It's not a nice feeling to regret a Himalayan trek. But many trekkers go through this phase. Swathi writes about her personal regret in this post. Read on.

Why I Regret My Trek To Kedarkantha After Completing Rupin Pass

Why I Regret My Trek to Kedarkantha after Completing Rupin Pass

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I’ve picked up a controversial topic today (I’m wondering why I keep doing this to myself).  But I’ve been conflicted about this for a long time. 

At Indiahikes, we firmly believe that everyone must trek. Trekking transforms lives; it profoundly impacts the mind, body and spirit like nothing else can. We believe that everyone must feel that sense of transformation. So when we see more and more people trekking, it gives us a deep sense of satisfaction.

At the same time, we are extremely vehement that trekking must be sustainable, without any harm to the environment.

This is where my conflict is. Almost everyone correlates crowds to environmental harm — the more crowd there is on a trek, the more damage it does to the environment. The more it spoils the trekking experience. 

Why is there such a hue and cry about crowds? 

Well, there are two types of “crowds” on our trekking trails. 

There’s one type of trekkers, who are sensitized about the fragile ecosystem they’re trekking in. They trek minimally, respect the environment, and make little or no noise. They leave mountains better or at least leave no trace. They approach the mountains with what we call “the spirit of trekking.” In fact, the best of our trekkers are always rewarded with a Spirit of Trekking award. 

On the other hand, there’s another type of trekkers who come to the mountains with a “tourist” mindset. They play loud music, use single-use cutlery for every meal. They want the luxuries of a city in the remotest areas of the Himalayas. When there are such trekkers, even two seems like a crowd. 

This is where it bothers me when a few naysayers raise a hue and cry that Indiahikes takes too many trekkers to the mountains. They must realise that there is an unprecedented demand for trekking in our country. If Indiahikes groups are full, trekkers are forced to find another way to go. Trekking isn’t going to stop, the crowds aren’t going to reduce. When such is the case, I would rather have a larger group of sensitized trekkers than small groups of unsensitized trekkers.

There’s another sect of people that need a reality check. These are people who complain that Indiahikes charges too less and makes trekking accessible for too many people. We strongly oppose such an elitist mindset where the mountains and their beauty are reserved for those handful who can afford exorbitant amounts. We work with the vision that Everyone must trek, and they must trek with the right spirit of trekking.

That brings me to the question — are crowds the problem or is management of the crowds the problem?

Very frankly, compared to the rest of the world, India is still in a nascent stage when it comes to trekking. If you look at footfalls of popular trails around the world, the numbers climb to 1,000 – 2,500 a day, often rising to half a million hikers in a year. This is true of the famous Inca Trail in Peru, the EBC and ABC treks in Nepal. Yet, these trails are pristine, without damage to the environment. In India, an extremely popular trail like Kedarkantha may have just around 20,000 trekkers going in a year, meagre numbers in comparison to the world. 

When trekking is at such a nascent stage in our country, trekkers do not automatically come with the right mindset. 

Every day, about 70 – 75% of trekkers are stepping into the Himalayas for the very first time. They need to be taught how to be in such a fragile ecosystem. 

This is where every trekking organisation needs to address the behaviour of their trekkers. 

It’s up to each organisation to ensure that their trekkers care for the environment before they care for themselves. It’s up to the organisation to put processes in place that ensure their presence in the mountains causes no harm to the environment. It’s up to the organisation to leave mountains better.  

This is not easy. Just to instill the right mindset and behaviour among trekkers, Indiahikes has a team of nine Experience Coordinators working day and night. 

As for putting processes in place, around 15% of our income goes into bringing about sustainable practices in trekking — a huge amount for any organisation. 

Can every organisation that’s taking trekkers into the Himalayas assure that? I don’t know. It’s not practical to expect that either. 

Every trekking organisation has a strong influence over how their trekkers behave in the mountains. Yet, it isn’t easy to exercise that influence correctly. Picture by Abhijeet Karwande

What are the real solutions to manage crowds?

 Trekking as a sport and tourist activity needs recognition 

To begin with, trekking is still not a properly recognised sport or tourist activity in our country. It is often parked as a subdivision under mountaineering or “tourism.” This lack of recognition is the first impediment, which does not allow the sport to grow with the government’s involvement. 

When an activity such as trekking goes unrecognized, even its economical benefits to the state go unrecognized, which gives the government little or no incentive to invest in it and regulate it. 

When I look at the most populous trekking trails of the world (including our neighbours in Nepal), I notice that despite crowds, trekking trails are clean, well-managed, and with good infrastructure. There is a mechanism to care for the trail, to regulate the numbers, to ensure a certain discipline in trekking.

Trekking trails in Nepal are an excellent example of how the government has taken initiative to build infrastructure (tea houses such as this) and manage crowds and thereby, waste on the trails. 

The biggest difference is the involvement of the government.

In India, the government has not yet seriously stepped into the trekking world.

There is no infrastructure, there is a weak waste management system, there is little regulation. While trekking organisations as large as Indiahikes can manage these to a certain extent, it is possible only to a certain scale. Without the government’s support, it’s a losing battle. 

On the other hand, trekking regulations are still rudimentary in our country. They are often driven by reactions to sudden petitions or environmental emergencies. Many treks like Kheerganga, Stok Kangri, Kanamo Peak have been closed by such restrictions. These are strong steps that can be detrimental to the economy of the region. It is not a step forward, but a step backward. 

 We have got to stop overcrowding trails 

There is an issue of overcrowding on certain treks — Kedarkantha, Kashmir Great Lakes, Brahmatal… Every trail has a certain “ecological carrying capacity” (defined as the number of visitors or visits an area can sustain without irreversibly degrading natural resources). While these are not really researched in our country, common sense tells us that a lot of trekking trails have already reached their threshold, simply because of mismanagement of crowds. 

Until these crowds can be managed by their organisation or the government, trekkers must choose to spread out rather than head to the well-known names. 

The government has taken a good step on the Gaumukh Tapovan trail by limiting the number of trekkers per day. Similar steps have been taken on local treks (like Kumaraparvatha). But is this going to work without the other initiatives of waste management and trail discipline? I don’t think so.

At the end of the day, if you ask me, crowds are not really an issue, but management of crowds is an issue. 

If every organisation can take charge of their trekkers, better yet, take it up as a collective responsibility to collaborate and protect the environment, the entire trekking community can make a positive difference, leaving mountains better.  

If the government steps in with the required funding, manpower and infrastructure, then trekking can grow in a healthy way. State governments can reap benefits of growth in the economy brought in by trekking. Local employment can grow exponentially. 

I cannot help but end with the thought that a lot of good comes from trekking. It transforms trekker’s lives, it transforms the lives of locals. It brings about a much-required behavioural change in society’s outlook towards the environment. 

I truly hope to see a day when Indians don’t have to step out of the country to see what modern trekking looks like. We should be setting an example for the rest of the world to see and learn from.

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For a long time now, there’s been a lot of hue and cry about the idea of fixed camps — the idea of camping at the same location for a longer period. I’ve been seeing other organisations targeting Indiahikes, posting pictures of our campsites, maligning our Green Trails work — all in the name of fixed camps. 

It has escalated to such an extent that the term “fixed camp” has almost become a bad word. It is now immediately associated with damage to the environment. It is considered inferior to “rolling camps” or “rotating camps” where organisations camp, pack up, leave and move to the next camp, until the next team comes. 

This idea baffles me to no end. When every ecologically evolved country of the world has adapted fixed camps as a norm, it surprises me that educated organisations in India are still debating the idea. 

What bothers me more is the lack of any logical backing in their argument. I don’t see numbers, I don’t see research. If there was any science behind it, Indiahikes would be the first to learn from it and adapt it. 

So today, after many months of deliberation, I’m going to address this topic, and go against every vehement proponent of “rolling camps” / “rotating camps.” I am going to debate you why fixed camp is infinitely better for the environment. 

I’m sharing our years of research and study on this topic. 

Important note: In this post, I’m not addressing solo trekkers or small groups of trekkers. This is meant for meant for organisations that have 3 or more groups a week, whether in the Himalayas or anywhere else in the world.

1. Fixed camping dramatically reduces the trample effect on trekking trails

This point requires a slightly deeper understanding of what “trample effect” means and why it matters.

When a trekking team of 15-20 members has to camp, it involves a whole lot of resources — tents, sleeping bags, safety equipment, snow equipment, toilet equipment, kitchen and dining equipment. Add to it food and provisions. All these have to be moved from one camp to another, usually on mules, occasionally with porters. This movement of people, equipment, provisions and mules causes something known as a “trample effect” on trails.  

This trampling of trails leaves behind an impact. It erodes away precious topsoil, which contains most of the ground’s nutrients and fertility. It bruises or shears off plants. It also compacts the soil, which doesn’t bode well for any greenery. 

 The effect is evident when you study the numbers. Consider this. 

For every team of 25 (including staff members), our gear weighs around 600 kilos for a 4-day trek. This is loaded onto mules. For a load of 600 kg, we usually have 12 mules on the trail, each carrying roughly 50 kg. 

While this doesn’t seem like much weight, here are the numbers that matter. 

Each mule, on its own, weighs around 350 kg. This is the lower average. With another 50 kilos of load, each 400 kg mule heads out on trails. 12 such mules of 400 kg walk one after the other with metal hooves on trails. 

While even humans have a small trample effect, it isn’t as heavy as a pack animal. You can read more about it in this research paper (point 6).  

So when you’re constantly pitching camps and moving to the next, taking all the equipment with you, you’re taking 12 mules of 400 kg each time, trampling trails again and again. 

Additionally, mules also consume vegetation from the trail as fodder. They eat grass, flowers and vegetation they need to stay alive. This can be quite a bit, when you consider 12 mules doing it day after day. 

When you fix a camp at a certain location, the tents, sleeping bags, toilet equipment, all the heavy equipment is taken care of. It reduces the number of mules dramatically, since all that is left to transport now is offloaded backpacks and food replenishments. The amount of weight we carry comes down to a maximum of 150 kg. This is usually managed with just three mules. 

Fixing camps reduces the trample effect by 75%. This is an incomparable benefit to the environment.

2. Fixed camps cause LESS damage to the ground than rotating camps

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