BLR Hikes logo
Back to the list of blog articles

Day hike checklist

Most commonly carried for a half day outing

What to wear

  • Good grippy shoes
  • Full-length (hiking) trousers
  • Comfortable top/t-shirt

What to carry

  • Sunhat
  • Sunglasses
  • Water (2-3 liters in reusable water bottles 🙏🏽)
  • Electrolyte salts (lemon+salt, ORS or Fast&Up)
  • Food (fruits, nuts, snacks)
  • Handkerchief [optional; for wiping sweat]
  • Tissue paper napkins [optional; for personal hygiene]
  • Plastic bag (to store electronics during rain)
  • Rainwear
  • Cash (optional)
  • All of the above in one backpack (no loose items; to be safe on the trail it's better to have both your hands free)

Basics

  • Sunhat
  • Sunglasses
  • Water (2-4; 2 liters for half day; 4 for a full day; please use reusable water bottles 🙏🏽)
  • Electrolyte salts (lemon+salt, ORS or Fast&Up)
  • Food (fruits, nuts, snacks)
  • Handkerchief [optional; for wiping sweat]
  • Tissue paper napkins [optional; for personal hygiene]

Rainy weather

Check weather before leaving (I like ventusky)

  • Plastic bag (to store electronics during rain)
  • Rainwear (umbrellas work only on some trails because it takes up one hand & gets hard to carry in tricky terrain)

If you wish to swim in a water body

  • Swimming trunks
  • Ear plugs (optional; but I recommend it)
  • Towel

Luxury

  • Extra t-shirt

Leader (people leading the hike should carry these for emergency)

  • Headlamp/torch (good for everyone to have one on an exploratory hike)
  • Knife (should be sharp, ideally a folding knife)
  • First-aid kit (one kit for every 4-5 hikers; TODO: what's in the kit)
  • Portable water filter (I love the Sawyer Squeeze)
  • Navigation device with the map loaded up (usually a smartphone with gpx imported in an app like GaiaGPS, Komoot or OsmAnd)
  • Battery bank with 3 cables (USB-C, USB micro-B & lightning[Apple])

Bushwhacking or Exploration

  • Rock climbing helmet (you can use another helmet) or at least a hat.
  • Pruning shears. I like this one [It's a good idea to carry it in a pouch that you can clip to your backpack with a carabiner]
  • Machete/sickle. [Carry them in a case or wrap them in an old t-shirt/towel to save your pack]

Cold Himalayan weather

  • Woolen skull cap
  • Neck warmer
  • Extra layers

Extras

These are items I carry. But they might not be considered essentials.

  • Trash bag [washable & reusable] (please avoid generating more waste by carrying disposable garbage bags! 🙏🏽; instead used woven hdpe bags that are durable, washable, and reusable unlike garbage bags)
  • Accessory biners (an inexpensive option & a more durable one, but the screw-lock isn't reliable; useful to clip extra stuff on to your pack. for instance i clip the trash bag to my pack using a biner. also comes in handy when securing a water bottle in tricky terrain)
  • Extra carry bags (I often use these to carry fruits picked or bought on the way back from the trail. Or for wet clothes after swimming.)
  • Pieces of accessory cord (super handy when a shoe sole started peeling off) [2 mm or 3mm thick are plenty strong]
  • Nail-clippers (especially useful on longer hikes; TODO create a new page for long hikes)

Notes

  1. Water with salts is essential in (sub)tropical Indian weather, even in the mountains. You'll easily go through 3 litres in the hot tropics. 2 liters for half a day. 4 for a full day out. If you don't wish to carry so much, just keep some in your vehicle or hide it near the starting point. For electrolytes the simplest thing is plain salt. ORS, Fast and Up are great too. I sometimes pack some lemon juice mixed with salt (sugar is optional, but good to have) too.
  2. Headlamp is for if and when it gets dark. You might not plan to stay out in the dark, but getting lost in the dark is not fun. Prefer a headlamp over a torch, it keeps your hands free. Decent, affordable headlamps are available locally.
  3. Clothing: In general, prefer full-length trousers over shorts, because there's a lot of thorny vegetation around here.
  4. Footwear: Use either of these. Low ankle hiking shoes or trail running shoes. Running shoes with good friction are fine too, but not ideal. Most running shoes have a soft fabric upper which don't protect against the small poky grass seeds and thorns. These poky things can get very annoying in late/post monsoon months around Bangalore. The fabric uppers on most running shoes are also not very durable on the rocky trails here. In the Himalayas it's better to use high-ankle boots.
  5. Helmets/hats: I find my climbing helmet useful for protecting my bald head when pushing through dense thorny bushes. Usually not necessarily in the Himalayas, though. Trekking hats or cricket hats are great in the harsh sun around Bangalore. Baseball caps are fine too.
  6. Pruning shears: You will likely need this for places with more vegetation & low foot traffic. Even if there's a trail, often after the wet season the vegetation seems to grow back. Especially in areas that don't see too many people walking on the trail. So if you're exploring a new trail or going there after a while & know that very few people go, it might be a good idea to carry some tools to cut through the thorny vegetation. But please stick to known trails when possible. Creating new trails every season on different paths is the best for local ecology.