What do I need to do a hike in the mountains? What equipment, clothes and food should I bring along?

It makes sense to plan for a hike and make sure to bring the right things. Sometimes the weather can turn and you’ll need to have different clothes or you’ll find yourself in a place with no fountain or restaurant. Therefore follow the guide below to prepare yourself well.

Backpack

A spacious, comfortable backpack is key! I really like this backpack from Mammut (a Swiss brand of great quality): Mammut Women’s Lithium 20 Women Climbing & Daypack. It comes with an integrated rain cover which is always handy when hiking in the mountains. This will avoid your belongings getting wet in case of unexpected rain. It’s also spacious enough to bring anything that you need with you.

Clothes

Always make sure to check the weather forecast and temperature in the place where you’re going. If you hike from down in the valley up to a mountain, the temperature will get lower the higher you go up. Therefore, a layering system of clothes is the best. This could be a T-shirt, sweater, jacket, shorts and pants. In winter, also think of bringing a scarf, a cap and gloves. There are different types of pants for hiking, some are insulated and waterproof. In summer, bring a hat to protect your head.

Shoes

Wearing the right shoes is also super important. Once again, there are different types per season. You’ll need to get one pair of shoes for summer hiking and another for winter hiking.

Weather protection

Think about bringing sun cream, a hat and sunglasses for sunny days. Also a raincover or raincoat on grey days is important. Better bring those things without using them than regretting to have left them at home. Once you are soaking wet on top of the mountain and it gets windy, you’ll wish you had taken that raincover.

In winter, really don’t hesitate to pack enough warm things. As mentioned before, when you go up, the temperature will go down. And even though you most likely sweat when going up, once you start the descent, you will feel cold if you’re not dressed appropriately.

Water and food

Don’t forget to take water and something to eat.

Something very cool to save space in the backpack is a Foldable Water Bottle. It can be attached to your backpack on the outside and once you’ve emptied it, you can fold it very small. If you want to bring cold water or hot beverages, try an Insulated Bottle that can keep the cold or heat for a few hours. You’ll enjoy a nice cool drink even after some hours of hiking in the sun and believe me, this is one of the best feelings!

In terms of food, it’s good to bring some snacks like protein bars or fruits with you. I also like to have a real picknick when hiking. If you’re not the picknick or sandwich type, check out the restaurants and especially their opening hours and dates. Mountain restaurants are often closed outside of the high season.

Hiking sticks

Do I need hiking sticks? They can be a great help to support your legs when going up, as you can help with the strength of your arms. Going down, you can balance your weight better with hiking sticks. It can also sometimes get slippery on the rocks and having sticks to support you is very useful.

However, there are also passages where the sticks will not be useful and more of an extra weight to carry. Therefore, select telescopic hiking sticks like these.

With all of this information, you are well prepared for your next hike! Enjoy!