The feeling you get while trekking depends to the physical condition, the experience and the mental condition of the trekker, and it’s not necessarily about the age.
There are short treks with short and steep ascents and descents. These treks are easy for athletes, experienced trekkers or persons with good physical condition however, they could be very demanding for a beginner and much more if the weather is too hot or the altitude is over 3.000 meters above sea level.
There are other very long treks, sometimes without big differences in height but in very warm climate. For a marathon runner, a cyclist or for someone who has an intermediate level and hydrates himself constantly, it could seem like a normal trekking, but for someone who can be easily affected by heat; it could be a hard activity.
There are also other short treks along very difficult terrain which could be exhausting for people without training.
On the other hand, there are conditions as the attitude or the trekker equipment that usually determine the feeling at the end of the trek:
If you don’t drink enough liquid you can be exhausted and get a headache, and you won´t want to be invited again.
If you don’t wear appropriate footwear, the stones, swamp and water will do theirs, the trekker will be at home really exhausted and with bruises as a result of the falls.
If you don’t have a good attitude and you are not used to face challenges with joy, the path could be short, flat and easy and anyway you will arrive to the target impatient and it had been an experience not to be repeated.
If you are involved in a trek, you must have in mind that it is a physical activity, which sometimes will require efforts that we are not used to in our daily life, using elevators and cars.
Being successful and happy of the experience depends on aspects like:
- Lead an active life during the week: a 5 hours walk every week is not enough to achieve an acceptable physical condition; we must do exercise during the week, hopefully at least 3 times a week.
- Be consistent with the activity: if we go for trekking every 8 or 15 days we will notice a great progress and every time we will feel more comfortable and relaxed.
- Progress slowly and steady: start with short treks then go for the medium level and finally for the hardest.
- Bring the right equipment: hiking boots with thick soles and ankle covering, sun protection such as cap or hat and long sleeves, comfortable clothes, backpacks with enough gear but no more than necessary.
- Eat the proper food: a lot of liquid, more than 1.5 liters per trek, drinking short sips, hopefully not only water but a hydrating drink. Carbohydrate foods provide us with the necessary energy: sweets / chocolate / peanuts / snacks / etc., avoid fat, avoid starting the treks on an empty stomach (the excess is not good! ).
And the last but most important: bring a good attitude!!:
- Do not rush: if you have an appointment at 5:00 pm better let the trek for the next weekend.
- It is not a competition: the landscapes are to enjoy them and the birds of the field to be listened.
- Let’s get ready to make an extraordinary effort: an ecological trek is not a walk in the shopping center or along the bicycle lane, scenarios in which if you are thirsty you go to the store, or when you become a little tired you take the first taxi to home; we are going to get tired, very tired, at some point you will think that you can not continue, that you have consumed all your energy and you have reached the limit of your strength! At this moment your mind and your attitude can save you and make the trek a memorable event!
“I don’t remember the easy walks, but, I always remember with emotion those difficult ones that demanded the best of me, in which I came wet, swamped and exhausted because I confronted them with a great attitude! And because they made me feel alive!!”
Then the trek levels are relative, they depend on the mind and the body of the trekker; however we propose here a simple scale to learn more or less what we expected (we gave special names to the levels to make them more pedagogical!!:
1. 93 AV PARK: it is like taking a walk to the mall, but with little birds and trees! Up to 4 kilometers and 2 hours of walk, without cold or heat, the maximum ascent is similar to a 20-storey building.
2. HILL: for beginners who think or know that they do not have good physical condition! Or for those who do not want to give up and want to continue training for the level “Nevado”! Up to 8 kilometers and 4 hours, walking very slowly, with a little bit of heat or cold, with ups and downs, sometimes a steep hill but not more than an hour.
3. MOORLAND: for those who decided that this is your thing, that definitely enjoys the matter! Up to 12 kilometers, which could turn into a wonderful 5 hours of contemplation, there will be hot or cold but not extremely, we will also have marsh and loose stones, could be a night trek or a journey within a cave.
4. VOLCANO: I am ready for the challenge of level “Nevado” and i’m going to trek as a good training! Up to 16 kilometers by rock, scrubland and bridle path in bad conditions that can be 6 or 7 hours of landscapes that only can be appreciated and felt if I go there trekking! I’ll feel tired, surely!, that’s why i’m trekking! It is likely to feel that I am not going to finish, even I may hurt a little the knees, I will feel a lot of heat or I will be short of breath by the height and I will not forget that hill that the guide made us climb. What a great challenge, I am alive and younger than yesterday! When is the next?
5. NEVADO: is a very long trek in very hot weather or high altitude, with very low temperatures and long ascents. You have to carry lots of water or a backpack with a tent, a sleeping bag and some food. We will be in remote areas, and with lack of resources. I could be trekking on snow, moraine or hard terrain. Definitely I must have a good physical condition and it is essential to have a great and positive mental attitude!
How about this? And among these 5 levels just imagine all possible combinations. We live in a wonderful country, infinitely varied…
