me.
   Link:
   Woolen Winter Socks -SH500 Mid Blue 2 Pairs
3. Dry Fit Trekking pants: Most people carry 4 to 5 track pants during track, trust me you don’t need more than 2 trekking pants. Just keep in mind that both trekking pants are dry fit only so if it gets wet then you can change to another and the wet one will be dry easily.
   Link:
   Men’s Water-Repellent Windproof Trekking Trousers MT900 Grey
   Men Winter Pant — Water repellent SH500 Black
   Men Modular Trekking Cargo MT500 Brown
4. Lower Thermal: Everyone should be good thermal because it is a lifesaver. It keeps your body very warm. Try to not use lower thermal during the trek time, but if it is too cold then you can wear lower thermal otherwise not wear it.
   Link:
   Men Thermal Pant for Skiing — BL500 Black
5. Upper Thermal: You also must have good upper thermal which will help you to keep your body warm. Never use upper thermal during trek time. As soon as you start trekking your body warms up easily and it will make your upper thermal wet and it is really hard to dry your thermal.
   Link:
   Men Thermal for Skiing BL500 — Black
6. Dry Fit T-Shirt: Even in the case of a t-shirt you need more than 2 dry fit t-shirts. One you will wear and one extra in case of one gets wet or you want to change.
   Link:
   Men Hiking Quick Dry Long Sleeve T-Shirt MH550 Grey
7. Fleece Jackets: Keep 2 good fleece jackets with you, don’t buy both of the same kind. One may be light warm and the other may be warmer, you can buy it like that. It helps you in layering. You can use one fleece jacket during the trek. You can adjust layers during trek depending on how cold you are feeling.
   Link:
   Men Fleece 500 — Black
   Men Hoodie Fleece Jacket SH500 Black
   Men Sweater Full-Zip Fleece for Hiking MH120 Grey
8. Sweater: Keep one good sweater with you. Don’t use a sweater during the trek time. If it is too cold then wear it only for a few minutes then take it out. Use only at the campsite and during sleep.
   Link:
   Men Sweater Jacket Extra Warm — SH100 Ochre
9. Down / Padded Jacket: You must have one good Down/Padded Jacket as well it helps much in windy weather. Wear it as soon as you reach at the campsite.
   Link:
   Men Trekking Down Jacket -10°C — MT500 Black
   Men Puffer Jacket for Trekking — MT100 -5°C Orange
10. Poncho / Waterproof Jacket: You also need a poncho or waterproof jacket in case of weather changes and rain.
    Link:
    Adult Hiking Rain Poncho 50 Blue
11. Gloves: I keep 2 types of gloves with me during the trek, one to wear at the campsite and night(I don’t wear them during sleep time), and one more snowproof glove. Some people also take waterproof gloves but I don’t think it is needed.
    Link:
    Adult Mountain Trekking Seamless Liner Gloves Trek 500 — grey
    Winter Gloves for Trekking — Stretchable Trek500 Black
12. Trekking Pole: Some people need one trekking pole some people need two trekking poles. Some people also trek without trekking poles. So buy/rent according to your needs. I like one trekking pole during ascending and two during descending.
    Link:
    1 affordable hiking pole — MT100 blue
13. Neck Warmer: You can use a Scarf, Mufflers, or Winter Neck Warmer. You only need them but make sure it is a good one.
    Link:
    Winter Neck Warmer — Adjustable Black
14. Sun Glasses: Wear it when the sun is harsh, and make sure it is polarized.
    Link:
    Adult Hiking Sunglasses Cat 3 MH140 Blue
15. Winter Cap: You need a good winter cap. You can use it during trek time too.
    Link:
    Woollen Winter Cap for Skiing Grey — Unisex
16. Sun Cap: You need it during the trek in the daytime when the sun is harsh.
    Link:
    Travel Cap 100 — Turquoise
17. Headlamp: You will need it badly at night and never use your phone for light at night because your battery will drain so fast at night.
    Link:
    Trekking USB Rechargeable Head Light 120 lumens — HL100 Blue

Note: All the above links are for reference, you can buy from anywhere you like.

You can also purchase some of things from this site: sharepal

Other Important things to keep in backpacks are as follows.

1. Water Bottle: Make sure you have 2 water bottles. And one must be an insulated thermal water bottle. Because sometimes temp goes to below zero degrees Celsius.
2. Spoon — Dish /Tifin Box— Steel Mug/Cup: Make sure you also have one tiffin box or dish with one spoon and have one steel mug or cup for tea or coffee.
3. Medicines: Must-have medicines are Diamox (To treat AMS symptoms), Avomine ( For Vomit), and Pain Killer Sprey (Moov or any other), ORS(You can use it with water for hydration). You also need to keep your mandatory medicines if you are taking any and keep some other basic medicine.
4. Nuts and Chocolates: Keep a good amount of nuts with you and eat them during the trek time. you can also bring some chocolates.
5. Toilet Roll: Make sure you have one because mostly you will have to go in the dry toilet during the trek.
6. Plastic Bag: Make sure you have 2–3 plastic bags in your spare so if your clothes get wet you can put them into the plastic bag.
7. Daily Toiletry Things: Toothbrush and paste, Sunscreen (50 spf), Lip balm(your lips get dry too soon), Toilet Paper (You have to go mostly in a dry toilet)
8. Small 20–30 liter Daypack: With your backpack make sure you also have a small 20 30 liter daypack which you can use during the summit day. Because you don’t want to take all the load at the summit.
9. Rain Cover for Backpack: Make sure you have a rain cover for your backpack and daypack as well so it can be used during the rain or snowfall.

Some Tips for Trekking:

1. Make sure you only wear a dry dry-fit T-shirt and dry-fit track pants during the trek time. If it is too cold then you can layer 1 or 2 more on the upper like fleece and a sweater. If it is windy use your padded or down jacket.
2. During trek try to breathe with your nose as much as possible because if you breathe with your mouth then you will dehydrate early and use more water.
3. Make sure you use your water accordingly for your next water source.
4. Don’t put anything extra in your backpack, You will feel the weight of a single niddle as soon as you start trekking.
5. Eat nuts during the trek to get energy and also drink enough water a day, try to drink 3–4 liters of water daily. And also have food from time to time.
6. Don’t put your waste on the trail or summit, We should do trekking while being responsible. And try to collect some waste that you found on the trail or summit.
7. Be kind to other fellow trekkers and be helpful to then if needed.