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What to pack for a day hike: the ten essentials

The hike you expect is not always the hike you get. A twisted ankle, a wrong turn or a sudden storm can turn a two-hour walk into a night on the mountain. The ten essentials weigh only a few kilograms and keep you warm, dry, fed and findable until you can walk out or help arrives.

The ten essentials

Carry them on every hike, even a short one.

1. Navigation: a map of the area and a phone with an offline map.
2. Headlamp or torch, charged or with spare batteries.
3. Sun protection: hat, sunscreen and sunglasses.
4. First aid kit and your own medicines.
5. Knife or multi-tool.
6. Emergency shelter: an emergency blanket or a light bivvy bag.
7. Extra food: more than you plan to eat.
8. Extra water: more than you plan to drink.
9. Extra clothes: a warm layer and a rain jacket.
10. Communication: a charged phone, a power bank and a whistle.

A day pack of 20 to 35 litres holds it all. Look for padded straps, a hip belt and a bottle pocket that you can reach.

Water

Water is the heaviest thing you carry, and the most important.

• Plan on about half a litre for each hour of walking in mild weather, and up to a litre an hour in heat or on steep climbs.
• A five-hour summer hike therefore needs about 2.5 to 4 litres a person, unless you can safely refill.
• Do not count on streams. They dry up in winter on the Highveld and in summer in the Western Cape.
• Leave a bottle of water and a snack in the car for the end.

Food

• Eat little and often. A snack every hour keeps your energy steadier than one big lunch.
• Good trail foods are nuts, dried fruit, biltong, droëwors, cheese, rolls, peanut butter and boiled eggs.
• Carry salty snacks on hot days.
• Keep a couple of energy bars in the pack for emergencies.

A small first aid kit

In a waterproof bag:

• blister plasters, tape and small scissors;
• plasters and sterile dressings;
• a crepe bandage and a triangular bandage;
• antiseptic wipes;
• disposable gloves;
• pain relief that you know you can take, and antihistamine tablets;
• tweezers for splinters and ticks;
• a rehydration sachet;
• personal medicines, such as an asthma pump.

The kit is only as good as the person using it. A first aid course is one of the best investments a hiker can make.

Emergency items and how to use them

• Emergency blanket: it weighs about 50 g. Wrapped round a cold or injured person, it cuts heat loss and keeps off wind and rain.
• Whistle: it carries much further than a voice. The international distress signal is six blasts in a minute, repeated after a minute's pause. The reply is three blasts.
• Phone: keep it in a waterproof bag and use flight mode or battery saver when you do not need a signal. Mountains often have none. In an emergency, climb to a ridge to find one.

Before you leave

Tell someone your route and when you expect to be back, and save the emergency numbers in your phone and on paper in the pack.

For a multi-day trail

Add a 50 to 70 litre pack with a liner, a sleeping bag rated for the coldest night you expect, a mat, a stove and fuel, food for every meal plus one extra day, and dry clothes in a waterproof bag. Drakensberg nights can fall below freezing in any season.

A loaded pack should weigh no more than about a fifth of your body weight. Weigh it at home, and take out what you will not use.

This guide is based on Chapter 4 of Hiking and Trail Safety in South Africa.