Mountain Hiking in Kerala

By: Dev Sri

Mountain Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery on the way and from the top. Anyone enjoy the good walk will also enjoy the hiking experience within the mountainous regions of Kerala. The lower attitude regions of Nilgiri Hills provide some pretty good options to enjoy a hike.

Hiking is a type of walking and while doing it one can enjoy as well as explore the scenery of the given place. Hiking can only be done in those places that have trails such as in rural or wilderness areas.

Before taking up the hiking trip it should be carefully kept in mind that the clothing should be of a fabric that provides a breather to your skin and allows your body to shed excess heat and sweat while feeling dry.

Avoid cotton cloths and for cold weather use polypropylene and for warm weather use polyester is good choice for base covering. A windproof and water resistant jacket worn loosely can be removed when you start feeling warmer after walking.

Use comfortable and right hiking shoes. One should keep different kind of shoes to face the climate changes. One should drink water before, during and after walking. All hiker should set out on a hike tour with a trail map, compass and with good idea about the route.

Mountain Hiking in Kerala

With an enormous and enthralling tourism facilities is available in Kerala, Hiking in Kerela can be a good form of recreation as well as adventure that is available in Kerela. The Eastern Kerela borders at the west of the Western Ghat’s rain shadow is the place where lies the high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys. It can thus be an ideal for those who are passionate about Hiking in Kerela. The popular and the most extravagant places can be the hill stations of Munnar, Palakkad, Wagamon and Idukki.

The perfect wooded Hiking trails of the place with a backdrop of the Kerala hill stations that are filled up with the fragrance of cardamom and cloves along with their thriving greenery can be ideal for Hiking in Kerala. The Hiking trail winds through the cardamom plantations, the rubber and coffee farms, and then through the misty mountain forests. Thus it will keep one wondering about the scenic beauty of the natural greenery of Kerela.

While on the way of Hiking in Kerela the tourists can feel the dry leaves chink under their foot along with listening to an assortment of the sounds of the insects and bird calls. One of the most popular places for Hiking in Kerela is Munnar. The place is well-known for its tea plantations, churches and the old British mansions. Mountain Hiking in India is famous at Kerala.

Hiking in Kerela through the jungles of Periyar Sanctuary could be a breathtaking experience. While hiking through this place one can experience the natural beauty as well as get a glimpse of the rare species of wildlife, birds and insects. From Periyar, the other destination for hiking, Munnar could be reached by a bicycle, following the mountain trail. Kerala adventure mountain hiking is popular.

About the Author

Dev Sri invites you to try adventure tours of Kerala. With Adventure Kerala, you will enjoy adventure sports like mountaineering, rapelling, rock climbing, river crossing, and a whole lot of adventure activities.

(ArticlesBase SC #333679)

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Lightweight Hiking - an Example

By: Steve Gillman

Is lightweight hiking and backpacking viable in cold weather? I think so. Last Fall I was in four feet of snow at 13,000 feet - in my running shoes and with just 11 pounds on my back for an overnighter. Crazy? I don't think so. Anyhow, I have been going lightweight for too many years to want to go back to a heavy pack and hiking boots.

Heading For Crestone Peak

It was September 2006. I was in the Sangre De Christo Mountains in Colorado, hiking up the trail to South Colony Lakes. I just surprised a large buck, who snorted and ran off. I started to see more patches of snow as I went higher. I poked at the frozen puddles with my walking stick.

I had hoped to climb Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle earlier in the month, but was rained out. Then it snowed heavily in the high country on September 18. I started checking the online forums to see if anyone was still climbing these "fourteeners" (mountains higher than 14,000 feet). Someone did mentioned climbing Crestone through the snow - which I didn't want to do.

However, by the 28th there had been several warm days, so maybe the snow melted. It had where I parked the car. But by the time I hiked to South Colony Lakes a few hours later, I was almost knee-deep in it. Then, up above the lakes and beyond the last of the trees, the snow was even deeper.

My shoes and socks were soaked, but the sun and the climb kept me warm. I continued because it really looked like there was bare rock up near the peaks. Eventually I adjusted my goal to just getting to Broken-Hand Pass, where I could look down into the San Luis Valley. I made it to within 100 yards.

It was so steep and the snow so deep, that I slid back at least as far as I stepped each time. Then I slipped and needed to self-arrest with my walking stick to keep from sliding down a few hundred feet. It was clear that I was under-equipped for climbing any further.

Lightweight Backpacking

Hiking down was worse (it often is). I sunk into the snow and hit my shins against rocks hidden there. I walked on top of the snow crust at times, until I suddenly broke through - which I did when I stopped to look at some bobcat tracks. At least I didn't have much weight on my back.

I had 11 pounds, to be exact. The pack itself weighed a pound or so. My down sleeping bag weighed 17 ounces, and the tarp 16 ounces. I also had food and water and dry socks. Going lightweight meant I hardly even noticed the pack - even after 13 miles of hiking.

Back down near the lakes it was time to put my lightweight hiking and backpacking skills and equipment to the test. It would be about 24 degrees Fahrenheit that night.

I found a nice grassy area where the snow had melted away. The sun was still bright and warm, so I laid out my wet socks and shoes to dry on a large log while I ate mixed nuts, wrote some notes, and then took a nap. Several deer walked by an hour later. I woke up gripping my walking stick like a weapon.

Everything was dry, so I put on my shoes and got busy. It took about 20 minutes to collect dry grass and old thistle stalks to make a thick mattress. This was for comfort as well as for insulation to keep me warm. I set a piece of plastic over this, and strung the tarp overhead. Then I laid out the sleeping bag to fluff it up.

I collected some dry wood and tinder and laid a fire, just in case I needed it later (I never did). I covered this with a few pieces of bark to keep frost, snow or rain off of it. I ate some wild currants and rose hips. I saved my corn chips for a bedtime meal. The fat would heat me up as it digested. I used my walking stick to lift the bag with the rest of the food up to a high branch where it would hang for the night.

I put on my thermal underwear, hat and gloves. I used my shoes with the backpack on top of them for a pillow. The wind started blowing, so I lowered one side of the tarp before going to sleep.

The frost was heavy and the ice was thick on the puddles in the morning, but I had managed to sleep well. I packed up, scattered the mattress materials so they wouldn't smother the plants underneath, and I ate some crackers. The sun was just rising as I hit the trail.

I probably had just 9 pounds total on my back by now. That may seem very lightweight for backpacking, but I had everything I needed. I even had a camera with me. I stopped hiking long enough to take a photo of Crestone Needle in the morning sun. I'll be on top of it this summer.

About the Author

Copyright Steve Gillman. To get the ebook "Ultralight Backpacking Secrets (And Wilderness Survival Tips)" for FREE, as well as photos, gear recommendations, and a new wilderness survival section, visit: http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com

(ArticlesBase SC #156812)

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Top Ten Views on a Trek to Everest

By: Jude Limburn Turner

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is also one of the most amazing areas of natural power and beauty on earth. As you travel up the mountain towards the Everest base camp, the sights become more poignant and awe inspiring. We count down the top ten.

10. Kathmandu

While not strictly on the route, Kathmandu is the city from which you base your Everest Trek Kathmandu urbar square is a work of ancient architectural genius, the people of the Kathmandu valley are warm and welcoming, and a brief immersion into the Nepalese way of life is as irresistible as the views from the city's highest buildings.

9. Lukla

The start of your Everest Trek proper, this small town and airport are the jump-off point for everyone trekking toward Everest and Everest Base Camp. Stepping off the plane, you look up, then up, then up, realising for the first time the scale and majesty of the mountain range you are about to take on.

8. Local wildlife and animals

Turning a corner and finding a Sherpa with his herd of yaks coming the other way is an 'interesting' experience - be sure to stand uphill as these large be-ribboned animals are somewhat unpredictable and have been know to knock Everest trekkers off the path! These lumbering beasts of burden are milk, meat, transport, heat and a myriad of other uses to the people of the Everest region. You may also come across the brilliant blue Impeyen Pheasant,
Himalayan Thar or if you are very lucky a Himalayan Red Panda.

7. The Hillary Bridge

This sturdy but rustic-looking suspension bridge was erected by Edmund Hillary's (the first man to trek and climb Everest) charity. It provides a link for everyone walking up from Lukla towards Everest Base Camp.

6. Namche Bazaar

One of the villages on the journey into the high Himalayas, Namche Bazaar is stepped across the slopes in Solukhumbu District. It seems incredible to see this expanded market clinging on the sides of the mountain, and the village has a practical use too. Used to help acclimatise walkers to the altitude, it is also important in gathering supplies for your trek to Everest base camp.

5. The peak of Amadablam.

Climb just above Namche Bazaar and you see The first real unspoiled view of the Himalayan mountain peaks on your trek to Everest. It's also at this point that the scenery becomes almost otherworldly - serene, powerful and unlike anything you have ever experienced before.

4. - Dingboche and the valley towards Chukhing.

Everest treks will usually lay over for two nights in Dingboche for acclimati sation. The view down the valley to Chukhing is not to be missed, and highlights your achievement so far. Almost two thirds of your way through the trek, and with Everest almost in sight, experiencing this sight is an accomplishment in and of itself.

3. Looking up the valley towards Pumori and Nuptse.

Similarly, the twin peaks of Pumori and Nuptse are a sight you won't forget as long as you live. "Everest's Daughter" and "West Peak" (as they are respectively known) are the gateway to Everest itself, a prelude to the final destination on your trip.

2. Views of Everest and the Khumbu glacier from Kala Pattar

If you have the time and the energy it is well worth ascending Kala Pattar, an eight-hour trek from Lobuche. Whilst Everest Base Camp may be the ultimate objective of your trek, the views are undoubtedly better from the rocky summit of Kala Pattar (5,545m) where you look across to Everest, and a host of other peaks, and down onto the vast, impressive Kuhumbu glacier where Base Camp is located in season.

1. Everest and Everest base camp

The finale to your Everest Base Camp trek. The terrifying Khumbu ice-fall obstructs views of the summit of Everest from Base Camp but the mighty mountain still makes its presence felt. In climbing season Everest Base Camp will be alive with adrenalin of mountaineering expeditions, but out of season there is little to be seen bar ice, rock and snow.
About the Author
Jude Limburn Turner is the Marketing Manager for Mountain Kingdoms, an adventure tour company who have run Everest treks for over 20 years. They now offer treks and tours worldwide, including destinations in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Central and South East Asia.
(ArticlesBase SC #672090)
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ - Top Ten Views on a Trek to Everest