The ethics of trekking.

The ethics of trekking. 

Last weekend,  my cousin and I went for a trek on the outskirts of our city. Bangalore being nearly 950 metres above sea level, there are only so many hills to climb nearby. 

While on the trek, we came across quite a few people. Now, to be honest, this irked us. Not because they couldn't be there but because we wished that they weren’t.

The peace and serenity that comes with a trek is particularly ruined by the presence of other strangers, especially ones in groups larger than 5. The frictions of other human beings interacting with each other, sapped some of the joy out of the trek.  

From playing club music on speakers to being loud and belligerent towards the peace of nature. One loses the opportunity to disconnect, to soak themselves in the great outdoors, to take in nature and hear anything but the chatter of other fellow great apes.

This got me thinking, is there and should there be a code of ethics for trekking? It's an absurd idea, but bear with me. If we did have a code of ethics for trekking then we could all come to an agreement on how we could all have an enjoyable trek. There would also be a fair assumption and understanding of what experiences the average trekker can expect from a trek. Alongside what behaviours you’d expect from other trekkers. However, different people have different ideas on how to enjoy a trek... because people are different and we all enjoy different things at different times. 

For example after dinner, I sometimes enjoy an ice cream or something sweet, while my neighbour prefers loud and thumping edm trance music playing at 240 beats per minute. To each their own. 

Okay.So  lets define and enumerate what one can expect from a trekking experience itself. 

Any activity done by other people that hinders a person’s ability to fully immerse themselves in the experience should be considered a nuisance. Yes? 

For example if I bring a gun to a knife fight, I'm taking away all the fun and high stake tension that everyone who brought a knife expected from the knife fight.

In short I'm being a spoilsport. 

But what if, I'm much more accustomed to a gun than to a knife. What would your reply be? Doesn't matter this is a knife fight. Gun fights are only on Tuesdays. Right? Right.

So if your opinion of comfort is a nuisance for others, then whose opinion of comfort should be held as the gold standard? 

Short answer, no-one’s. It's a trek, not a weekend trip to the sauna. You cannot treat the great outdoors as an extension of your yesteryear band’s poster-clad room. It's a shared space where everyone must feel equally discomforted. After all that's why you're there, for the damn trek. To work up a sweat and challenge yourself. To scale new heights, literally. To feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction only to look down from above and feel small, insignificant. An ant trapped in the universe's enormous web of what is, what will be and what already has been. To gain perspective.   

So what should these shared discomfort values be?

Well there are only three that can be considered most important:-

1. Give way.

   Allow those whose pace is faster and those who are climbing uphill to pass you. It's not a race. You are not competing against others to get to the top. You're competing against yourself and your own mind. Chances are you are not the first one to scale that particular hill top or route anyway. So you've already lost the race, if there ever was one. Focus on how far you've come and how much is left to go. Pace yourself.  

   
   

2. Respect the surroundings.

   Nature commands respect. And those who disagree are going to have a hard and terrible time ahead. Chance sightings, encounters and new challenges such as gravelly trails, loose mud and leeches are nature's way of showing you the ropes. It's telling you to open up your senses, look around, hear, smell, watch, observe, intuit.

   
   

3. Keep Quiet.

   Silence is golden. You've come all this way to experience the trek, so has everyone else. No one wants to hear you scream, shout and cry for attention in the great outdoors. Nature doesn't care and neither do other people. You want to cry for attention? Do it like the rest of us. Indoors, in your room, into your pillow. Or call a friend over and you can both cry in different corners of the room. Turn it into a group activity, it's much more fun that way.
   Do not play music. Any kind of music. None. No one goes to the nightclub looking to buy health insurance. Similarly no one goes on a trek expecting and hoping to listen to some music.
   Yes silence is awkward and intense, it's meant to be. Allow yourself to just shut-up and listen to your thoughts, ascertain your way of thinking. Try to recognise various animal and insect sounds.  Reflect and retrospect and ever so often you'll see, hear, smell, experience all these things that were always out there, but we had just forgotten about.

Feel the ground give under the weight of your feet. Hear the birds chirping as they buzz through the trees. Stop and take a deep breath.