How fit do you need to be to trek in Ladakh?

katecart

Hi everyone,

Myself and my fiance are going to Ladakh for the first time in June/July for our honeymoon. We would love to do a trek, but do not know if we are fit enough.

We are in our late 20s / early 30s, aren't overweight and eat pretty healthily, but don't do any regular exercise and haven't done any training or preparation for trekking. I've never trekked before and neither of us have trekked at altitude.

Are we mad to think we can turn up in Ladakh and do something like the Markha Valley Trek? If so, would the Likir Trek be okay, or does even this need some preparation?

Another quick question while I'm here - is it safe to visit Srinagar?

Thanks!

edwardseco

Really depends on your ability to handle altitude. I did the same thing when I was your age moons ago. A lot of it you will only know when you arrive unless you have a similar altitude nearby at home..

Swapnil

you need to acclimatize well..before doing any rigorous activity (such as trekking) in Ladakh ...& yes Srinagar is quite safe these days...but confirm with locals before proceeding towards Srinagar from Leh.

katecart

Thank you both.

I think we will see how it goes once we are in Leh, once we have acclimatized. Should we bring our own tent just in case we do trek (and if so, do we need to get one suitable for mountain trekking or would any tent suffice)?

Swapnil

there are many trekking agencies in Leh ...they can arrange everything for you..hiring equipments/tent/porters/guide/ration etc etc. or you can even club with another trekking group ...but if you intend to do trek by yourself then it might a be good idea to bring your own tent/equipments .

qwan

Simple if you are not sure, then make your trip as late as possible and go for an early morning fast walk everyday.
You have atleast a month or more if you plan to go in July. I think the way you described yourself(that you are not overweight).
I think you should be fine or rather you will be confident and safe if you did an hour or two of walking everyday.
Even 20 minutes is sufficient, but if you can do an hour or two it would be great. You would really enjoy the trek rather than be exhausted.(if you want to go out on a limb then you can even take up pranayama :-))
Oh if you smoke then please quit.

vzzzbx

I would also recommend to train ahead so your legs and feet will be used to walking. Otherwise it will probably be less enjoyable.

I've trekked in the Himalayas and I usually start doing exercise walks 3 months in advance. From once a week, building up to 4 days a week, walking 2 hours each time.

Once in Leh, you should take it easy the first days. Definitely the first day, hardly do any activity. When you start your trek, listen to your body. And very important, drink LOTS of water!

Karla

And very important, drink LOTS of water![/quote]


My friend a doctor advised me this, too. If you'll pee a lot the first days at the higher altitude than you'll know you are getting well aclimatized, she said. And it really works for me
But even you had some problems (headache, dizziness) don't just stay in bad but try to make some short and light walk. In a day or two you must get well. The second day you'll come to Leh a good and easy reached point for aclimatization is Shanti Stupa.

Anyway, I also suggest to be active before. You won't regret any hour spent by preparing your body end even mind while you once come to Leh.

Wish you all the best at your honeymoon

vzzzbx

You should drink lots of water all through the day, not just one big load once or twice. Because then your body won't absorb it and you'll pee it all out.

The colour of your pee will also tell you if you drink enough. Dark means not enough, light is good

Karla

vzzzbx, thanks for the supplement

mridula

I have trekked part of the Markha Valley but had to return mid way as I had developed an upset stomach right from Delhi and did not pay enough attention to it.

I am moderately fit and the walks are (at least up to Ganda-La Base, the point we reached) not very steep but long. The first day we must have easily walked more than 6 hours. How do you feel about that?

__________________
mridula

http://www.gonomad.com/traveltalesfromindia/

solo_trekker

Well, If you have never ever trekked before, starting off with a trek in Ladakh, and that too on your blessed Honeymoon, is certainly not the most ideal thing to do...

Yes, it might sound like a dampener; but it sure would be a good idea to just visit all the wonderful spots there are to see in Ladakh... You can very happily spend a couple of weeks, without the inner need to do a trek being fulfilled...

But if you really really have to, do carry lotsa pistachio and other sundry nuts, chocolates, muesley bars, glucose, etc, and most importantly, loads and loads of sunscreen...! You'll get all of the above in the shops in Leh... That thing about water is actually more exagerated, than actual fact, believe me... But yes, it's good to keep having a sippa every hour... Makes sure you don't get dehydrated without your even realizing it... You drink more, and the only thing that does is make you pee more...!!! Period...!!!

For more about Ladakh, Do check out this thread...
Ladakh in 5 Days...???!!! (Or 6 or 7 or 10 or 15...!!!)

Cheers...!

vistet

Solo trekker is spot on here : you may get dehydrated without realising it , meaning you can´t trust your instincts on this. So you need to keep track on how much you drink. As said above peeing a lot is a good sign , this is how the body cheats with hemoglobin concentration the first days : red blood cells take up to a week to be produced , but by pushing out more fluid from the blood it´s possible to deliver blood richer in hemoglobin. Sometimes this short term adaptation mechanism overshoots and you get overly dehydrated : drink a liter of water fast : if it goes over you have cure and diagnosis at the same time. This observation has lead to the persistent myth of water as panacea to altitude sickness , but you won´t find it repeated by the doctors specialised in and treating it , on for example High Altitude Medicine or The International Society for Mountain Medicine. In fact the Himalayan Rescue Association specifically warns against this strategy :

"Adequate amounts of fluid (about 3 liters a day) are necessary in the mountains:- dehydration mimics altitude sickness and may even predispose to it. On the other hand excessive water drinking should also be avoided as this may lead to electrolyte imbalances."

Coming from Srinagar means you´re are in a lot better spot than those flying in , or doing a quick run Manali-Leh.You should keep your ear close to the ground re the situation in Kashmir , though.

I´ve summed up a few pointers on the Srinagar-Leh road and acclimatization here.

__________________
high road to ..

qwan

I bet to differ. You are true that drinking excessive water may create electrolyte balance, but do you know the amount needed to cause that????? if you start drinking more than 3-4 liters of water a day then only you might get an electrolyte imbalance and that too only if you have a diet with medium or low mineral salts content.

I would never believe something that is recomended by doctors, please check this link to see what mainstream doctors and media is talking about water.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345576,00.html
They are telling us to skip the water and have a soda(in usa soft drinks like coke/pepsi are known as soda) instead
They are saying that drinking 8 glasses of water has not "significant" benifit. This is all hogwash.
You can read a debunking of this dangerous lies here
http://www.naturalnews.com/022942.html
So i would not trust "mainstream" doctors. They just dont agree than water and eating a good diet is the way to good health. They just believe that disease comes and we have to take medicines(which have side effects).

Coming back to the point here. You should understand why drinking more water is recommended. The "more" here means more than you normally drink. This is assuming that an urban average person does not drink that much of water normally.(we drink cokes and coffees).
That is why it is recommended to drink more water than usual. When you drink more water and pee more, you will notice that after some times you will stop peeing that much. That is because your bladder has adjusted to the amount of water you are drinking. So in other words it means your body will retain the water and hydrate you well. If you do not do this ritual of drinking more water for a few days, and instead just drink more water on the day of trekking your body is not going to "absorb" that water, you will just pee it out.

This is something to be done much before you decide to trek so that you get used to drinking more water.
City folks dont drink that much water.
I know why you are putting forth this argument, because if you look at it from another point of view, that is if people who are already drinking good amount water drink more that required then, YES your warning is right.
So this advice of drinking more water is not WRONG but rather not clear. It is more of a generalized advice that assumes that city people do not consume enough water. As dehydration is the most common complain in high altitudes. More over when it is so cold normally people drink even less water.
So that is why this advice.
If a person does not drink much water on a normal basis may not get dehydrate in lower altitudes or when doing a desk job(in an AC office) but would get dehydrated on high altitudes.
Also drinking more amounts of water a month before the trekking properly rehydrates your body.

So, Mr. Vistet your advice i correct if a person is normally drinking healthy amounts of water. And yes they should not simply stuff themselves with water.
But it does not mean that increasing your water intake for a month(provided it is within 1.5-2 liters) is a bad thing.
It is very essential.

vistet

Then obviously the reference to the HRA is lost on you , but I´ll make the point anyway : HRA has been running among other things the clinic in Pheriche , on the ascent to Everest Base Camp , since 1973 : they have had direct contact with thousands, at least, of climbers and trekkers , trying every thinkable and unthinkable trick : if what you advocate worked , it would have been observed and shared with others a looong time ago.

That argument is not valid only for trekkers and climbers : pilgrims have done high altitude treks , often centered on rivers , holy springs and lakes for many centuries in the Himalayas : high water intake leading to good effects would have been observed , explained within a religious context and incorporated in ritual.

Recommended by whom ? I doubt the the people you link to would be comfortable with the context you are pushing your argument. Even the most "naturalist" advocate will realise there are situations where blanket recommendations become meaningless or dangerous : start pushing fluids on somebody with renal failure and and they eventually go unconscious and then die.

In this specific context what you miss out on is the role of diuresis in early acclimatization : blood is being concentrated by increasing urine output , meaning that the blood delivered is richer in hemoglobin : same number of red blood cells diluted in less volume of blood. Like I said earlier , a cheat , or at least a stop gap solution. Pushing in more fluid in this situation is just more fluid to be dealt with , increasing cardiac and renal workload.



Actually I think I have fairly good idea on the subject : I´ve been working in a Intensive Care Unit for more than two decades now , and the first thing you learn is that fluid and electrolyte balance is that is not something that is lost or won over weeks or months. We run arterial blood samples from people from all people from all kinds of backgrounds, habits etc : the differences you are hinting at are not traceable.

Wrong end of the system : fluid is absorbed in to the blood stream in the intestines , and eliminated from the blood stream in the kidneys. The bladder has no role whatsoever in fluid balance.

The system works , people drink as much as they need under practically all conditions , increasing or decreasing their intake as need arises. That´s why I only had to work seventeen hours yesterday...

Altitude reaction is one the very rare exceptions to this , either from the overshoot mechanism mentioned earlier , or from the lack of appetite , precursor to nausea , that comes from hypoxia.