What to Pack for a Hiking Trip?

Aarzoo Iqbal
7 min readFeb 9, 2021

--

Hiking is a great way of getting rid of the world’s everyday gouge and other complications…

Planning for a long and safe journey without having an idea of “What to pack for a hiking trip” does not really mean a safe trip.

You’re here because you wanna plan better for your day hiking and obviously, I’m gonna help you a lot. Hope so if not more, then you will learn at least one or two things for sure. So, let’s have a look at your Hiking essentials

Refreshments;

1. Water

Yeah, you can’t go out without having your bottle filled with water .water is an essential element for life. And all of you know its importance very well. Water makes 70 % of the human body which is more than enough of the total percentage…According to general suggestions, we have to drink half-liter water every hour. But If you go hiking on a sunny and hot day then you may drink 1 liter or more per hour instead of half/ hour…

So, before going anywhere in order to avoid dehydration, firstly you should have to keep water according to your requirement in water bottles. Anyways the best bottle for carrying water is “Life Straw Flex” because its function is not carrying just water but it also purifies the water from parasites, fungi, bacteria, or any type of debris through its specially designed filter apparatus.

As it’s well said :

“ No life without Air, Water, and Food”…

2. FOOD

In refreshments, not only water but the food is also just important as well…

So If you are going for more days, you should take the food along with water, which has more energy, a high carbohydrate percentage, and gives more strength to your body.

My best food picks for hiking involve;

  • Fresh Fruits, like bananas, apples, pomegranates, pears..Among these, apples and pears are the best because they can stay fresh for a week or two.
  • Energy gels, bars; are the best fit whenever our energy dwindles because they have a very high percentage of carbohydrates.
  • Oatmeals: They contain 0 mg of cholesterol and 12 g of carbohydrates which are gonna quite enough energy source for one day in hiking.
  • Lean Meats; Meats of animals like kangaroo, lamb veals, and poultry chickens like ducks, bush birds, geese, etc contain very low fat and high energy quantity.
  • Ready-made tuna salad pouches; If it’s afternoon or lunchtime and feeling hungry then I’d recommend Ready-made Tuna salad pouches. They contain water, egg yolks, xanthan gum, salt, celery, etc. So, they’re the impeccable feast for noon.
  • Nut butter; It’s made by grinding nuts into a thick paste-like mixture. It contains a high protein and carbohydrate level so you’ll no longer feel hunger (Yummy!)…
  • Eggs; They are the best source of proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins, which will obviously never let you go hungry.

3. Backpack

Whether you’re out of the house for a day or out of town for many days hiking, you can’t go without having your backpack or daypack. It’s the most important thing to wrap up all of your things in a little space.

Be careful in selecting it, because you should choose the one having low weight and high capacity enough to hold your hiking essentials. Stay standardized and ready for anything…

Hiking Footwear ;

4. Hiking Shoes and Hiking Boots

Firstly, let me clear out the difference between hiking boots and shoes.

Hiking Boots” are harsh and very complex to fit. But they provide enough support to our ankle and protection from stings, distress, and other debris…

Their quality and endurance enable a consumer to walk a hundred meters long without damaging the feet.

However “Hiking Shoes” is extensile, comfortable, and really very easeful to wear for protection against dry and too much-wet weather.

I’d recommend both of them because both have pros and cons as well…

Hiking clothing;

Having a plan of outing for days, weeks, or even longer

you should take some comfortable and cozy dresses

according to the season requirements…

5. Sunglasses

You’re going out hiking without having your sunglasses in your essentials only due to the reason that you did not have any idea of the best sunglasses quality for hiking (oh!)

It’s not possible…Why am I here? Of course just to help you… So, don’t worry, I’ll suggest the “best sunglasses for hiking”

The ever best sunglasses for hiking are → Oakley Flak 2.0 XL which protects eyes from ultraviolet radiations such as UVA, UVB, the blue light of about 400 nanometres length, and other harmful effects but refrain from it while driving due to its 100% blockage to ultraviolet rays… Because car windscreens refine the ultraviolet rays which then results in reducing and constricting the backlash of the lenses…

The sunglasses I’d recommend for driving are “ Oakley PRIZM polarized lenses”. They are much safe because they cut out the light’s glow reflecting from the car sides and in such a way making driving cozy, smooth, and effortless.

6. Gaiters:

Hmm,

Most people think ‘’What’re Gaiters?’’

Many of you guys, obviously know them better and many of them have used them as well.

Aforesaid, you know better, and if not, just don’t worry because there’s no big science in it… Let me tell you that ‘’Gaiter’’ is actually a piece made up of leather or simple cloth… It’s used for covering your arms, lower legs, and ankles for protecting them from any kind of debris, slush, or ooze in short any type of filthiness. “Neck Gaiters” have the same purpose except for their area of usage because the ‘’Neck Gaiters’’ are used along the neck, mouth, or pulled up along the ears…

7. First-aid kit

When going out, in order to enjoy a risk-free journey, you should take an all-inclusive first aid kit. Nowadays, some lightweight first aid boxes are trending in the market. As you gain experience in traveling, you will get a better idea of what to include or exclude from the kit.

Your first add kit should include;

  • A face or pocket mask,
  • SAM splint,
  • Roller gauze,
  • Gloves,
  • Tourniquets
  • Medical tape.

8. Navigation tools

In Hiking Essentials, navigation tools are worth mentioning. Without these, you can’t guess where you are and where are you heading towards your next campsite, and your next position or locality.

While outing, Don’t forget to take the following navigation tools with you;

  • GPS device
  • A map
  • Satellite messenger
  • Altimeter map
  • Compass…

9.LIPSTICK SIZE CHARGER

You are hiking, using your mobile phone unconsciously, either watching videos, pictures, or listening to songs and suddenly your mobile’s battery runs out…

“What will I do now?”

Just cheer up!

The one and only and the best resource till now for charging a phone’s battery is with a handy featherweight “lipstick size charger”… So if you have this charger then you can simply recharge your battery wherever and whenever you wish…

10. LIGHTING

Obviously, if you are planning a hike for a day or week, or longer, you can’t go without any light resource.

For illumination during night time, or while in dark you need any of these lighting sources:

  • Mobile phone’s torch
  • Hand torch
  • Headlamp

Honestly, I’d recommend that the best one is a headlamp → having three or four AAA batteries and thus providing much more light.

So, in conclusion, you should take out a headlamp for hiking because it not only gives comfort to your hands but also avoids wastage of time.

  • I hope my content helped you a little bit and
  • you must have learned at least a thing or two from here…
  • Best Wishes!

--

--

No responses yet