Since we are telling hiking stories.

I went on a remote ATV ride for work last Saturday that turned in to an unexpected hike.

My partner and I rode 2 ATV's about 20 km into the bush on old logging trails but could not find the jobsite we were looking for. My big field pack was strapped to my ATV so I had everthing I needed to spend a night or more in the woods; the problem started when we decided to explore for just a short distance off the trail.

I headed into the thick bush with only only my EDC folding knife, lighter, GPS, and a bottle of bug dope, plus about 20 lbs of work tools. The forest was so thick that I needed a compass to keep direction but the only one I had was the button compass on my watchband. As it turned out the jobsite was off the trail in the direction we went, by about 800 metres. We got he job done and returned to the ATV's about 5 hours later after a lot of stumbling through the bush, we were hungry and very thirsty.

I felt really stupid having a pack full of well researched-selected gear/supplies/water on my ATV and me stumbling around the forest like an greenhorn.

The moral of my story is; take the equipment you need on any hike, even the short ones, as you never know what can a happen.

Mike