5 myths about trekking

With a good count of die-hard trekking enthusiasts across the world, the count of new and new trekking spots is increasing to a greater extent. Likewise, some people think that trekking long distances for days on end is the most annoying thing to do on holiday. While for some individuals, camp accommodation puts them in their off-mode.

If staying amidst a deep jungle is something that sends a scary vibe down your spine, don’t let the fear deter you from collating thousands of memorable moments of trekking. Not all trekking experiences ask you to accommodate yourself amidst a dense forest cover. Trekking is basically of two different types – tea-house trekking and camping. While camping is preferred by most adventure crazy people, there are quite a few numbers of trekking partners who allow you to stay within comfortable tea houses or lodges.

Bearing all these things in mind, there are quite several misconceptions about trekking that needs to be ruled out of society completely.

Trekking equals to walking for long hours –

No doubt, a greater portion of trekking is walking long distances. But the belief that you need to walk and walk and walk isn’t that true. Some treks incorporate a wide array of adventurous activities like paragliding, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and so on. If you still think that these activities will add more to your boredom, consider those trekking adventures where you have a stronger influence on culture.

Kids should refrain trekking adventure –

This is not true in any sense. In many ways, trekking is a fun-filled adventure to be enjoyed with the whole family as there are many trekking trails such as Sandakphu trek, especially for family entertainment. While in other trekking adventures, you may hire either a porter or a horse for carrying your small kid on your go. Kids who have been raised for relishing the true essence of adventure will undeniably love to trek even the arduous ones.

Only athletes enjoy trekking –

There is no truth that to trek, you need to be super athletic or have that athletic blood flowing inside your veins. You need to understand that the concept of trekking and mountain climbing are two different things. Those who love to indulge in a flat bike riding or going on semi-regular trips to the gym consider trekking adventure to be a manageable activity. Your only consideration here should be indulging in some form of exercise or the other before participating in your real trekking adventure. There are various Himalayan treks that are especially for the beginners like Annapurna trek.

Running water source always yields safe drinkable water –

Even the fastest water resource can be a good breeding count for many waterborne micro-organisms. A decaying matter leftover close to the source of the running water could serve as a means for parasites such as cryptosporidium and giardia species. So, it is always good to have your personal water bottle and refill it from safe water sources or get used to packaged drinking waters (if available).

It is nothing but mere wilderness –

The fear of outdoor dangers is a greater hesitation that drags out the attention of most of us. In the past and in the future as well, we have been and will continue to hear the real-life stories of numerous adventure buffs getting lost in a deep ocean of wilderness. However, such things occur once in a blue moon. With proper self-care and precautionary measures, all such stuff can be easily avoided.

So, do you still have any other misconceptions to be addressed? Do reach us quickly if there is something more to add-on to the list.

Sheetal Jain writes books, which considering where you’re reading this, makes perfect sense. She also writes non-fiction, on subjects ranging from personal finance to astronomy to film.