Trekking – a demanding hobby

Outdoor hobbies and pastimes can be anything from pleasing to adventurous and even strenuous. And trekking is certainly one the most adventurous and rigorous hobby as it demands a very high state of mental and physical alertness and robustness. Those who love to wade through knee deep water when going cross country, passing through dense jungles filled with thorns and many types of insects and creatures sticking to your legs or the hair raising mountain trails and paths, then trekking is certainly the right kind of hobby.

Although any hobby can be taken individually, outdoor hobbies are best enjoyed when undertaken with friends or as a group as one never knows when a helping hand may be required out there in nowhere. Trekking can be just enjoying the landscape outside the city, or making it more demanding when attempting rugged cross country terrain studded with stony and marshy patches. One really has to know one’s physical abilities and strengths before undertaking trekking as a hobby.

For those who combine camping with trekking, need to be good at cooking, camp setting, tricks to live off the land and reading maps and using compasses or GPSs. Since the basic gear for trekking is the right kind of footwear, one has to ensure to have properly fitting shoes as per the requirement of the terrain and spare socks in case wading is to be encountered. Likewise weather is another factor. As one goes high up in the mountains, temperature drops suddenly which may be at variance to the ground temperature from where trekking commenced. Therefore a trekker has to be have detailed knowledge of the area one is attempting to trek and should be equipped and dressed accordingly.

One has to have a medical kit to cater for insect bites and care for bruises from unexpected falls and lotions to avoid sunburns. Needless to say a water bottle is a must for every trekker.

When going into mountains, one has to be very careful when walking inside dry water beds as the mountains floods are very flashy and sudden. What looks like a dry patch may become instantly filled up in no time. So as a thumb rule, one should use these places for as less time as possible and one should get out as sudden gushes of water don’t allow reaction time for an exit. Likewise one shouldn’t attempt to get into a nullah more than 2-3 feet deep.

If one is properly geared up, and is both mentally and physically fit, and dares to take adventures, trekking is the best hobby.