- What's up, my friends?
My name is Miranda,
and this is my 22 liter day hiking go bag.
I just got tired of forgetting things
when I would spontaneously go on a hike
or like not being able to find something
if I'm getting ready for a hike in the morning,
and so this makes it super easy for me
to grab this bag just so that I can go
to a trailhead after a long day at the office.
Obviously, it's important to be prepared
when you are heading out to any kind of trail,
so this pack has everything that I need
to be safe on the trail,
and it also has just some other personal items
that I like to have with me.
This is Oscar.
(dings)
(meows) Hi, Oscar.
So, there are three categories of stuff
that I keep in my hiking go bag.
The 10 essentials, some personal items
that I like to have with me,
and then my hiking clothing
and some stuff that stays in the car.
So, let's start by going over what I carry
as my 10 essentials.
First up, we have food and water.
So, in my hiking go bag,
I leave an extra bar.
This is just a Larabar,
and then for water,
I have this Katadyn BeFree water filter.
So, I do actually carry a three liter reservoir with me
in my pack.
I don't always fill it up all the way,
but that's my general source of water.
So, yeah, as my backup,
carrying this BeFree water filter
has just proved to be really helpful.
And next up is fire, fix it, first aid, and shelter.
So, first off,
let's start from the end and go with shelter.
So, for my emergency shelter,
I have an emergency blanket
and then I also have some cord.
With these two things,
I'm able to set up an emergency shelter,
and then also in this bag,
I have fire and fix it.
So, I have this tiny Leatherman Squirt multi-tool,
and I keep that in this old pill bottle
that has some duct tape wrapped around it.
Again, just another awesome fix it supply
in case something breaks on the trail.
And then also a miniature lighter and some string.
Everything else that's in this bag is my first aid kit,
and I just keep all of that stuff in this tiny bag.
This is a good reminder
that carrying the 10 essentials with you doesn't have
to be super bulky and heavy,
it can just be something very small like this.
The next category is insulation,
and that's gonna look really different
for different people,
and this also looks different for me depending on
the time of year.
In my summertime hiking go bag,
I always carry a buff of some kind with me.
A buff is awesome to give you sun protection
on the back of your neck.
This is also really great to cover your nose and your mouth.
I'll use it as a headband,
and it provides a little bit of extra warmth
and insulation when it gets chilly.
Now, I also carry a set of liner gloves.
This might seem sort of silly
for a warm weather go bag,
but my hands get really cold.
And then the other two pieces of insulation
that I carry in my hiking go bag are my synthetic vest
and my windbreaker.
So, as you can see, both of these pack down
to be really small and really light,
and they're just like perfect for adding a little bit
of extra warmth or protection when I'm out hiking.
Next up we have navigation and illumination.
So this is a compass, which covers my navigation component
of the 10 essentials.
This is not what I would use if I was like bushwhacking
or doing something where I was solely relying
on a map and compass to navigate.
As far as easy day hikes go
where I'm basically just following a trail,
this just kinda fulfills
that added requirement of navigation.
And then, for illumination,
I carry my rechargeable headlamp.
So, this headlamp is the BioLite 300 rechargeable headlamp.
I love this thing.
The best thing about keeping this in my hiking go bag
is that it is rechargeable,
and so I can easily charge it in my car
when I'm on my way to the trailhead.
The next category is sun protection.
So, I already mentioned that my buff is really great
for added sun protection,
but, in addition to that,
I keep some sunscreen in my go bag.
My sunglasses.
(mimics fanfare)
And then I also bring a sun hat.
Ready to go!
In addition to my 10 essentials,
I also carry a couple more things,
and one of them is elimination.
That's kind of a weird way to say that,
but basically I carry a poop kit.
Sometimes, I will leave this in the car
when I get to the trailhead,
just depending on all sorts of things,
like whether or not I've pooped yet.
Oh, and if you don't know what a poop kit is,
a poop kit is just a one stop shop
for all your backcountry bathroom needs.
So, in my poop kit,
I have my trowel, toilet paper, blue bags
or just wag bags,
and then I also carry a little bit of soap
or hand sanitizer in a tiny tin,
and then a backcountry bidet,
which is also a new thing for me,
but I think it's rad.
Again, I don't always bring my poop kit with me
when I'm hiking,
but it is a good idea to bring some kind of way
to deal with human waste when you're hiking.
I mean, yeah,
you just don't wanna be the dude who like poops
on the trail.
Never be that guy.
Never be the guy who just pooped on the trail!
Always bury your poo!
Bury your poop, not your emotions!
There are a few other things that I carry with me
that are just my personal items
that I like to have as an option when I'm hiking.
So, first we have a spork.
I basically never leave home without a spork.
I feel like a spork is the most practical utensil
in the world,
plus I love it.
It's my little buddy.
You like my spork?
Oops, sorry.
I also bring some lip balm with me.
And then the last thing is my whittling knife.
I really like to whittle,
not that I'm any good at it.
I just find it fun,
so here is my whittling knife.
And then I do also carry a tiny spoon gouge
and some sandpaper.
And then, last but not least,
there are a couple things that I keep in my hiking go bag
that I don't actually plan to ever bring with me
on the hike,
and those are my tumbler, my car shoes,
and a reusable bag.
So, I will often go hiking early in the morning
and want to stop and get some coffee,
so I bring a tumbler with me
so that I can get that filled up at a coffee shop.
And then I also bring my car shoes.
These are also my camp shoes,
so I do bring these with me when I'm going backpacking
so I have a pair of shoes to change into
when I get to camp.
These are also water shoes,
so they're really great if my shoes get wet
or if I end up doing a day hike
where I know I'm gonna be crossing a stream.
And then the last thing is a reusable bag.
So, this is REI's Stuff Travel Tote,
and the reason that I bring something like this
is that it allows me to put my clothes, if I'm changing,
into a bag or to like go to a grocery store
to pick up food for the hike
and just always have an option for a reusable bag.
It's just come in handy more times than not,
so I bring it with me.
In the third category of stuff
is also my hiking clothing.
So, I do keep all of my hiking clothes
in my hiking go bag.
I keep them in this Patagonia packing cube.
The reason that I keep my clothing in my go bag
is that I like to wear the same stuff hiking,
and I'll wear the same clothes on multiple hikes.
I just keep them all in this bag,
and that way I don't need
to worry about hunting something down in my closet
or like digging through things
to make sure that I have something to wear.
The whole purpose of all of this hiking go bag stuff
is just to make spontaneous hikes easier on me,
so that I feel like I'm more prepared
and I don't need to do as much like planning ahead of time
and can just kinda focus on enjoying the outdoors.
Hopefully this video has given you a good idea
of how to build and pack your own hiking go bag.
If you have any of your own tips or recommendations,
please leave those in the comments below.
I will see you all on the trail, hopefully, one day.
Okay, listen, y'all.
I'm working on the outros.
It's the hardest part, bye!
(crackles)