Trekking kit

People often tell us it was colder on trek than they had anticipated – please make sure you bring plenty of warm clothes particularly for night time – it can be below freezing in camp.

This list includes everything you might want on a long and high altitude trek so you may not need everything mentioned here but it should be useful as a list of ideas to consider – ask us if you need help.

General

• Rucksack or kit bag to put overnight trekking kit in for horses to carry (may get a bit beaten up)
• Waterproof sac to put over your day pack
• Plastic bags to help segregate and organise things in kit bag (and keep things dry)
• Day pack (30 litres or so) to carry things you want access to during the day
• Sleeping bag – 3 season up to about 3000 metres, 4 season above that
• Silk liner for extra warmth
• Thermarest inflating mattress (if you feel you need extra padding – thin mattresses are provided)
• Inflatable pillow (if you find it more comfortable to have a head support when sleeping on flat ground)

Clothing  (generally, layers of clothing make sense as temperature changes regularly)

• Trekking trousers
• Fleece pants or tracksuit to wear in camp
• T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirt
• Thermal underwear (top and bottom) for night use

Outerwear

• Down jacket if above 3500 metres
• Fleece
• Windproof jacket
• Waterproofs
• Scarf and gloves

Footwear

• Hiking boots (should be water repellent)
• Sandals or trainers for use in camp (in summer and early Autumn make sure these are waterproof)
• Thick hiking socks and silk sock liners to guard against blisters
• Gaiters if trekking close to the monsoon season or in snow

Headwear

• Broad brimmed hat or baseball cap for sun during the day with bandana for shading the neck
• Woollen hat or balaclava for evenings
• Polarising sunglasses – best to have the ones with side covers

Other

• Walking poles
• Head torch with spare batteries and bulbs
• Washing line
• Small knife
• Water bottles (preferably metal) or alternatively a hydration pack such as CamelBak
• Dextrose tablets, snack bars and energy drinks

Medicines

• Medicine for diarrhoea eg Immodium
• Rehydration sachets eg Dioralyte
• Paracetamol or Nurofen
• Plasters and Compeed for blisters
• Antiseptic cream
• Strepsils, Lemsip, cold and flu medicine
• Sting relief and Insect repellent

Toiletries etc

• Travel towel and sponge
• Soap and biodegradable liquid for laundry
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Toilet paper, tissues, wet wipes
• Sun cream (including total sun block)
• Lip salve
• Iodine tablets – or you can just use boiled water and on shorter treks mineral water
• Tweezers
• Camera, film and polarising filter
• Books, iPod, playing cards and other diversions for evenings eg Yahtzee dice