For some people, being outdoors and exploring nature on foot is a hobby, or even therapy. Although I love hiking, it definitely does not feel like therapy for me. Haha. I’m gonna be honest, it’s exhausting, but the views that I’m rewarded with after a long hike is just too good to pass. Unfortunately, sometimes, my friends can’t be convinced with the “it’s rewarding in the end” speech. So, if you’re like me, and your friends don’t want to hike with you, or your schedule just don’t match with your buddies, you’ll end up doing hikes by yourself.

I am extra cautious when I go hiking by myself, especially within national parks where there’s no service because, well, I’m a girl and I’ve listened to the Dateline podcast too much to not care. But there are other dangers in the outdoors aside from creepy people so even strong guys need to be prepared for worst case scenarios.

So I’m sharing my solo hiking essentials, things I have and carry with me for security, safety, and comfort.

Map

It’s important to know where you’re going on a hike so the map is number one on the list. Not the actual paper map, no. It’s Google Maps and the AllTrails app.

Did you know you can download a portion of the map from Google Maps so it’s available for you even when you don’t have service? I found this article how to do it, and you should do it too. Just don’t forget to delete the downloaded portion after your trip so you don’t take up too much space on your phone.

AllTrails app marks the actual trails that are not always on Google Maps. You would need a premium account to access trails offline, but it’s worth it. Just do a monthly subscription and cancel it when you don’t have hikes planned for a month. If you do have service though, it works well without the subscription, and you can track yourself during the hike, although it drains your battery.

Water Bottle (or Any Form of Hydration)

Second on the list: water, or energy drinks, or anything to keep you hydrated, even for short hikes. It could be anything you want, like for this short hike I did in Arizona, I hiked with boba. For longer hikes, it’s a no-brainer because it’s gonna be exhausting, but for short hikes, it’s really just in case something happens and the hike took longer, or it got hotter, or you end up getting stranded, you would at least have something to keep you alive.

Snacks

This, I always have with me, not just when I hike, because I’m a hungry girl. Lol. For hikes though, my go-to are granola bars or protein bars. Protein makes you feel fuller faster and sugar, I guess, gives you energy? The very least, it’s yummy. Just make sure it doesn’t melt fast if you don’t want to clean up squished chocolate off your backpack. Haha.

One thing to keep in mind though if you’re hiking in bear country, like Montana, always carry a ziplock, or anything to seal your food so bears won’t smell it. Even used wrappers have to go into the ziplock for your own safety.

Sunscreen, Lip Balm, Hair Ties

Before every hike, I always tie my hair and apply sunscreen and lip balm. That’s pretty basic for going outdoors, and not just for girls! The sun hurts both men and women and low humidity affects both too. I love my Glossier Invisible Shield, Aquaphor Lip Repair, and these Goody Hair Ties. Even though I start the hike prepared, I still bring them with me for reapplication, especially the lip balm.

And did you know you can use sunblock as a deodorant alternative? I forgot if it’s to prevent sweating or reduce odor but you can. Google it! Also, you can use lip balm to prevent blisters, you know that part where your shoe keeps grabbing the back of your foot, apply lip balm on that spot to lessen the friction. The hair tie, I don’t know other uses for it, tying things other than hair maybe? But just bring extras! Haha.

Feminine Products or Dude Wipes

This is important especially for longer hikes, but even on shorter hikes, you always want to be ready. You can bring toilet paper too but personally I think wipes are better. Also with these, a designated stinky ziplock! You don;t wanna smell like poopie for the rest of your hike.

Okay, so the products, we agreed have to be taken with you, but my husband and I are still on an on-going debate if the wipes can be buried with the load on a “leave no trace” trail. You gotta let me know what you think.

Knife and Pepper Spray

The knife is always handy for when you need to cut things like if you get stuck on something, and my Leatherman is so handy and it’s my color! You can also use the knife to protect yourself, but it’s so tricky. If you take it out and you’re not confident to use it that way, you’re just giving the other person a weapon to be used against you, or a reason to panic and hurt you when they’re not intending to do it in the first place. That’s why I always carry my pink pepper spray because it’s mostly defensive. It would help you buy time just enough to run away or hide.

Camera

Camera because like I said earlier, I’m hiking for the views, not for therapy and what-not, so of course I’m taking photos. Lots of them too. And of course with the camera, extra batteries, even extra memory cards for longer hikes. You can take a power bank too for extra long hikes so you can charge your battery while you use your extras. You can’t miss the views!

Satellite Phone

This one I take with me when I go alone to a national park. They usually don’t have service and if you’re hiking during off season, you’re probably going to be the only one out on the trail so if something bad happens, no one can help you unless you call for help.

I have this Spot X and I just feel better knowing that if I fall down a slope or even just twist my ankle and couldn’t walk, I have a way to contact people. In addition to having the ability to send normal texts to people, this model also has a GPS tracker so people can find where you are, and it has an SOS button that would send a distress signal to the closest rescue organization and send an automatic text to a saved number. It needs a monthly subscription, but to me it’s worth it not just for my own peace of mind, but also to my loved ones who wouldn’t have to worry if I’m okay.

First Aid Kit

Okay, so I don’t have this in my hiking essentials but I’m thinking I probably should. It’s just that it could be bulky and I don’t even know how to use the gauze and other things. Maybe I should just add band-aids at least. Yeah, I’ll do that, so you should too!

Headlamp

This wasn’t on my essentials but hear me out. I know this could be too much, especially on short hikes in the middle of the day, but I recently did a sunset hike at Mesa Verde and I spent more time at the viewpoint than I expected. It started to get dark and I encountered a deer, which scared me because there could be other animals out there, probably more dangerous than deers, and I only have my phone for light. So yeah, I’m adding a headlamp in my backpack from now on.

These are the items I always (and should start to) bring with me whenever I go hiking alone, just to give me that sense of security, knowing I have everything I need in my backpack in case bad things happen. Did I miss anything? And how about you? What’s in your hiking backpack? Let me know!

Stay safe out there!

Angel