Making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out… if I’ve forgotten anything for this hike. Even a simple dayhike can become a mini-epic if the weather turns bad and you’ve forgotten a raincoat, or someone falls in a patch of prickly pear cactus (ouch – it happened!) and you’ve left the first aid kit with tweezers behind.

One of the first freelance stories I ever wrote was about a woman who had gone off-route during bad weather on a dayhike in the mountains. She fell and was too badly hurt to walk out. Because it was late in the day, she gave her hiking partner the headlamp to find her way back to the car. When the rescue party came close during the middle of the night, the injured woman could see their headlamps, but in the bad weather, they never saw her. She survived, but the rescue might have been quicker – if only she’d had a headlamp.

We don’t wish things to go wrong, but accidents happen. A little proactive planning and packing can make the best of a bad situation. So what are the basics that you should consider stuffing into that backpack of yours?

This checklist will vary depending on a variety of factors – from the time of year to the weather forecast, length and difficulty of the hike to the location you’ve chosen to hike (more water for a desert hike, more clothes for a mountain one) – but in general, gear for a well-planned dayhike could include:

Daypack or fanny pack
Rainproof coat with hood
Sunhat (or toque)
Sunglasses
Gloves
Fleece or warm layer
Wicking layer (or T-shirt)
Waterproof or quickdry pants (zip-offs preferable since you’ll the option of both shorts and full pants)
Hiking boots or shoes
Heavy socks (if you’re into layering thin/thick pairs)
Bear Spray (if in bear country)
Walking pole
Headlamp
Guidebook/Map
Compass (or GPS)
First Aid Kit
Lighter
Pocket knife
Lunch/snack (plus a little extra… just in case)
Water bottle (full)
Insect repellent
Sunscreen
Toilet paper

Depending on your level of comfort, experience, personal preferences, you can top up the daypack with any number of goodies. A few optional items might include:

Water filter or water purification tablets
Binoculars
Bird/Flower field guide
Power gels and/or bars
Notebook/pen
Camera with flexible mini-tripod
Lightweight tarp (for shade or for hunkering down when the sky lets loose)

Tip: Keeping a personalized, one-page checklist like this in your computer’s word program allows for quick updating and printing. We’ve got one for dayhikes, one for backpacking trips, one for canoeing, one for winter… the lists go on!