Basic Hiking Equipment

When hiking, and especially in high mountain environments, specific equipment is needed. The clothes and equipment will depend on the time of the year and the area. For example, the Sierra are very diverse throughout the different seasons and will go from the harshest winter conditions to mild in the summer. That is why this article will try to give advice on how to choose hiking equipment.

This will have a checklist that can help you when preparing for your backpack or hike. Some of the items below can be quite expensive, but if you do not have enough money you can learn about fast loans online. For more info: read more.

Hiking Boots and Shoes:

A good mountaineering boot will be the most important piece of equipment we will need for a route that takes several days. We must take into account that the journey travels through high mountains and analyze the route to make informed choices.

Hiking Clothes:

There are a thousand and one options, depending on the season and the weather conditions that we will find. We recommend layering or, as is commonly known, that of 'the onion'; that will allow us to have the versatility to remove and put garments on depending on the external conditions and the level of activity.
 
Layers:

I recommend wearing thin clothes that you can take off and put on depending on the weather conditions. Your outer most layer should be a waterproof layer if hiking in raining environments. This is known as the system of the three layers.
 
Mountain Clothes for Hiking in Summer:

- Breathable t-shirt (avoid cotton or similar fabrics that keep humidity).

- Breathable underwear.

- Quick drying pants

- Lightweight waterproof jacket (optional, depending on the activity)

- Hat or cap for sun protection
 
- Mountain clothes for hiking in winter

- Breathable long-sleeved thermal shirt

- Thermal underwear (in many cases it will be the clothes to sleep, so it must be warm and comfortable).

- Cap, thermal brief

- Gloves

- Trekking pants (in case of foreseeing extreme environmental conditions or we are going to carry out the activity in snow conditions, it should be a rain pants).

- Waterproof mountain jacket.

- Thick and spare socks

The above can be variable depending on the situation. How many days are we going to be on the route? The backpack can vary from 40 liters to 80 liters. Keep in mind; with a light backpack you enjoy yourself more.

Sleeping Bag:

What are the sleeping accommodations? Or you sleeping in hotels, shelters, or on the ground? Hotels are easy to plan for. Commonly the blankets are available in most shelters, so that one sheet sack will be enough to spend the night (mandatory). If we are going to make camp along the route, a good waterproof sleeping rated for the temperature is a must.
 
Navigating the Route

Unless a person is knowledgeable about the route, they will have to be informed at all times of where they are going, and for this a GPS, map or compass are recommended. Nowadays, every smartphone can be used as a mountain GPS using applications such as OrusMaps, which work both online and offline.

We hope this recommendations help you have a fun and safe hike.