Day Hiking

Just Add Food and Water

I have a 30L backpack that’s always ready for a day hike. All I have to do is add food and water before heading out the door. In total, I can be out the door in less than two minutes. When getting out the door is hassle free, you’ll hike more - guaranteed!

In that pack, I have a complete setup that not only provides everything I need for that day’s hiking, but also emergency gear in case I make a mistake, break an ankle or leg, and have to spend a night in the woods before search and rescue finds my broken body.

What’s in my pack? Here’s the list:

• Emergency bivy

• Emergency blanket

• Paracord

• First aid kit

• Fire starter kit

• Extra clothing layers

• Compass/thermometer/whistle

• Maps

• Charging brick and cord

• Wipes

• Food & water

Deluxe Car Kitchen

If I’m going for a full day (dark to dark) excursion, I’ll take my super deluxe car kitchen. This is a reusable grocery bag that has my Jetboil, King Thermos, metal utensils, and a variety of dehydrated meals, snack bars, jerkies, instant coffee, etc. along with a zip lock baggie for trash.

I’ve found this is particularly useful in more remote areas where I might be doing a lot of hiking, but will make a meal between hikes when I drive from one trailhead to another.

Hike Selection

I’m super selective about hikes based on season, weather, crowds, soil conditions, sun position, and more. Yeah, I’m a little nerdy about these things, but it pays handsomely.

Imagine hiking to a gorgeous waterfall you saw online and arriving to a slow drip. The problem? Bad hike selection.

Here are some quick tips when selecting your hikes:

Physicality - distance, elevation gain, and surface dictate difficulty; choose hikes compatible with your fitness level

Seasons - here are my primary focal points for each season:

• Winter - waterfalls and exploring

• Spring - wildflowers, waterfalls, and vistas

• Summer - arches, vistas, and waterfalls (after heavy rains)

• Fall - vistas and arches

Weather - day hiking allows you to choose your weather and here are some of my rules of thumb:

• Thunderstorms - no hiking; hikers are #2 on the list of lightning strike victims just behind golfers

• Windy days - wind sheltered lowland hikes; creeks and drainages are good for these days; no hiking in gale force winds…too many dead trees waiting to fall;-)

• Heavy/persistent rain - waterfalls, waterfalls, and more waterfalls; just be sure to know the area and avoid getting stranded in flood zones

• Snow days - vistas, waterfalls, arches, and creeks; just take care not to slide off a cliff or into a rushing creek/river

• Ice - short elevation gains; no steep rocky terrain

• Sun and clouds - vistas and arches all day long

• Too sunny days - mix of vistas and covered forest hikes; mix in some beach time at a river, lake, or creek

Crowds - for solitude, hike weekdays or over the Winter months; also, have plenty of back-up hikes when visiting popular areas on weekends

Soil Conditions - hiking after heavy rain periods creates a lot more erosion; I generally wait for trails to dry a bit before getting out there or select a hike straight up a drainage or creek to a waterfall; also, never hike a shared use trail with horses or ATVs after soaking rains - it’s miserable!

Sunrises and Sunsets - a day isn’t complete without a sunrise and sunset:-) This is just looking at a map and seeing where your planned vistas face; use satellite image maps for this and select more southerly views in Winter and east-southeasterly views in Summer.

Magical Scenes

I’ll spend more time on this subject in the photography skills page, but below are some of the most magical scenes a hiker can enjoy:

• Sunrise from up high with an active fog bank moving below

• Summertime sunrise with high clouds moving toward the horizon

• Foggy morning forest walks with radiant sunbeams splitting the trees

• Vapor clouds rising up over the forest after a summertime storm

• Waterfalls at peak flow after persistent rains

• Ice drapes framing waterfalls in a snow covered forest

• Bluebird days in the mountains the day after a major snowfall

• Puffy clouds passing high above a knob with a bend in the river below

• Fall lakeside views over still water with colorful tree reflections

• Golden hour with the sun lighting up the underbelly of a sandstone arch

• Sunsets splitting clouds with vibrant beams and illuminated, colorful clouds

Just thinking of these scenes takes me back to specific hikes that I’ll not soon forget!

Frequently Asked Questions

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