Hiking Equipment List - The Ten Essentials + 3

Hiking is fun and good exercise too - but, the weather can change quickly, especially in mountainous areas, and hikers should always be prepared for emergency situations that might force them to spend more time in the woods than they expected. The Mountaineers (a climbing group in the Pacific Northwest) originally came up with a list of ten essentials that should be carried by each hiker on each trip - a list that's been added to or modified by many others since. In addition to making certain that someone knows where you're going and when you expect to be back (someone who'll be willing to come looking for you or who will alert the authorities that you're missing if you don't return when you've said), a reasonable list of things to take along on all but the shortest, most traveled hikes, would include:

1. Map and Compass - A simple compass and a topographic map (protected from water in a zip-lo bag) of the area you're hiking in, coupled with the knowledge to use them, can help you find your way if you lose the trail or become disoriented.
2. Water - Drinking water from streams is generally unsafe, so water should be carried in your pack. For many hikes a 1-liter bottle of water will be sufficient, but if conditions are unusually warm or the hike is particularly long you may need 2 or even 3 liters of water per person. Carrying iodine tablets, which can be used to purify stream water should you end up needing to stay out overnight, is a good precaution, I carry a Katadyn Mini Pocket filter. You can live for a long time with only water no water and your dead in 3 or 4 days.
3. Extra Clothing - Should the weather turn cold or wet, you'll appreciate having some extra layers in your pack. Depending on the time of year, you'll want to carry at least a fleece jacket or wool sweater, rain gear, an extra pair of warm socks, and a polypro cap and gloves. In the fall or spring a set of polypro long underwear is a good addition to your pack, and a pair of sunglasses is often useful, especially when traveling over snow on bright days. I carry an emergency shelter about the size of a pack of cards
4. Extra Food - It's a good idea to keep some emergency rations in your pack. A few Power Bars (flavors that you're not too fond of, so that they don't get eaten up all the time in non-emergency situations) should do the trick.
5. Flashlight with Extra Bulb and Extra Batteries - If you're delayed tail after dark, a flashlight is an excellent item to have along. Lightweight flashlights with halogen bulbs provide plenty of light and don't add much weight. Be sure to bring along an extra bulb (I keep one stuffed in cotton inside an old film canister) and a set of spare batteries.
6. Matches and Fire starter - Being able to build a small fire may help to keep you warm overnight if you get lost. Fire starter paste and some means of igniting it (make sure the matches are in a waterproof container) will do the trick. Be careful around here you could make a bad situation worse.
7. Pocket Knife - An indispensable tool for making all kinds of repairs, producing kindling for a fire, and who knows what else!
8. First Aid Kit - A small first aid kit can equip you to deal with minor cuts and scrapes, headaches, and other common problems. Be sure to include sunscreen and any specialized medications or equipment that you need. Insect repellent is often a good idea too.
9. Plastic Trowel and Toilet Paper - Be sure to bury waste about 6 inches deep, and well away from streams or lakes.
10. Whistle - A whistle can alert others to your presence in dense woods and the sound carries further than your voice and with less effort on your part. The international distress call is three repetitions of a whistle.
11. Common sense - Don't try anything your not sure you can get yourself out of, you'll be a long way from help and the only thing the rescuers may "rescue" is a body. If the weather is threatening before you start out wait for a better day, the mountains aren't going anywhere.
12. Don't be over confident - I've noticed over the years many of the hikers who get into trouble are experienced hikers who have hiked in the particular area many times, remember the area you are used to can look very different in the fog or dark.
13. Know your limitations - respect them, don't let the lack of equipment, training and / or experience cost you your life, or a lifetime of pain and disability, or serious embarrassment.