When you are planning on going on a hike, whether you are alone or with friends, you have to make sure that you have all of the essentials packed. Just because you aren’t going camping doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have your first aid kit packed and ready to go with you. However, not many people like carrying around an entire first aid kit when they go hiking, so here are the basics that you should bring with you. Keep in mind, this is just a list of the essentials and if you are going on a well-known path, or have friends with you, you might not need everything on this list.
Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is very important. You can find this at an online medical supply store, or you can go to your local supermarket to get what you need. You can use the rubbing alcohol to clean up any wounds or bites that you might have gotten when you were out walking or climbing the trail. You don’t have to get a big bottle of rubbing alcohol, just something small and simple so that you can always have something to clean any wounds to prevent them from getting infected.
If you would rather carry around something that smells a bit less, you can always choose to carry around hydrogen peroxide. It doesn’t sting as badly and it doesn’t smell, but it might not do the cleaning job as well if the cut is deeper than a surface wound.
Bandages and Band-Aids
Just in case you find yourself with a cut or a scratch when out on the trails, you should always have bandages and Band-Aids ready. While it is very rare for someone to need bandages when they are just going for a short hike, a Band-Aid can always come in handy, especially if it is for a cut on your leg.
Pain Medication
This can come in handy for many reasons. You can use it for when you get a pain in your legs while you are walking, you can use it for any headaches, or if you find yourself with a very painful cut or scratches that you come across while hiking and walking around. As long as you make sure that you are using the pain medication responsibly and only for serious pain, then you can bring it along with you if you want that extra step of protection while you are out and walking around.
Allergy Medication
This is something that is very important to remember when you are going on a long hike that might be far up a mountain or into the forest. You never want to be caught without allergy medication just in case you have a reaction to something that you come across on the trail. If you are walking a trail and it is not during allergy season, you might not have to worry about the medication as much for your allergies, but it is always best to be safe when it comes to something as serious as an allergic reaction.
Bug Spray
This isn’t necessarily something that will help you in a dangerous or painful situation, but it is something that you will thank yourself for once you pull it out of your bag. You will need to bring bug spray with you because you are bound to interact with one or two bugs while you are walking. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, these bugs are always going to be around. There isn’t much you can do about it other than spray yourself down with some bug spray and accept whatever comes next.
There you have it, a couple of items that you should always remember to take with you when you are going on a hike or a climb. If this is something that you like to do alone, you should consider bringing all of these things and your cell phone in case you need to call someone for help. If this is something that you like to do with a friend, you can split up the supplies so you aren’t carrying everything. You can decide what products you actually need and which ones you can leave at home because they won’t be useful to you in this specific situation
