Calling all hillwalkers - what do you carry in your bag?

[roisin]

Some conflict here in the Roisin household.

I come from a family where you bring everything in case of emergency. My dad would always have a bivvy bag, extra clothes, full waterproofs, whistle, complete first aid kit, etc.

Dh insists if you check the weather forecast carefully you actually need to take very little with you.

So for a day walking in the lakes, say 5-6 hours - including climbing to considerable heights, and in a quieter/off the tourist track area. What would you take in your bags as a minimum? (Boys are 9 and 10, so are used to carrying their own packs.)

I'm with you. I take ds1 up on Dartmoor and always take survival bag, extra clothes, waterproofs, emergency food, torch (little one) etc.

Often it is unecessary, but it's how I was trained, and I suppose the point is to expect the unexpected.

I guess I would take waterproofs, a warm jumper, proper boots. compass and map. very basic first aid kit. Emergency rations i.e. chocolate. and water bottle.

I probably wouldn't take a bivvy bag for that sort of walk in the Lakes.

Map, lots of water, snacks, basic waterproof, extra layer (eg sweatshirt) if not wearing one, plasters (lots, esp. for blisters). Walker-specific medical things as necessary (eg I take Piriton tablets because I react hideously to horsefly bites).

Parent has phone*, & one of those metallic survival blankets. (And nobody ever goes walking off on their own: group stays together.)

(*Situation would be different if walk was out of mobile range.)

No experience of English hillwalking, but in Scotland, people so ill-prepared as your dh die. Or at least cost thousands of pounds being rescued from hill-tops. the weather forecast can be wrong, and at heights, the speed with which cloud and rain comes in is frighteningly fast.
full waterproofs, first-aid kit, clothes, etc are bare minimum in my opinion.

Do you really take all that stuff?

We have got into the habit of not taking very much at all, but now we're walking further and higher and in more 'serious terrain' I've started questioning it again.

But then dh says we've never needed anything at all, ever ...?!

I just worry about the cloud coming down on the fell tops.

(Obviously we do take food and drink plus extra and map. We always have coats or macs if it's very warm. But the boys moan if I make them carry a jumper that they never need to put on.)

I would probably carry jumpers and long trousers for a 9 and 10 year old in my own rucksack. My children are younger than that so we don't do such long walks with them, but I would definitely carry proper warm clothes for the children. While expecting them to carry some of their stuff in a rucksack.

Light and fast has its advantages. I knew people who travelled this way and only this travel.

All were already very fast and skilled and experienced walkers, however.

AND, I never knew a one of them who didn't get bitten in the ass by this strategy at least once - most were skilled enough to escape unharmed, however.

I never, ever travelled without a compass and a topo map or guidebook of the area AND a knife. Here's mine:ilovemyknife

9 times out of 10, I had the ten essentials on me:
tenessentials

We have done lots of walking/scrambling in the Lakes (pre-DS). Basic bag would contain:

Map, compass, GPS, fleece, waterproof jacket, warm hat/gloves, water, food (Snickers etc), Swiss army knife, torch

IME the people who end up being rescued off hilltops are the ones who don't take notice of the weather forecast. We have abandoned many a climb early because of bad weather closing in. But I think the most important thing is to have suitable clothes. I have seen people heading up a mountainside as it's about to start raining, late in the afternoon, in plimsolls

And, as my Bible, 'Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills' states, 'Don't forget your brain!'

The ten essentials don't weigh very much and are quite cheap.

I always had a wool jumper in my rucksack. You can get a thin knit one that still does the job and wool still insulates when wet.

I never had to forced bivvy, but I know plenty who did - including my ex on many occassions - and it can be deadly if you've gone light and fast and you run out of daylight.

I would NOT ever travel 'light and fast' when I had my non-adult kids along.

It's a strategy that comes with a lot of responsibility, and if you chose it for yourself it's one thing, but with kids I'd go prepared every time or not at all.

I should say we live in Cumbria and have done lots of walking regularly over the past 5 years. But I'm getting the feeling maybe we've been lucky to get away with it!

We do all have proper boots and dh carries a knife, compass, flint/firelighter. I think he has a torch too.

But I think I'm going to insist on hats and fleeces in bags at all times if we're heading up, and a small first aid kit.

With kids, I would absolutely insist on that as a minimum, roisin.

I've gotten ambushed by freak storms.

On one occassion, it was a group hike with the Colorado Mountain Club and we started walking at 7AM and reached the road - a mile and a half from where we'd left our cars - at 10.30PM.

I cringe to imagine what would have happened had we not had those extra jumpers and glove liners (it was September, still warm but past lightning season).

Agree with expat. I feel as if I have to be careful because of ds1. a bit about my philosophy here

I have started out in good weather and had thick fog come down at the top. It's a bit crazy if you're heading to more difficult terrain not to carry extra clothes (and I would never do a serious walk without waterproofs). I also take all the other stuff your dad does (except the bivvy bag) but would take a space blanket as you've got children with you.

At the risk of sounding like a boy scout, I think if you're tackling new and more demanding types of walk, your children need to be made to understand the value of being prepared for all eventualities. Apart from anything else, it's a really good lesson for them to learn early on.

omg I thought this was Maureen's SheWee thread - wish I coudl do links...

Me...extra warm or base layer, waterproofs, water, emergency chocolate rations, map and compass, small first aid kit, whistle, water and food.

DH, as above but with added survival/bothy bag, penknife, torch.

It might only be a walk in the Lakes, but the weather there can get pretty rough as well. I took my nephews up Bowfell, which is dfinately ON the tourist trail. We started in briliant sunshine but topped out in very low heavy cloud/mist and there seemed to be some issues with magnetic rocks as the compass was going haywire. I was starting to get worried cos we couldn't see anything and i didn't trust my navigating skills with the compass varying wildly. Luckily, the weather lifted very briefly so we could see where we were headed. I wouldn't like to have been up there with any less kit to be honest.

And I'm sure the Mountain rescue teams who operate in the Lakes would agree.

Just had a look..... they do

Here's my philosopy :
themountainsdontcare

As the sign on the trailhead reads, 'The mountains don't care.'

Sorry, that sounded a bit bossy. I think it would be good if you explained it to your kids in such a way as 'this is a grown up walk and we need to be equipped for it with serious grown up stuff'. If they've never been very high before in the lakes, they'll be very surprised by how cold it is at the top I suspect

'At the risk of sounding like a boy scout, I think if you're tackling new and more demanding types of walk, your children need to be made to understand the value of being prepared for all eventualities. Apart from anything else, it's a really good lesson for them to learn early on. '

Very, very sound advice.

Interesting link, Daisy. "Finding their way by the light of their mobile phone" ffs!!

OK, OK! Thank you everybody! You've all convinced me. And I've plenty of ammunition to convince dh too!

We've been doing this sort of walk (length/height) for some time, but what prompted my re-evaluation I guess is that this weekend we're heading somewhere particularly remote, which seems more risky somehow.

One way to think about it might be to consider what you would insist someone else's child take with you. I take less risks when I'm cm'ing than with my own children, because with my own kids I don't have to explain to someone else why her child got cold and wet. Iykwim.

PMSL......from the Langdale mrt wbsite

Fellwalking
Wansfell
Ambleside 12th August at 17.55 A man and a boy became cragfast on a steep, bracken-covered slope after losing the way down from Wansfell. They were from overseas and had a disproportionate fear of the local wildlife, which is much less dangerous and aggressive than they imagined.

LackaDaisycal - thanks for the link to the Ambleside/Langdale MR team. I've just spent 10 mins reading about some of the rescues so far this year: and its definitely convinced me.