Hiking is one of our all-time favorite outdoor activities. There is just something magical about driving on a dirt road to a trail head and spending the day out in nature with nothing more than what you can carry in your backpack.
We have found that there are three absolutely essential items to carry besides food and water when we hike.
First Aid Kit
We hope we absolutely never need it, but it we always carry one. You can find pretty cheap and compact first aid kits online, but we highly recommend the “Mountain Series Medical Kits” that you can buy at REI for $25. This is not a paid ad, it’s literally just us recommending a really good product. The Hiker kit comes with enough medical supplies for 2 people for 2 days with pretty standard injuries - burns, cuts, blisters, etc. While we personally haven’t had to use the kit, we have handed out band-aids and antiseptic wipes to hikers that have taken a tumble and didn’t have their own med kit.
Sunscreen
Let’s just say, one of the worst sunburns you can ever get is one where you are well above treeline and there is not a cloud to be seen. Yes, speaking from experience here! Let me just say, OUCH. A few years ago, I was hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park and didn’t bother to put sunscreen on my arms as I was wearing a very lightweight long sleeve over a short sleeve tech shirt. It was cooler on the trail in the shade of the trees, but once we got out of the trees, it got hot so off came the long sleeve layer… An hour above treeline later, I had a sunburn that lasted me for the rest of the summer season. I have never forgotten to carry sunscreen since!
Rain Gear
Unless there is literally a zero percent chance of rain for more than 24 hours, we always pack a rain coat. Living in Colorado, the weather can change in a matter of minutes the higher you hike. We check the weather hours before we hit the trail-head and again right as we start our hike and if there is any chance at all of rain, we carry rain gear. Not super heavy, weigh your pack down gear - but gear that folds into one of their own pockets. You can find a rain coat that zips into one of its pockets (see this one here - again just a fan of this coat, not an affiliate), and same for rain pants. If you have to pick between a rain coat or rain pants due to room in your pack, we would go with a rain coat 100% of the time over pants.
If you are curious about what else we always pack on our day trip hiking packs, check out our free guide section and download our FREE day trip hiking pack list!
Let us know what you find absolutely essential to pack by leaving a comment below. See you on the trails!
~Liz
