Hiking Essentials: Top 5 Must-Haves
When heading out for hikes, even short ones, it's easy to become overly confident in our hiking abilities. In the following article, I'll go over the top five essential items needed to complete your goals and make hiking easier and safer.
1. Water
While hiking, we put our bodies through a lot of physical exertion because terrain can be steep or have a lot of elevation gain that we aren’t necessarily use to. By keeping hydrated during the hike we have help minimize the potential for dehydration which leads to fatigue and decrease in energy levels. Another thing is often times a hike might also not have much shade or it might just be a really hot day, this can lead to heat exhaustion or a heat stroke if you do not stay properly hydrated. I place water as the first item on my list because you will perform better in this environment if you’re hydrated.
2. Map / Navigation Tools
Whether a trail you’ve hike multiple times or a trail you’ve never been on before, it is also important to have some sort of map of the trail and the general area. You can either have a printed out map that you can take with you on the trail to guide you or you can also download the map of the trail onto your phone using a provider like alltrails.com. It’s better to have both incase of an emergency like your phone dying and you only had the map on your phone.
3. Safety Gear / First Aid Kit
When you’re hiking, a lot of trails can take you to areas that are very secluded and hard to get to. If you are ever in a situation where you get injured in these areas, it might be difficult for someone to get to you, if they can get to you at all. It’s important that you take materials such as a bandages, pain relievers, and blister treatments so that you can treat yourself. Other important items are things like a whistle, flashlight, multi-tool, and an emergency blanket so that you are prepared for other situations that might arise.
4. Snacks
Like mentioned earlier, when you are hiking, your body is exerting a lot of energy, which is burning a lot of calories. Having a snack that you can eat while out in these trails makes sure that you are providing your body with the energy that it needs to keep going. It’s also a good idea to take extra snacks incase you have an emergency or you get lost in the area, this way you have something to eat.
5. Backpack
Finally, the last item that is essential and will help you carry all of the other items is a backpack. I recommend getting a backpack with a hydration pack because not only is it more convenient to drink out of but it also reduces the weight of the backpack. Before the hydration pack I use to carry multiple water bottles, but for longer hikes this would put a strain on my back. The hydration pack is more light weight and it’s more evenly distributed throughout the backpack.
