K2 Base Camp Trek; Wondrous Experience!
 

Whilst there are several top treks in Pakistan, this review focuses on the classic K2 Trail. My wife and I undertook this hike from 1 - 21 August this year with Vertical Explorers Expeditions Treks & Tours. http://www.vepakistan.com/ Without going into too much I can confess that the trek and tour operator surpassed my expectations, It was raining sometime with overcast weather. However, on the Concordia day when it mattered the most, the sun was out in all its glory to ensure our visit to this " throne room of Mountain God " does not go in vain!

Altitude-acclimatization:

Below I am enlisting a few tips to help acclimatize to the high altitude on this trail and the surrounds. Both my wife and I were extremely fortunate to have not encountered or suffered from any symptoms of altitude sickness. We did not take any medication whatsoever. I've read a range of opinions online about people suffering from altitude sickness. May be we got plain lucky, or even better, did all the right things. Take your pick.

1. We are vegetarians so that helped a bit. In addition to that, for the first two nights in Skardo, our main meals comprised mainly vegetarian soups. Dinners were strictly soups, not even bread! In Skardu we were happy to find vegetarian soup options including lentil, spinach and mixed vegetable.

2. We drank 3-4 cups of grean tea everyday without fail. A couple in the morning during breakfast, and one or two at night. This we continued right through until we reached back.

3. We consistently drank in excess of 2 litres of water everyday. Our CamelBak hydration bladder came real handy.

4. For at least the first two days, we made a conscious effort to walk very slowly. Ditto when walking uphill. I am one who walks really fast all the time no matter what. My wife almost found it funny when she saw me walking slowly.

5. We occasionally did a few breathing exercises. Take long deep breaths from time to time to open up the lungs.

6. We stay put in Skardu for two nights before starting the hike. One important thing to remember is that Askole (~3000 m) to come early spent the rest of the day doing a bit of local walking (first night). Thereafter, we started really early for the trek as we got started at 5:30 am from our tent.

What to carry:
You will get detailed information on this from your tour operator, but here I am writing what we carried.
CamelBak (3 litre)
Sleeping bag (-20)
One fleece jacket each
One down jacket each
Passport (important)
Two wicking shirts
Two hiking pants
Four pairs of undergarments
Fours pairs of woollen socks
Two pairs of cotton socks
One pair thermal undershirt & long johns (for chilly nights)

One beanie
One pair of waterproof warm gloves
One muffler
One broad-brimmed hat
One rain jacket
One rain pant
One pair of sturdy hiking boots
One pair of thongs
Full-body wipes
Toilet paper
Hand sanitiser

Lilo/inflatable mattress( tour operator provided camping cots)
Fleece blanket

From the above, you can see we carried our own sleeping bag. We were fortunate to have camping cots and solar showers provided by our tour operator.

This hike should be everyone's personal journey. Don't make it a race and try to compete with others. Take your own sweet time, stop to take lots of photos and cherish every moment spent on this incredible journey to K2 base camp and Concordia, you won't regret it!

I had initially planned a trip to this region but had to cancel. when we go, this packing planning will help! Many thanks for taking the time to write this up.

Thanks for sharing ! what would you suggest for 55+ to do this, with average fitness.