Beneath the falls in Oregon -day hiking essentials

10 Day Hiking and Adventuring Essentials You Should Always Have on Hand (Plus Some Extras!)

Whether you’re in the lush green forest on a dusty trail, sitting by an alpine lake watching the light sparkle off the surface of the water, or watching the gray-blue waves crash in off the coast of the pacific, you don’t want anything taking you from the peace of your travel experience. So no matter where your adventure is, you should always have the basics and prepare for the worst. So here’s a carefully curated list of things for your travels. This is my packing list every time I set out on an adventure, even if it’s only 45 minutes from home.

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If you don’t have a packable jacket, you are missing out. I never leave home without mine! Since I live in the beautiful but incredibly moody Pacific Northwest, you never know when the weather will decide to misbehave. Not to mention that mountain weather can be cold year-round, even if it’s hot and humid 24/7 in the lowland areas doesn’t mean the mountains will act the same way. In the mountains, even in the middle of summer, it’ll be hot during the day and freezing in the evening and night.

The best part is, some of the jackets are so small you can carry them in your purse! That means you’ll have it whenever you need it! For a little bonus, look for one that’s wind-resistant! (That means no wind chill going right through the fabric! It’s a life-changing experience during high winds.) And you won’t ever have to worry about a huge jacket lump in your backpack again.

Two: Small Essentials, i.e. Lip Balm, Hair Ties, Extra Socks, Sunglasses

All the small essentials you can keep in a pouch in your pack. I’ve been saved so many times by my extra socks. You don’t know how cold that mountain water is until you step in it (even in summer). It’s nice to have some warm socks just in case you accidentally step into a creek that’s a little deeper than you thought and end up with a puddle in your shoe.

Here’s a quick list of the small items:

Sunscreen
Lip Balm
Hair Ties
Extra Socks
Sunglasses
Blister Pads
Extra Batteries
Power Bank for Charging my Phone

Three: Snacks

I’ve gone on adventures for hours with only a granola bar and a bag of crackers for two people, and it’s not easy to find a Qdoba in the middle of nowhere. (My favorite burrito spot! It’s a lot like a Chipotle, but better in my opinion.) Sometimes you’re lucky, but other times you just have to be hungry until you make it to civilization. Those days are rough, so plan ahead and bring extra snacks no matter where you’re going or what the plan is.

Extra Wonderful Tip: If it’s a colder adventure, bring some warm food! If I know I’m going to be cold and hungry, having a warm snack makes things so much better.

What I like to do is bring boiling water with me in an insulated bottle and make instant ramen! It makes it even more satisfying when you reach your destination. You can do this with any kind of dehydrated food, I just really like noodles.

Make sure you bring an actual water heater for dehydrated backpacking meals though. It’s a lot easier (and tastier) to make them with recently boiled water. The water from your insulated bottle will have cooled down a little too much by then.

Four: Light Layers

Zack and I find that the longer we’re walking, the more likely we are to start peeling off the layers. If you have a giant, heavy coat you might not be able to fit that in your backpack. We both like wearing light sweatshirts or long sleeves and a base layer that’s easy to remove and stow away. I also like to have a thinner fleece sweatshirt that’s easy to layer and take on and off for extra insulation.

Bonus! Bring a little packable blanket with you if you like to stay longer. They pack down nice and small and you can hang it on the outside of your backpack. I have one that turns into a little cape so I can be hands-free! It’s my favorite secret weapon just in case it’s extra cold.

Five: Water Bottle

Always remember water! I used to be so bad about this. There was a time when Zack and I thought we would be in a cave for an hour at most and it turned into FIVE hours. Boy, do I wish I had brought water! Seriously, I left everything in the car, not realizing that it was a big mistake. Learn from this, don’t do this. If you think that you’re only going to be hiking for an hour, just bring your water anyway and thank yourself later.

Bonus points if your water bottle is insulated so you can have either hot or cold water on your hike. I also like to bring a water filter with me so I can filter mountain water if I need more. Not to mention, when getting it from the right source, mountain water tastes amazing! The best water I’ve ever had was from a glacier-fed, bright blue lake. The best-case scenario is always to bring way more water than you think you’ll need.

Extra helpful tip for those of you who want to bring a filter:

Be careful with your filters in the winter. Bring a filter that has never been used, or make sure it’s adequately warm throughout your hike (like when it’s kept in an inner chest pocket). If water freezes in your filter, it’ll no longer be safe to use. I don’t like taking the risk with this so I generally just bring lots of extra water on snowy hikes or any hike that it may get under 32° F (0° C). If I’m backpacking, I keep my filter in my sleeping bag at night!

Six: Hat

I try to remember a hat even though I’m not really a hat person. You don’t want to have to deal with the sun being in your face all day long in the summer or freezing cold ears on an autumn day in the mountains. Sometimes you may think you won’t need it, but you never know. If I’m bringing a hat that I’m not sure I’ll use, I bring one without a puffball so it fits better in my bag and takes up less space!

Seven: Sunscreen

I know. I hear you saying right now that you don’t need sunscreen unless it’s summer. Well, that’s not exactly true. The sun’s rays can hurt you at any time during the year and cancer is not something anybody wants to have. Prevent possible skin problems later in life, keep your skin young, drop your chances of getting skin cancer, prevent a lobster sunburn, whatever you can tell yourself to get yourself to put on sunscreen. I like to play it safe and always have a small Sun Bum face stick on hand in case I’m in for a day with a lot of exposure. It’s tiny, applies quickly, and smells amazing!

Eight: Camera

This one varies from person to person. A camera could be your smartphone, a big heavy DSLR, or anything in between. Sometimes you come across something so beautiful, you feel like you have to capture it. Or you could choose to just take it all in as it is, but it’s nice to have a camera just in case.

This is my heaviest piece of gear in my pack, so I like to keep everything else as light as possible to make up for my ridiculously heavy camera and tripod. Just a thought for if you also like to lug around heavy camera gear.

Nine: Light Backpack

Just in case you have some heavy equipment (like a chunky DSLR), it’s nice to have a backpack that is extremely lightweight. Pick one that makes you feel like you aren’t carrying anything when it’s empty. That’s how you know it’s lightweight. (You can also check the exact weight if you’re buying off REI or Backcountry. My current pack is a 14oz, 22-liter bag. This one is actually really comfortable still in my opinion, but you may have to compromise comfort for weight for some bags.) Bonus if you can find one that has some waterproofing so you don’t get your electronics wet if it starts pouring down rain! I personally don’t have a waterproof bag though, so I use a waterproof backpack cover and possibly a waterproof liner depending on how wet the conditions may be.

Ten: Good Hiking Shoes

This one is pretty self-explanatory but also important! I actually didn’t have any decent hiking shoes until I was 22! After I got my first pair I was in absolute heaven. Find the right fit and your feet won’t be as sore as they used to be or maybe you won’t have sore feet at all!

Additional comfort tips!

If you want to add even more comfort to your shoes, I switch out my footbed liners with Superfeet Insoles. I use them in all my most used shoes, but they have some just for trekking that I really like.

You can also put extra comfy shoes in the car for when you’re done with your hike. My feet are so happy to be out of my shoes when I get back to the car. Even if your feet aren’t sore, hiking boots can be a little restrictive since they’re meant to be supportive. I like bringing sandals, slippers, or something else non-restrictive for after my hike. My feet are so much happier since I started doing this!

Eleven: Map and Compass

Make sure you bring a map, even for shorter hikes. Getting lost is serious, and this is a big problem, especially for the Pacific Northwest in recent years with all the new hikers that aren’t used to the conditions (especially winter!). People will go out on seeming easy hikes and then won’t be found until the snow fully thaws. Please be smart about your safety and bring a map and compass. This is especially useful if part of the trail is washed out and you can’t find the continuation of the trail. This has happened to Zack and me many times and having a map has saved us every single time.

Helpful Tip!

Learn to use a physical map and compass for when it’s your only option left. You never know when your phone might die from the cold or overheat from the sun and make it impossible to navigate via phone GPS.

You can download maps using a few different apps. You’ll want to make sure you download topographical maps and learn how to read them! There are a few great apps you can use, I personally have been using AllTrailsPro lately. You can also use Gaia as another popular option. AllTrailsPro is a paid option, but I really like their interface and features.

Twelve: Emergency GPS or Personal Beacon

If you’re hiking alone, you should invest in either an emergency satellite phone with GPS or a personal beacon. Many extra and unexpected dangers come with hiking alone. You’re more likely to have dangerous animal encounters, you could injure yourself and have no help, the trail may be more challenging than you expected leading to the possibility of being alone in the dark woods, and many more dangers you may not have thought of. I encourage trying out hiking alone, but you should always take the necessary precautions and have a cautionary respect for the wilderness.

Bonus: Headlamp, Trekking poles, Hand Warmers, and Light Gloves (Waterproof Optional)

This is my ‘you may or may not need this stuff’ section. Headlamps are amazing for a lot of things. Sunset hikes when you walk back in the dark, sunrise hikes when you walk to your destination in the dark, camping, and a whole lot more. If you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend it in place of a flashlight to keep your hands totally free. It’s so amazing, you’ll never go back! Zack also has the coldest hands on the planet so I always bring extra hand warmers just for him. We also like to carry a pair of lightweight gloves at all times. Sometimes the wind chill is brutal, so having even a light layer of protection can make a world of difference.

Let’s also talk about trekking poles. If you’re a beginner hiker (or maybe you’re not) you’ve probably looked at trekking poles wondering if they’re right for you or if you need them at all. The answer is a little different for everyone, but the short answer is this. I personally bring trekking poles on every hike that has more than 1000ft in elevation gain due to a previous knee injury. If I had never had this injury, I’d bring trekking poles on every hike with sections that have more than 700ft elevation gain in one mile, and hikes more than 7 miles long round trip.

Trekking poles make it easier to climb, and take a lot of pressure off your knees when you’re using them properly. You can easily find a YouTube video on how to properly use them. Practice a little and you’re good to go! This is my personal opinion on trekking poles, lots of hikers have other opinions so figure out what’s right for you.

Happy Adventuring!

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Hello I’m Caryn!

I’m a Pacific Northwest based adventurer and storyteller. I take a lot of photos, Zack takes a lot of videos, and together we try to bring our fun adventures to life to inspire you to go outside and have meaningful, unique outdoor adventures for yourself!

12 Essential Items You Should Always Have With You While Hiking