Mountain Climbing and Trekking Tips for Beginners

Trekking is not a walk in the park; it's long, adventurous, and sometimes risky, involving crossing forests, streams, and navigating treacherous terrains with limited amenities. Yet, it remains a favorite among the youth, especially those looking to challenge themselves. So, what do beginners need to know about trekking?

1. Thoroughly Research Your Destination and Itinerary

Whether it's your first trek or not, thorough research about your destination and clear trip planning is always the most crucial advice. Research helps you understand all aspects of your destination, such as terrain, climate, and weather conditions. It also enables you to assess the potential risks of the route, preparing you mentally for unexpected challenges. Opting for tours with reputable leaders or seeking assistance from a knowledgeable local is advisable.

Explore Your Destination Thoroughly. Image: Collected

Weather significantly impacts your trekking and mountain climbing adventure. Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate, and depending on the time of year and specific region, it brings its own unique characteristics. Weather is crucial not only because it affects the safety of your journey but also the quality of the captured images and essential items to carry along.

2. Equip Yourself with Necessary Gear

In addition to having ample information about your destination, preparing essential safety equipment is crucial for mountain climbing or trekking journeys. Necessary tools for a trekking adventure ensure your safety in the midst of nature, including:

2.1. Clothing Selection

Choose lightweight, highly elastic, sweat-absorbent, quick-drying, sun-resistant, and odor-resistant attire. Opt for athletic shoes (or hiking boots) with good grip, excellent friction, comfort for the feet without constriction, a cushioned lining, and elasticity to reduce the risk of blisters from extensive movement. Additionally, prepare a pair of honeycomb-patterned sandals or rain boots.

Choose Comfortable Trekking Attire. Image: Collected

2.2. Water and Provisions

If you're a novice in mountain climbing or trekking, determining your food and water needs can be challenging. Aim for about 200–300 calories per hour and approximately half a liter of fluids per hour of moderate activity at a moderate temperature. This dietary intake varies significantly based on factors such as walking intensity, weather, age, sweating propensity, and body type. As you gain more experience, you'll develop a better sense of your specific requirements. Instead of elaborate, time-consuming cooked meals, opt for high-energy foods like chocolate, Snickers bars, or dried fruits that are quick and easy to carry.

Carry Adequate Water and Provisions. Image: Collected

2.3. Medication and Medical Tools

Don't forget to pack common medical supplies such as personal adhesive bandages, gauze, medical tape, disinfectant wet wipes, tweezers, small scissors, and antibacterial ointment. Include pain relievers, stomachache medicine, fever reducers, mosquito repellent, etc. Specifically for trekking, blisters are common, and you can use blister prevention medication applied internally on your feet to knees (in dry weather) or even thighs (in rainy weather), ears, neck, and shoulders. Apply the preventive medication externally on lace gaps, shoe collars, socks, pant legs, shoulders of the shirt, and hat.

Medication and Medical Tools. Image: Collected

2.4. Backpack

Choose a backpack of appropriate size and suitable for your physique. Avoid carrying an excessively large backpack, as it may lead to stuffing unnecessary items during a mountain climbing or trekking journey, making you easily fatigued. The backpack should have a back support bar, waist belt, chest strap, and multiple compartments for organizing various items and easy retrieval when needed.

Select a Backpack Suited to Your Physique. Image: Collected

2.5. Miscellaneous Essentials

• Survival Kit: water filter, fire starter, compass, survival whistle, survival bracelet, flashlight, multipurpose knife
• Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, gloves, sun sleeves. Convenient raincoat, nylon bag for backpack covering, electronic devices for rainy conditions.
• Fully charge your phone, power bank, camera, dashcam to capture the experiences

3. Develop Essential Skills

3.1. Use Trekking Poles for Momentum

When trekking uphill, use trekking poles to anchor and leverage against rocks and tree trunks. This helps conserve and efficiently distribute energy, ensuring an obstacle-free path ahead. When descending steep slopes, let the soles of your feet follow the incline, bend your body, and keep the backpack's center of gravity in front of your feet.

Utilize Poles for Momentum. Image: Collected

If the slope is steep, face the mountain wall, using both hands to support your descent. Always maintain a three-point contact, either one hand with two feet or one foot with two hands.

3.2. Maintain Balance

For beginners in trekking, mastering the skill of maintaining balance while moving forward is crucial. Once you achieve stability, you can overcome obstacles on the trail without worrying about unintended accidents like tripping or stumbling over rocks.

Maintain Balance while Trekking. Image: Collected

To practice this skill, find a sturdy object about 5-10cm high near a window. Stand on the edge of it with the tips of your toes. In other words, balance on the elevated object by keeping your feet aligned. Use the window frame for support if you find it challenging in the initial days. Be consistent in training for 10 consecutive days, dedicating only 10-15 minutes each day.

Once comfortable with the toe-balancing stance, transition to maintaining balance without relying on any support. Simultaneously, rotate left and right to change your perspective. This change helps stretch and flex the muscles around the ankles and shins.

3.3. Efficient Use of Survival Tools

Apart from preparation, learning how to use survival tools is a crucial skill for beginners. There's no guarantee of 100% safety in every trekking or mountain climbing journey. Imagine being lost, far from the group, in the wilderness, with no lights, no water... Night falls, and you're unaware of your surroundings, with potential wildlife lurking. In such situations, the survival kit becomes the 'hero,' helping you cope with everything.

Learn to use survival tools. Image: Collected

3.4. Basic First Aid

When navigating complex terrain with numerous obstacles underfoot, injuries become challenging to avoid, especially for beginners lacking experience. In unforeseen situations, it's crucial not to panic. Assess the wound, check its depth, and apply simple first aid to prevent infection and splinting. If bleeding occurs, promptly control it by cleaning the wound with a bandage and applying pressure. In the absence of a bandage, you can use makeshift items like scarves.

Learn basic first aid skills. Image: Collected

3.5. Efficiently Manage Physical Endurance

In trekking or mountain climbing, the key isn't to rush to the destination but to maintain endurance throughout the journey. Walk at a normal pace, move steadily, and exert energy moderately to sustain optimal physical fitness. This approach proves beneficial when facing challenging obstacles and conserving energy. If you feel overwhelmed and unable to proceed, take a short break. However, avoid prolonged rests as they can lead to muscle stiffness and cramps.

Optimizing Physical Endurance. Image: Collected

4. Recommended Trekking Routes for Beginners

4.1. Chua Chan Mountain

Chua Chan Mountain, located in Dong Nai province, stands at 837m above sea level with a slope of 30-35 degrees, featuring some steep cliffs. The trekking route to Chua Chan offers various paths to conquer the peak, most of which are relatively gentle as this route has become well-trodden over time.

Exploring Chua Chan Mountain. Image: Collected

4.2. Ba Den Mountain

In addition to Chua Chan Mountain, Ba Den Mountain is a popular choice for many as their first trekking destination. Located in Tay Ninh province, about 110 km from Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Den Mountain consists of three ranges: Heo, Phung, and Ba Den. The highest peak, Ba Den Peak, reaches 986m – the highest peak in the Southeast region. There are various routes to conquer Ba Den Peak, such as the Chua route, the electricity pole route, or the Phung mountain route.

Exploring Ba Den Mountain. Image: Collected

4.3. En Cave

For those who are passionate about both trekking and cave exploration, En Cave (Quang Binh) is a must-not-miss choice. In terms of the route, En Cave's terrain is not exactly flat; it requires conquering a 22km jungle trail, a 3km cave exploration, and approximately 500m of ascent. However, as this cave is organized by professional tour operators with comprehensive guidance on skills and equipment from head to toe, including porter support, you can completely trust in the safety measures.

Trekking En Cave. Image: Collected

4.4. Lao Than

Lao Than (Lao Cai) is a suitable trekking route for beginners with a difficulty level of only about 4/10. The ascent mainly features low grassy hills and gentle trails, making it achievable for almost everyone. With a 2-day-1-night itinerary, you can leisurely explore and enjoy the scenery without worrying about exhaustion. The landscape in Lao Than consists mainly of drum-shaped hills with a 360-degree view. You'll witness cornfields, terraced rice paddies, and an expansive sky, providing a breathtaking sight rarely seen in the city.

Trekking Lao Than. Image: Collected

4.5. Ta Chi Nhu

Tà Chì Nhu (Yen Bai) is perhaps the most challenging trekking route on the list for beginners. Conquering Tà Chì Nhu is not difficult, but it requires stamina and endurance as the 24km trail consists of numerous consecutive steep ascents with no trees, leading to strong winds.

Despite being the toughest trail on this list, it is a heavenly haven with rare scenic beauty. Just standing before the sea of drifting clouds, watching the 'cloud waves' beneath your feet, makes all fatigue vanish instantly.

Trekking Tà Chì Nhu. Image: Collected

Now, what are you waiting for? Plan a challenging trekking journey to test yourself!

Explore more articles:

• Safe river crossing tips for summer trekking
• Sports tourism: The travel trend for summer 2021