The
10 Essentials
They may be small, but these items can make a huge difference on the trail.
Equipped with the items here and, even more important, the knowledge of how
to use them properly, you can avoid or survive virtually any mishap.
Here are the items we recommend as belonging in EVERY pack. Click on an
item for more information.
- Map.
Stories abound of lost hikers who could have
avoided their predicament by consulting a simple trail map. Wandering for
hours or days, these clueless campers turn up cold, tired, hungry and
dehydrated or worse. With an up-to-date topographic map and some basic map
reading experience, you can judge distances, find cutoffs, and distinguish
end-to-end trails from loops.
- Compass.
Rescuers have countless tales of
hikers who blunder off well-traveled, clearly marked paths. In tandem with a
good map and orienteering skills, a compass will help guide you out of dense
thickets, through featureless winter landscapes, and across untracked
tundra. Even if you’re just confused, with a map and compass you can
pinpoint your current location and determine the direction of the trail.
- Flashlight with extra batteries and bulb.
Fetching hapless, lampless hikers from moonlit mountain ridges and out of
ravines keeps rescue rangers in business. John Sanders, search and rescue
coordinator for the Appalachian Mountain Club, recently delivered a cell
phone-toting hiker from a trail high in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
As he wryly notes, "A cell phone helps in some situations, but its LED
readout isn’t bright enough to bring you down the mountain."
- Extra Food.
When accidents or natural events
alter your itinerary, warns Turner, they also alter your meal plan. And
while a growling stomach may be a great motivator, a calorie-starved body
performs poorly in crisis situations. To stay warm, alert, and energized
during the extra nights and days ahead, you’ll need additional fuel. Plan
to carry at least one day’s worth of ready-to-eat high energy snacks, and
increase your surplus for extended outings in remote situations.
- Extra
Clothing.
Hypothermia sets in fast when you’re lost, lame, or
soaking wet, so to ward off chilling winds and survive nights without
shelter, hikers should keep one set of warm, weatherproof clothes in
reserve. In mild climates, this might mean a synthetic base layer, pile
sweater, and waterproof jacket. In harsher environments, you might need a
backup down parka. The key is to create a versatile, cotton-free layering
system that can withstand rapid changes in climate and activity levels.
- Sunglasses.
"Snowblindness is a debilitating condition," cautions Dr. Keith
Conover, medical director of the Wilderness EMS Institute, based out of the
Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh.
"Your cornea looks and feels like its been sandpapered." People
who frequent high places, like John Harlin, BACKPACKER’s Northwest Editor
and veteran mountaineer, swear by sunglasses that filter out those searing
UV rays. "You come to snow that hasn’t melted out yet and those
sunglasses suddenly save your eyes and your trip," he says. Look for
shades that block 97 to 100 percent of UVA and UVB radiation.
- First-aid kit.
Imagine yourself descending
an unfamiliar mountain as darkness falls. Your map, compass, and headlamp
help you avoid a 500-foot cliff, but suddenly diarrhea strikes. You waste
precious time in the bushes, cramps and dehydration sap your strength, and
frostbite tickles your tush. That’s one scenario. The other is that at the
first twinge of trouble down below, you grab the Imodium from your
well-stocked medical kit and stay on the trail. Knowing how to use every
item is also a must.
- Pocketknife.
Steve Costie, member services
manager for The Mountaineers, quickly identifies several life-saving tasks
that require a blade: cutting clothing to assess injuries or tape to dress
wounds, punching holes to repair wind-wracked tents, and shaving branches to
prepare kindling. We’re not talking about a 6-inch bear skinner or a tool
with three screwdrivers. A small, sharp blade will do.
- Matches in a waterproof container.
The ability
to melt snow for water, fix a hot meal, and even send smoke signals starts
with reliable matches. In some situations, like a forced bivouac in a winter
storm, starting a fire can literally mean the difference between life and
death.
- Fire Starter.
Whether you pack a votive candle,
priming paste, or dry tinder, a bit of easy-lighting fuel can jump-start a
blaze and help you cope with the aftereffects of a plunge into icy waters or
stove failure. One backcountry skier survived two nights with a broken
kneecap because his makeshift fire helped forestall hypothermia.
