{
  "slug": "day-hike",
  "url": "https://checklists.org/day-hike",
  "markdown": "https://checklists.org/day-hike.md",
  "title": "Day Hiking",
  "description": "Planning, packing, and safety for a single-day hike, built around the Ten Essentials.",
  "category": "travel",
  "tags": [
    "outdoors",
    "safety"
  ],
  "version": "1.0",
  "updated": "2026-07-07",
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "The Mountaineers — The Ten Essentials",
      "url": "https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/what-are-the-ten-essentials"
    },
    {
      "name": "National Park Service — Hiking Safety",
      "url": "https://www.nps.gov/articles/hiking-safety.htm"
    }
  ],
  "intro": "For a day hike of a few hours to a full day. Most search-and-rescue calls start as day hikes — people carry less because they plan to be back by dinner. Pack as if you might spend the night out; that's the whole point of the Ten Essentials.",
  "itemCount": 26,
  "essentialCount": 10,
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Planning (days before)",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "lao7pa",
          "text": "Pick a route matched to the slowest person's fitness",
          "note": "Rough pace math: 2 mph on trail, plus one hour per 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Work backward from sunset."
        },
        {
          "id": "194cypl",
          "text": "Check the forecast for the trailhead and the summit, not your city",
          "note": "Mountain weather can differ by 20°F+ and turn in an hour. Check again the morning of, and pick a bail-out point in advance.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "4kq7id",
          "text": "Check trail conditions, closures, and permit requirements",
          "note": "Land manager websites and recent trip reports catch washouts, snowfields, and fire closures that maps don't."
        },
        {
          "id": "1awx7jr",
          "text": "Download offline maps and print or photograph a paper backup",
          "note": "Assume no cell coverage. A phone map with a dead battery is a brick."
        },
        {
          "id": "191w1l0",
          "text": "Tell someone your route, trailhead, and return time",
          "note": "Name the trail, where you'll park, and when to call for help if they haven't heard from you. Then don't change plans without telling them.",
          "essential": true
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Pack the Ten Essentials",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "um5tl2",
          "text": "Navigation: map, compass, and a charged phone or GPS",
          "note": "Carry the map and compass even with GPS — and know how to use them together. Bring a battery pack for the phone.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "92zapb",
          "text": "Headlamp with spare batteries",
          "note": "A phone flashlight doesn't count: it kills the battery you need for navigation and emergencies. This is the item benighted hikers miss most.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "hnavq7",
          "text": "Sun protection: sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hat",
          "note": "UV rises about 10% per 1,000 feet of elevation, and snow reflects it back up at you."
        },
        {
          "id": "1w7gbss",
          "text": "First aid kit, including blister care",
          "note": "Blisters are the most common trail injury; moleskin or tape applied at the first hot spot saves the day. Add any personal medications.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "sdiw6d",
          "text": "Knife or multi-tool"
        },
        {
          "id": "447m9",
          "text": "Fire: lighter or waterproof matches, plus a fire starter"
        },
        {
          "id": "5ix9lh",
          "text": "Emergency shelter: space blanket or bivy sack",
          "note": "Two ounces and a few dollars. This is what turns an unplanned night out from life-threatening to miserable.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "1vp86wp",
          "text": "Extra food beyond what you plan to eat",
          "note": "One extra day's worth for a day hike — things that keep: bars, nuts, jerky."
        },
        {
          "id": "gdxbi0",
          "text": "Extra water, plus a filter or purification tablets",
          "note": "Baseline: half a liter per hour of moderate hiking, more in heat. Never drink untreated surface water, however clear it looks.",
          "when": "water-on-route",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "w59lf7",
          "text": "Extra clothes: insulation layer and rain shell",
          "note": "Enough to survive a night at the coldest plausible temperature. Skip cotton — wet cotton loses its insulating value and chills you.",
          "essential": true
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "At the trailhead",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "1sileto",
          "text": "Recheck the weather and confirm your turnaround time",
          "note": "Set a hard clock time to turn around regardless of how close the summit feels. Getting caught out after dark starts here."
        },
        {
          "id": "1si8ygx",
          "text": "Leave a trip plan visible in your car only if the lot is attended",
          "note": "A note on the dashboard also tells thieves how long you'll be gone; the person at home is your real safety net."
        },
        {
          "id": "a7ujgr",
          "text": "Put your phone in airplane mode",
          "note": "Searching for signal all day can drain the battery you'll need for the map or an emergency call."
        },
        {
          "id": "1e9omda",
          "text": "Sign the trail register",
          "note": "It's the first place searchers look.",
          "when": "register-present"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "On the trail",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "4eyd7p",
          "text": "Eat and drink on a schedule, not by thirst",
          "note": "A few sips and a bite every 30–45 minutes. By the time you feel thirsty you're already behind, and dehydration reads as fatigue."
        },
        {
          "id": "ty7jmd",
          "text": "Note landmarks and junctions, especially looking backward",
          "note": "The trail looks different in reverse. A photo at each confusing junction costs nothing."
        },
        {
          "id": "qjyscy",
          "text": "Turn around at your turnaround time",
          "note": "The summit is optional; getting home is not. Most hiker fatalities involve pushing on past the plan.",
          "essential": true
        },
        {
          "id": "1oz8ysz",
          "text": "Stay put if you get lost",
          "note": "Stop, stay warm, make yourself visible and audible. A stationary subject is found far faster than a moving one.",
          "essential": true
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Back home",
      "items": [
        {
          "id": "19j74vu",
          "text": "Check in with your contact person",
          "note": "Do this first, before the shower — an overdue call can trigger a search."
        },
        {
          "id": "55fzij",
          "text": "Check yourself for ticks",
          "note": "Scalp, waistband, behind knees, armpits. Removal within 24 hours dramatically lowers Lyme risk.",
          "when": "tick-season"
        },
        {
          "id": "zy8251",
          "text": "Restock the first aid kit, food, and batteries you used",
          "note": "Do it now, while you remember — the kit only works if it's full at the next trailhead."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}