Or so the saying goes.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/01/state/n110902D76.DTL

My favorite quote from the article- "Evidently, he always goes hiking with a sword," Barker said Monday.

It's funny, I've never heard of a sword being one of the 10 essentials. Maybe it's a little further down on the list, like #14 or so, right after the battle axe.

I don't know about most people, but my #1 rule is never go hiking with someone who always carries a sword. Followed closely by rule #2, never go hiking with someone who always carries a baseball bat. I always make it a point to tell my friends to leave their battlefield implements in the car when we go hiking.