English
Trekking provides an opportunity to be close to nature and explore new places at your pace and convenience
Call it the wanderlust or the curiosity to see new places and learn about culture, or the simple need to experience the adrenaline rush, reasons might differ for those who go on treks. However, there is no denying the fact that humans have always been bitten by the travel bug and continue to be afflicted by it.
Trekking provides an opportunity to be close to nature and explore new places at your pace and convenience. However, it is not as simple as it sounds.
Trekking involves a lot of strenuous activity especially when the trek is a technical or a difficult climb
On April 28, 2012, Pune resident and an experienced trekker Ramesh Gulve (33) died of brain hemorrhage while on an expedition to the Mount Everest. Another trekker, Yashwant Jagtap (55) died following a cardiac arrest while trekking to Arthurs Seat Point at Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra, India. On May 19, 2012 Spanish mountaineer Juan Jose Polo Carbayo (43) died while descending from Mt Everest after reaching the summit.
According to medical experts such incidents occur due to lack of precautions and proper training, and at times ignorance and overconfidence. At times, fatalities have also resulted because trekkers indulge in irresponsible behaviour and take unnecessary risks.
Fitness
Trekking involves a lot of strenuous activity especially when the trek is a technical or a difficult climb. Consult your family doctor before you embark on a trek. A person with heart disease, epilepsy, arthritis, renal ailments should not go on treks as such ailments could be aggravated and require emergency help which may be impossible to reach.
Prepare for the trek
Ignorance and at times overconfidence have caused serious health problems for trekkers. It is essential to prepare yourself with pre-trek training. To know more about how to prepare for high altitude treks, click here. Collect information about your trek destination too. The learning exercise should include information about the terrain, climatic conditions, how to reach help in case of any emergency. Knowing about the terrain and the climatic conditions is necessary as it would help you pack the necessary clothes and footwear.
Ignorance and overconfidence have resulted in fatalities
Mental preparation is as important as physical training. Learning about the possible dangers and ailments that you can suffer on the trek, can help you to cope with it. Learn more about the ailments that you can suffer on high altitude treks.
Follow the leader
If you are new to trekking and exploring a new terrain, it is always best to tread the beaten path. Remember a wrong step in the Sahyadri or the Himalayan mountain range can result in you hurtling down a deep gorge.
Remember Aron Ralston, American outdoorsman, engineer and motivational speaker, who is widely known for having survived a canyoneering accident in south-eastern Utah in 2003. During the accident, Aron was forced to amputate his own right arm in order to free himself from a dislodged boulder, which had trapped him there for five days and seven hours. Ralstons life was the subject of Danny Boyles movie 127 Hours.
Leave a trail
While leaving on a trek, do remember to inform your family or friends about your plans, fellow trekkers and their numbers. It would help in case you suffer an accident and are unable to reach for help. Reverting back to the Ralston incident, perhaps things would have been different if the American had told someone about his hiking plans and there was no chance anybody would have come looking for him.
Aron Ralston survived a canyoneering accident by amputating his own arm in order to free himself from a dislodged boulder
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