That pretty much describes my current hiking setup except for a couple things.
Added
Trekking poles - I always have them
Camera - Personal preference, but I always carry mine
Webbing - If there's a chance of doing some cross country bush-wacking or off trail, I may carry some webbing and short length of rope and a carabiner.
At least 2-4 sources of light - If night hiking it's 2 headlamps and 2 flashlights, otherwise 2 headlamps is standard.
Trekking poles? In terms of emergency use, do you use them to construct a shelter? And the camera? As a signaling device using the flash?
I agree with you on the rope & biner for XC stuff. As for lights, I've got two on my list, and I think I'll leave it at that believing it a reasonable compromise between weight and safety.
Deleted-
P38 an opener - I never carry one, because I don't carry any canned food and have never run into canned food out in the backcountry.
Two way radio - Don't normally carry them unless I'm going with other people who are carrying them. One exception is when canyoning.
Rain Gear - If the forecast doesn't show rain, I've been leaving this at home. I do have a homemade silnylon poncho/tarp/bivy that I may carry instead of dedicated rain gear and bivy. Of course this varies quite a bit, usually I err on the cautious side.
Pen and paper - Never used it, so I haven't carried it for a long time.
OK, you got me there on the P38.
I'm former Army, hence my bias. People aren't using cans as much these days, so it's probably not critical. QUESTION: What if anything would you replace it with?
Seems like no one likes my radio idea. I actually had a HAM radio in mind not FRS/GRMS, but yes, it's probably not an essential.
On the pen & paper thing, I'll probably bump that down a notch, but let me tell you a note pinned to a trail junction sign might just save your life some day.
I hike pretty much the same areas, and didn't think fishing was very feasible either. But I was wrong, there are a lot of fish up there...
Ah, you caught me on that one. I was engaging in a bit of hyperbole with Rich there. There are some good areas to fish in the backcountry in So. Cal. albeit few and far between. What I was really driving at is that there is no fishing on
most of hikes I go on. My lack of fishing gear also reflects my priorities: thermal regulation, hydration, and signaling.
However, I still don't carry any fishing gear. I probably should, but even with regular fishing gear, I'm still not any good at catching anything. Like anything else it's a learned skill, some people have it, I definitely don't.
Oh, you too?
HJ
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