By Mariah Cannon
The “10 essentials” are what everyone considers to be the most important things that you should carry with you while you’re out hiking, exploring, and out of service.
Now, if you didn’t grow up hiking or being adventurous outdoors, like myself, it can seem pretty confusing. “How do I know what to bring?” and “Why do people keep mentioning the 10 essentials?” or “I don’t feel like all that is necessary.”
If you are or have ever been any of those above, I got you! In today’s blog, I’m going to be quickly and effectively talking about the 10 essentials. What are they, where can I get them, and why are the important? Are you ready? Let’s go!
1. The first thing you should always carry is a compass or some form of navigation. Garmin GPS, paper map, or having the trail downloaded on your mobile device are all great options.
2. Always carry a headlamp with you while hiking, even when you don’t plan to be out in the dark. Things can happen and quickly, especially during Winter when the daylight is shorter. It’s important to be prepared for anything!
3. Sun Protection is a necessary thing to bring and it comes in many different forms. Sun hat, sunscreen, and my personal favorite; Sahara Sun Hoodie from REI. Sun protection on the trail is important because even if it doesn’t feel like the sun is affecting you, it can be very damaging, especially on higher elevation hikes and exposed portions.
4. Having a First Aid Kit is important! The simplest scratches and aches can become more of a problem than you’d realize while out on the trail. Having even a minimal kit can make or break a trip!
5. A knife or something to cut with. I personally carry a Leatherman as it provides multiple handy features in one singular tool. This can come in handy for tending to wounds, cutting kindling, cutting rope, etc. Many things that might never be likely to happen, but it’s great to have it all ready.
6. Stormproof Matches come in handy in case you ever have to stay somewhere overnight when you weren’t planning on it and being able to make a fire in most conditions.
7. Bringing an emergency bivy or shelter of some form can be helpful, again if you have to stay overnight. You can bring a lightweight tarp to use with your hiking poles as a shelter as well. It may never be likely, but if it did, you would be grateful to have something to keep you out of the elements!
8. Extra food! Having more snacks and fuel then you think you’ll need is super important! I like to bring a sandwich, a couple of protein bars or a Pro Bar Meal Bar, and something with sugar and calories!
9. Extra water – Bring more water than you think you’ll use with electrolytes. It can also be helpful to bring some form of water filter, I love the Sawyer Micro Squeeze and use it on all of my longer hiking and backpacking trips.
10. Extra clothing can make or break the vibes for the trip. I always recommend bringing and extra change of shoes, socks, and warm top layer – especially when Winter hiking or rainy day hiking. Here is the link to some of my favorite post hike pieces;
Wrap Up
If you didn’t know, now you do! And maybe you’ll start carrying some of these on your hiking and backpacking trips! It’s likely you’ll never have to use some of them, but in the case of an emergency, it’s better to be safe than sorry and have some help if staying overnight in the wilderness is necessary.
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Let’s Get Adventuring!
Mariah
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