Depending on your level of endurance and the route you're planning to take, there are some critical hiking supplies that ought to come along on any trek. Remember that, when hiking you really only have a very limited amount of weight you can carry, determined by your own strength and ability. Harder terrain will limit this even further as you'll need to keep your load smaller in order to deal with rough conditions. Cold weather can also play a part, as an appropriate sleeping bag and heavy clothes will take up a good deal of your backpack's volume, even if they aren't especially heavy items. Of all the hiking supplies you can pack along, water and food are the most essential. If you have plans to use natural water sources, make sure you have some way of cleaning that water before consuming it. No matter how clean it looks there is always the risk of micro-organisms being present. Anywhere with a number of small streams has the potential for beavers, the presence of beavers means that the risk of being infected by Giardia is increased. Purification tablets and boiling are best as many hand-pump filters simply aren't capable of removing microbes and other bacteria. Share