In two previous postings Rose and I already touched on some ideas about what to pack for the IP trail. From the blatantly hypothetical pre-trip pile it all in technique of ‘I packed my bag and in my bag I packed….’, to the realisation that we were both carrying around double the kind of weight remotely sensible for a pair of self-delusional aging overweight athletes in ‘General information…’ we have hinted that weight could, perhaps, just maybe, possibly be an issue. When half your pack contents spend seven days making no contribution to the trek, there is clearly a potential problem with non-contributory passengers. Something’s got to go. Many things actually.
Next time, oh next time, we would do it so differently.
We actually carried (please do not snort too loudly at this) a multi-fuel pressure stove with empty fuel bottle around the whole trek with us. Yes, that’s right. An EMPTY fuel bottle, which of course rendered the stove merely decorative. No one in Kathmandu sells the required fuel. So, no fuel, no purpose for the stove; no stove, no purpose for the mess tins and fancy eating set; no mess tins and fancy eating set, no purpose for the ground coffee and speciality herbal teas. And as you already know from ‘water, water (and tea and Raksi), everywhere’, tea is not exactly a rare commodity in Nepal. The whole thing just unravels from either end. It’s embarrassing.
Likewise the four packs of dense high protein bars that reappeared from the bottom of my pack in Kathmandu at the end of the trek. I’ve still got them, safely repatriated back home. Useless pack passengers, all twelve of them. Most days we walked from 08.00 to 14.00ish, fuelled up on some combination of rice, lentils, vegetables, rotis, boiled eggs and sweet black tea. Hungry? Have another cup of tea.
Clothing? Think about it. Just how many pairs of legs have you got? You can only wear one pair of trousers at a time. If you have been sensible and bought the modern wickable ones, any sweat generated one day will have dried out by the time you come to put them on the next. You’ll be sitting on hard packed earth floors and ancient benches in the evenings so its not as if you will need to dress for dinner. Two pairs will be plenty and even one would suffice if you are a real hard case and wash them out at night clad in your long johns. As for shorts, well Rose and I have different points of view. He is a shorts man, I’m not – mainly because I’m a pockets person and trousers score more highly in this regard. My shorts made the journey around the trek without making a single contribution to it. Smug bastards.
The perceptive among you will have noticed the fleeting reference to thermal underwear. Definitely a must. Warm clothing at night is essential, but try to use lightweight underclothes rather than a thick pair of additional trousers. I’d add a thick coat – the Nepalese all wear the ubiquitous ‘branded’ lightweight down-filled puffer jackets. There is a reason, follow their lead. It gets very cold at night and they pack up really small, being sort of swallowed by their inside pocket until they disappear in effect up their own bottoms. You get them in Kathmandu for less than £20 if you shop away from the tourist areas and bargain hard.
Like my shorts and protein bars, my thermal gloves applauded the free ride they were given throughout the trek, although Rose and I both found a woolly hat a real benefit for those cold nights. Rose generally sported a fetching orange outfit as well as his hat, even in his sleeping bag, but then he did find the transition from his home temperature of 30 degrees Celsius to single figure Nepalese nights a challenge. Still, no reason to look like a Hare Krishna devotee running the London marathon.
So here is the minimum kit list. Add more to increase both your weight and to slow down the decay of your sexual desirability quotient as the week progresses. We’ll start from the bottom up.
Clothes: the essentials
- Boots: one pair with spare laces.
- Lightweight lace-free shoes for the evening and to wear when going to the toilet (you really do not want your boot laces to dangle down the squatting toilet long drops)
- Socks: two pairs of lightweight undersocks and one pair of thick walking socks
- Trousers; one pair (oh go on, maybe two), lightweight cargo pants style with multiple pockets otherwise all you will be doing is stopping and faffing about with your rucksack to find stuff (although there is often great merit in a good faff, it can be tiresome if repeated too often).
- Shorts x 2
- Underpants: two pairs of ‘technical’ super wickable ones
- Bras: some. Number and type unknown, as beyond our expertise
- Shirts: two lightweight tees of the same material as the pants
- Thermal underwear
- One lightweight long sleeved top
- Puffer down jacket or equivalent
- Woolly hat
- Sun hat with peak
- Windproof and rainproof jacket, it may never be needed but if the wind does get up on one of the three peaks, or it rains, you might be grateful
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First aid kit
The actual contents really depends on your medical confidence or training. The obvious things like plasters, foot plasters and bandages are usual. We took an upgraded version with IV needles and cannulas in them in case one of us came a cropper and the local sterilisation procedures were not adequate. Also vital is an emergency blanket, the silver reflective variety, in case of an accident.
As for medication, as well as any regular prescription drugs we bought pain killers, anti-diarrhoea and anti vomiting pills. Anti diarrhoea pills are quite good to use on long bus journeys if you feel the slightest hint of things stirring unhelpfully. A bus in Nepal is the last place you want to have problems of this nature. However, whilst we prepared for the well-known Nepal runs, what we were not expecting was the opposite issue. Moving from a western diet to one consisting of vast amounts of rice, a few lentils and vegetables had the effect of both bunging us up and producing enough gas to have a significant effect on global warming. Not that I’m suggesting laxatives as a regular part of the medical kit, but be prepared for bowel changes in one of the two obvious directions.
The only other essentials we recommend are sleeping bag, maps, cell phones, guidebooks and GPS with the biggest powerbank you can get. Spare batteries may or may not be useful. Some water purifier drops (see water water…), a water bottle, a penknife, some travel soap and a travel towel, head torch and walking stick. Beyond that, you should consider if you really need anything else. Probably not, but anxiety is a powerful driver and as well as reassurance you are also going to increase your weight.
Finally, take as many plastic bags as you can and wrap everything in separate ones. After about three days, Rose and I overcame our endless faffing trying to find stuff in our packs and ended up knowing exactly which bag to look in. It actually became quite helpful.
