prevention and treatment supplies; nitrile gloves; tweezers; needle; nonprescription painkillers; anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, and antihistamine tablets; topical antibiotic; and any important personal prescriptions, including an EpiPen if you are allergic to bee or hornet venom.
5.Knife: Also consider a multitool, strong tape, some cordage, and gear repair supplies.
6.Firestarter: Carry at least one butane lighter (or waterproof matches) and firestarter, such as chemical heat tabs, cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly, or commercially prepared firestarter.
7.Shelter: In addition to a rain shell, carry a single-use bivy sack, plastic tube tent, or jumbo plastic trash bag.
8.Extra food: For shorter trips a one-day supply is reasonable.
9.Extra water: Carry sufficient water and have the skills and tools required to obtain and purify additional water.
10.Extra clothes: Pack additional layers needed to survive the night in the worst conditions that your party may realistically encounter.
Glaciated Mount Rainier looms large above Paradise Meadows (Hike 35).
While there are few right answers to the question of exactly what gear to bring, there are certainly wrong answers. Here are a few general gear and supply suggestions to help you avoid some common pitfalls:
•Do not wear sandals or lightweight tennis shoes: These footwear choices unnecessarily increase the risk of foot injury and make it harder to navigate the trail. Wear lugged-sole hiking sneakers or, for rugged trails, waterproof or water-resistant hiking boots for ankle protection and traction on rocky terrain.
•Do not wear clothing that is restrictive, difficult to move in, or not functional. Avoid wearing something that will make it more difficult to survive a night in the wilderness.
•Do not carry food on overnight trips without a way to secure it from scavengers and bears. Always bring a bear can or a sturdy sack and a length of rope to tie up your food.
Leave No Trace and Have Zero Impact
Many of the hikes in this book visit mountain meadows brimming with wildflowers that may be tempting to explore. Most hikers know not to pick the flowers so that others can enjoy the color they bring to a hike. But many hikers may not realize that these meadows are extremely fragile and easily damaged, especially at higher alpine elevations. Errant feet can cause damage that will take the landscape many years to recover from. With so many people exploring many of these trails every year, it is critical to treat these areas respectfully, lest they be loved and enjoyed right into oblivion. It takes only a brief visit to popular destinations like Mount Rainier’s Paradise Meadows to see how easily the flowers can be trampled out of existence.
Attempt a zero-impact approach when hiking through sensitive and fragile areas. Hike in small groups, stick to the trail and rocks, and use backcountry toilets where available. Camp only at existing sites, and practice Leave No Trace (LNT) principles.
If you are not familiar with LNT principles, take some time to review this philosophy on the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics website, https://lnt.org/learn/7-principles. The goal is to leave no physical evidence of your time on these trails, which is particularly important in wilderness areas.
Two particularly important points related to minimizing your impact on trails involve switchbacks and the landscape itself. Do not cut switchbacks. This practice destabilizes the slope and makes it more likely that large sections of trail will be destroyed. There is never a need to take a shortcut; after all, spending time in the wild is the whole reason for hiking!
Do not alter the landscape. Leave it like you found it and pack out what you bring in. Don’t carve your initials into logs, draw on rocks, cut down trees, pick wildflowers, or otherwise mar the environment.
Wilderness Guidelines
Some of the hikes in this book venture into wilderness areas or other specially regulated areas. The US Forest Service provides helpful pamphlets on wilderness regulations and guidelines that can be found on their website (see Appendix: Managing Agencies). Each forest has its own set of pages with information specific to that area.
The wilderness regulations and permit requirements change frequently enough that it is not prudent to reproduce them here. Bad information can ruin a carefully planned backpacking trip. Instead, hikers and backpackers should review the regulations and permit requirements every season to keep up with any changes.
It’s also a good practice to check road and trail conditions before getting in the car to drive to the trailhead. Current road and trail conditions can be found on the Forest Service websites (see Appendix). The Washington Trails Association (www.wta.org) is also an excellent resource on trail conditions, as members of the organization often post trip reports that offer insight into the current conditions of a trail.
Follow Trail Etiquette
Hiking culture has its own etiquette and norms, which include certain practices that other hikers will assume you know, understand, and follow. Following this etiquette will help you better share the trail.
•Hikers headed downhill yield to hikers climbing uphill. Hikers working their way uphill are focused on that effort, while those going down are better positioned to step aside for those headed up.
•Slower hikers yield to faster hikers. There is no wrong pace for a hike, but hikers taking the slow approach need to be aware of those coming up behind them to avoid creating a traffic jam on narrow trails.
•It is customary to give a simple greeting to other hikers you encounter on the trail, as long as a trail isn’t flooded with people.
•Be aware that your voice could cover a great distance and disturb wildlife and people you may not be able to see. Sound can carry a long way in forests and wild areas, especially across lakes. You don’t need to speak only in hushed, reverent whispers—speaking at normal tones and volume levels is just fine. Avoid shouting, especially around lakes or open areas where there are fewer trees to muffle the sound.
Calypso orchid (Hike 42)
For those venturing out on their first few hikes, these simple guidelines will quickly become second nature as you encounter other hikers on the trail. If for some reason you find that you’ve forgotten what you’re supposed to do, just be courteous—hikers are a friendly and forgiving bunch. You’ll get the hang of it in no time.
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