The Ten Essentials

October 8, 2026

The Ten Essentials is a list kept by The Mountaineers, the Seattle club that has been teaching it since the 1930s. It is not ten items; it is ten jobs your pack should be able to do if a short hike turns into a long one. Every report on this site comes from someone who was glad they had a few of these.

1. Navigation. A map of the area and a way to read it: a paper map and compass, a phone app with the map saved for offline use, or both. Phones die in the cold, so a paper backup costs nothing. This app can save a trailhead's map for offline use from its page.
2. Headlamp. With spare batteries. Sunset in October is before 6:30 pm in the Cascades and the forest is dark well before that. Most searches in Washington start with a hiker who was fine until the light went.
3. Sun protection. Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. Snow and water double the sun, and the east side has very little shade.
4. First aid. A small kit you know how to use: blister care, tape, a bandage, pain relief, any medication you need, and a way to write down what happened.
5. Knife. Plus a small repair kit: duct tape wrapped around a water bottle, a few zip ties, a needle and thread.
6. Fire. A lighter or matches in a waterproof bag and something that lights when wet, such as a commercial fire starter. Check the fire rules first: in summer most of the state bans campfires, and this app shows fire bans and burn restrictions on each trail's page.
7. Shelter. An emergency bivy or a light tarp, even on a day hike. It weighs a few ounces and is the difference between a cold night and a dangerous one.
8. Extra food. A day's worth beyond what you plan to eat. Food that does not need cooking and does not freeze.
9. Extra water. More than you think, and a way to make more: a filter, tablets or a small stove. Many Washington trails have water; many of the east-side ones do not.
10. Extra clothes. Enough to survive a night out at the temperature at the top, not at the trailhead. A warm layer, a rain shell, a hat and gloves, in a dry bag. Cotton stays wet; wool and synthetics dry.

Two more things belong on every trip even though they are not on the list: tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and look at the trailhead conditions before you drive. The forecast for the trailhead, the snow level, the parking and any closure are on each trail's page here.

The list is The Mountaineers' and is described in their book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills. This page is our summary of it.