[pct-l] 10 essentials

[Bill Burge]

Actually the new list is only contrived to be 10.

They added things and then put some in "pairs" to keep the number 10.

I usually joke about the "14 essentials" because I sometimes duplicate some of the items, like having a "full size" compass in the pocket of my pack, but also a button compass in my pocket, etc.

If my pack goes downstream without me (well, if ONE of us has to go... ;-) I still have some stuff to work with...

BillB



On Mar 24, 2011, at 7:52 PM, CHUCK CHELIN wrote:

> Good evening, all,
> 
> Have you ever wondered why there are exactly “10 essentials”; not 9, not 14,
> not 38, and not just 1 essential item, but exactly 10?   That' a nice round
> number, but does it mean that if we only carry 9, then we are putting
> themselves at risk regardless of the great multiplicity of situations that
> may pop up?  Similarly, what should we toss out if acquired knowledge and
> experience indicates the need for 11 items.  Surely one of them must go
> allow us to conform to the 10-E profile.
> 
> Ask an experienced old-time woodsman from 150-200 years ago about essentials
> for extended wilderness travel and the answer probably would be one item --
> an axe.
> 
> Ask some of modern military survival experts and the answer probably would
> be … well, it doesn’t matter because you couldn’t carry it all anyway.  For
> example, here’s an excerpt from a book titled *Phantom Over Vietnam* by USMC
> Maj. John Troti, with a partial list of gear carried by F-4 aircrews in 1966
> :
> 
> 
> "Climbing into the Phantom's front cockpit can be a challenge.  In the first
> place our flight gear had gotten out of hand.  With all the junk and
> paraphernalia packed into the profusion of pockets that infested our tiers
> of garments, we were prepared to cope with any situation imaginable.  Aside
> from the obvious things like a canteen of water, a flashlight, maps and code
> books, I carried two emergency transmitters (experience had shown that they
> didn't work half the time), a .38-caliber pistol, 250 feet of rappelling
> line (some of the trees were taller than that), flares, knives, a saw,
> compass, fishing gear, a pound of rice, a spoon (for keeping the elephants
> away), morphine, gold coins, first aid pack, a book on survival, matches,
> shark repellent, whistle, signaling mirror, sewing kit, water purification
> tablets, and as the climax of a list that included perhaps seventy other
> items, two prophylactics (just in case, I suppose)."
> 
> Steel-Eye
> 
> Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
> 
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> 
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09
> 
> 
> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 9:09 AM, Devon Taig <devon.taig at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> The ten so-called essentials list is below along with some comments. Of the
>> ten essentials, I bring only map,and compass all the time.  There are five
>> others (sunglasses,extra food,rain-gear,flashlight,first-aid kit) that are
>> often but not alway in my backpack. Three I don't bring at all
>> (knife,matches (I use lighter instead),firestarter (I carry a stove)).
>> 
>> 1) *Map *- Yep. This is a must have
>> 2) *Compass *- Yes for me, but I'm surprised how many hikers I see who
>> don't
>> carry one or don't know how to use it properly (it does more than just
>> point
>> north you know).  If you can't take a bearing with your compass, it's
>> probably not worth a whole heckuva lot.
>> 3) *Sunglasses & sunscreen* - Hardly essential.  I suppose if you're hiking
>> naked on a glacier in July.  I rarely take sunscreen as I'm naturally
>> pretty
>> tan and never burn.  Sunglasses on snow only.
>> 4) *Extra food* - Food yes, Extra? Not so much.  I'm fat enough that I can
>> go a couple of days if really needed with no food.  On a 10 day backpack
>> trip, I bring 10 days worth of food.  But really, that does qualify as
>> *extra
>> *food.  Even in the Sierra, you really are never more than a a few days
>> hike
>> from a trailhead.
>> 5) *Raingear/extra clothes* - Extra clothes, yes. Raingear? Maybe.  Depends
>> on where you are.  It's definitely not an essential everywhere particularly
>> if you have a tent,tarp,and sleeping bag (which strangely aren't on the
>> list).
>> 6) *Headlamp/flashlight* - Been many times when I didn't have one.  If you
>> have a tent and plan to use it and not hike at night, then you really don't
>> have to have one.  More of a comfort than an essential.
>> 7) *First Aid kit* - I once hike with an emergency room doctor who's first
>> aid kit was so minimal that it could hardly be called a kit.  His
>> contention
>> was that his first-aid kit was between his ears. A couple bandages, yeah,
>> some neosporine, some pain killer.  I've heard mostly bad things about
>> snake-bite kits.  So, I guess this isn't really a necessity for me. If I'm
>> so badly injured (e.g mauled by a bear) that I can't hike out, it's
>> doubtful
>> that anything in even the best first aid kit is really going to
>> help...short
>> of that, I can hike out and get help.
>> 8) *Fire starter* - Never used it.  I bring three lighters (one in my
>> pocket
>> (stays dry), one with my stove (stays dry), one with the TP (hopefully
>> stays
>> dry).  That's enough redundancy for me. But I guess this is more about
>> something flammable to burn, right? I dunno...I guess I trust myself in an
>> emergency situation to either stay in a reasonably dry tent/bag and/or find
>> enough dry sticks to start a fire.
>> 9) *Matches *- I've never brought matches.  See above.
>> 10) *Knife *- Of no value that I can think of.
>> 
>> *Notable in there absence*: Water/bottles,shelter,sleeping bag,whistle, a
>> dose of common-sense (e.g. do not free climb up the face of that 30'
>> boulder
>> when it's a two day hike out to a hospital).
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