@Unity

Guess what I hand out the most to people on the trail?

1. Benadryl. Surprise! There are wasps and hornets in the woods.

2. Insect repellent. "We didn't think about bugs," idiot parents say. Meanwhile, their kids are covered with mosquito bites.

3. My spare jacket. One woman we occasionally hike with often forgets her jacket.

@Unity

Actually, I use my first aid kit often. People get hurt. I'm the only person who brings a first aid kit.

@ADKSparky

I squeezed a small bottle of hand sanitizer into my first aid kit.

@RoyMillar

With the women's group, I'm the only person who brings a first aid kit. We are all self-sufficient. We all bring our own lunch, water, gear and clothing.

How much weight can you carry? That depends on your weight, fitness, distance to go, and elevation gain.

I weigh 113 lbs. Backpacking with a guy, my backpack is 36-40 lbs. We divide up the load (tent, food, sleeping bags, mats, stove, pan, etc.)

Day pack: 15-25 lbs. It's heavier in the winter with more gear and clothes. I bring a metal thermos of hot tea.

@Happy_Killbot

In the winter, we only day hike 5-8 miles total.

I don't like snow camping.

@Surchin, @MsHoliday, @Justjoni, @Robert_2001, @Mostly_Harmless, @CutieBeauty, @DenoPenno, @RichCC, @ShadowAmicus, @Dougl35534

My First Aid Kit lives in my pack.

QR topical powder to stop bleeding.
Assorted band aids
Moleskin for blisters
Ibuprofen
Benadryl tablets to stop allergic reactions. Most people don't think about wasp stings.
Sterile gauze pads and paper tape
Duct tape (wrapped around my hiking pole)
Emergen-C for muscle cramps
Hydrogen peroxide, small bottle
Neosporin antibacterial ointment.
Saline eye drops
Tweezers
Safety pins
Bacitracin zinc ointment for wounds.
Folding knife.
Mirror (for getting something out of your eye, and signaling).
Asthma inhaler.
Paper and pen for leaving notes.
Water purification tablets.

Get the knife that has a saw. The lemon zester would take way more than 127 hours!

@LiterateHiker
One thing I haven't seen anybody mention is a light -- not necessarily for emergencies but for any time you're stuck in the dark, especially on a trail. A little battery operated LED would be enough.

And always remember one piece of advice: 'When in doubt, stay put if you can'.
It's a lot easier to be found if they don't have to chase you.

@RichCC

I did not list everything in my day pack.

I always carry a headlamp, Mighty Bright LED carabiner flashlight, and extra batteries.

@LiterateHiker My SAR friend always carried a little LED on his key chain. He seldom had an itinerary when he was called out and he never knew what he might have on him when it came up. Ha, ha.

And speaking of staying put, I have to relay an old story:

One of the scariest stories I ever heard was from Grand Canyon Park Service guys about 40 years ago.
According the story a lady got separated from her group down a side canyon. She found an empty beer bottle and a seep and discovered if she left the bottle under the seep overnight it would almost fill. The rangers said she was too far in and would have died if she'd tried to walk out.
Apparently any she ended up going every direction she could on a beer bottle worth of water and still make it back to the seep. It was 2 weeks before they found her but she kept her head and survived.

I'm not sure how many people could have done it. I'm sure I would have tried to walk out and died.

@RichCC

All of my purses have a Mighty Bright LED carabiner flashlight attached to the shoulder strap.

It's surprising how often I use it. Dark stairs. Reading a menu. Unlighted parking areas.

@LiterateHiker I got this out of my Wilderness Medicine textbook, hydrogen peroxide is not needed for anything as it is not good for wounds

@Robert_2001

Last year in the woods, my hiking partner Karen got a staph infection in her shin that took three courses of antibiotic to eradicate.

Her doctor said if she had immediately washed the wound with hydrogen peroxide, it would not have become infected. "Only use hydrogen peroxide *once," he said.

@LiterateHiker Simple soap and water is best for injuries in the wilderness. Pic is page 442 of Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine, published 2017. "Hydrogen peroxide is injurious
to deep tissues and should not be used as an irrigant."
(Too much time doing and training this stuff while in the Army)

@Robert_2001 I wouldn't use iodine in your kit for similar reasons to hydrogen peroxide-both kill the tissue trying to heal the wound. ‍

@Surchin The iodine in the kit was not for wound irrigation. I was a member of Fleet Surgical Team 2 in the Navy.

@azzow2

What is it?

@LiterateHiker Hand Warmer

@azzow2

I've got hand warmers in my car. Never used them.

@LiterateHiker I have not use the electric ones, the ones that run on kerosene or lighter fluid are very efficient.

Yes but you do have to be a bit careful. During a camping trip -20f a friend decided to have use one (lighter fluid) between the sleeping bag and his chest. He woke up with a rather severe burn.

@JimG

With global warming causing massive wildfires, outdoor fires have been banned in Washington State for over 10 years.

Instead, we joke about sitting around the candle lantern, telling stories and lies.

While hiking, I don't need a saw or long, sturdy knife. The last time I used my folding knife was to cut off a section of hose on my Camelbak water reservoir. It had split near the bite valve.

Day hiking, a tarp is too heavy and bulky to carry. For sitting to eat lunch, I bring a piece of an old foam mattress pad.