The ten essentials survey

[bluerail]

Sally, I can understand wanting to kick yourself, but just seeing a fox up there is so cool ! Very lucky.

[zippetydude]

starting to feel like the lonely minimalist ?

Well, in a word, no. But it does tell me what's in those huge packs everyone is carrying. I go with 0.5 essentials because I 1) try to be home by 10 or 11 on Saturday morning, and traveling light lets me get to the peak and back much more quickly, and 2) I'm not a detail person, and I hate having to pack tons of items (read: more than 1) before I go.

I have a wife and critters I'm hurrying home to, though. Once the little ones are grown, maybe I'll be able to get the wifey to join me. I won't be in a hurry, and she's good with details. Hmmm. Better get started on that plan right away.

z

[bluerail]

your a lucky guy zip...i completely understand.

[Tim Le]

The ten essentials are good guidelines. They're just guidelines so you're free to add or subtract from that list based on your own judgment and your particular hike. If you're on a glacier you'll need a few other things

I read a lot of SAR missions and I can point to stories where every item on the ten essentials made a difference or could have made that difference. Like the story of the couple who got lost in the tram area for days but then found the camp of a dead PTC hiker, used his matches and made a smoke signal that rescued them. Or many other stories of people who could see the helicopter but had no way of signaling them. Or the women who could hear SAR calling her name but was too exhausted and had no whistle to call back. Or the climber who's GPS failed in the cold and he descended into a cliff in whiteout conditions because he didn't have a compass.

Many of these survival items are so small and weigh almost nothing, it's so easy to just have them inside a small bag at all times and just throw that entire bag in your pack every time. They even sell pocket sized kits that weigh just a handful of ounces.

[SoCalJim]

I carry most of the "ten essentials" whenever I go somewhere and there's a risk that if "something happens" (e.g., trip/fall and severely sprain/ fracture an ankle or knee) and I may be facing an unscheduled night out, I have at least the minimum to cope. To avoid having to dwell on what to bring, I have a small bag with some standards which I may add to depending on the trip. I know a lot of people can't be bothered or don't ever expect to use these things, but to me, the "ten essentials" are kind of like wearing a seatbelt when you drive. You don't expect to ever need it; it's for the unexpected.