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I've been caught by darkness a few times, mainly due to unexpected delays + deep cloud cover + thick forest canopies.

Usually, it's a descending, rock-strewn mountain trail back to the trailhead....

Welcome back, and thanks for the abbreviated 28-mile day hike report – it's fun and instructive to see a pre-trip "Essentials" list like yours, then a post-trip evaluation about its wisdom and/or...

By comparison...

The Lewis & Clark expedition drained the last of their spirituous supplies before they even crossed the Rockies.

I find it incomprehensible how they made it to the Pacific!

The pictograph here suggests a key "Essential" that needs more discussion – namely, protection against alien abductions in the high-desert southwest.

Please hear me out with patience before moving...

I like the monolithic, brooding shot! But never mind your lesson about matches – we want to know why you and Chris had to spend the night up there! Sounds like there's a dramatic story here we can...

Yes, I too belong to this group of caffeine-addicted hikers.

The ultimate nightmare – caffeine deprivation during an emergency.

An emergency within an emergency!

What happened to that great quote you shared?

"Good judgment comes from experience. "Experience" comes from bad judgment."

I'd say a meal of grubs would lead to good judgment. Exceptional...

A slight tweak to this critical point: Putting together (or thinking through) an “essentials” kit – in advance of any particular hike – is a great way to condition greater awareness, and, therefore,...

Bill and Scott, your photos are worth a thousand essentials.

A hiker’s first aid kit deserves a thread of its own.

Scott, I especially like the steel & flint.

Did everyone else miss this like I did? Here’s a Scout leader who has us all beat.

Bill, if you carry “10 essentials,” that’s .7 ounce per item.

Please break this out, so the rest of us can...

“Why isn’t [X] or [Y] on the ‘10 essentials’ list?” :(

A perfectly natural question, so it might make sense to show the two questions the “Classic List” (post #7) was designed to address –...

Here’s Clark’s actual compass from the Lewis & Clark 1804-06 expedition.

One of the few surviving “10 essentials” from the trip.

No record in the journals whether Sacagawea was impressed or not...

I can assure you that you’re factoring it in this way, too, but I also understand what you mean. Remember that excellent topo maps can also have their declination line in the bottom corner, making it...

And Struan’s “Ben Nevis” key lesson for our purposes:


“...all those things I had lugged around and never used, I used.
Spare clothing, food and drink all made a small but vital difference; in...

You’re not going to share any exciting details? Did it start raining?



I think the forest service should superimpose a skull & crossbones over this area for cross-country, traditional-compass...

Yep (why did you think they aren’t?)

However, occasional national forest district maps (as opposed to USGS quads) of excellent & useful scale fail to specify declination. Strangely, this is true...

And if you’re “stuck” w/ a real compass (I carry two), be sure to check your area’s magnetic declination – the difference between true north and magnetic (compass) north. It’s usually stated on any...

Me too, especially if there are rushing creeks to cross.

BTW, the original “10 essentials” list was developed in the 1930’s by the Mountaineers Club, the Seattle-based climbing/outdoors outfit...

Most LF landscapers who hike away from their vehicle have enough trouble finding room in their packs for camera, lenses and accessories – let alone the “10 essentials” you always hear about:


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