i'm with Teacher on this one..at least for the part of the
country i live in..water--gator aid-- a couple cliff bars
bic lighter and pocket knife are all i have ever taken on
a day hike..if i hiked in mountain parks where weather changes
could come on fast or the southwest desert where water and
snakebite were real problems i would carry more gear..
but if you have a medical problem ..your diabetic or have
an allergy ..thats something you will be ready for anywhere
and will have the meds handy to treat it...wild dogs and
so on?? a big pepper spray might be a good idea and better
than a gun..but then again the only people around here who
have dogs attack them have been in town..there is nothing
you can do about a busted leg if you are alone..just crawling
to shelter could cause a bone splinter to cut an artery and
you would bleed to death..if my worry level was so high that
i felt i needed to take a pile of gear for a walk in the woods
i would invest in a locater beacon or some such device so the
search and rescue people could find and take me home asap..
the TEN ESSENTIALS are fine if you going cross country
or are mountaineering otherwise i would relax and enjoy
the view..i think there are a lot of people who are just
itching to unravel their paracord necktie and do something--anything with it...
and one last thought..if you do carry a lot of gear keep
it all inside a bag..there is no reason to expose your
"mission" to the idle curious who may cross you path.