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Vishwawalking
Gear and Health
"When you go a-camping make yourself as comfortable as you can. It is neither heroic nor sensible to put peas in your boots to mortify the flesh."
Horace
Kephart, Camping and
Woodcraft Vol.
1, p. 53.
What gear one takes on a hike and what clothing to wear is a often hotly contested. I'll try to range over various opinions and draw from more than just the modern era. At the bottom of this page and throughout, I'll provide as many useful links as possible.
As I don't sell this stuff, I'll only mention products by brand when I think it is useful.
My biases: I am generally low tech, but I do believe in having the right gear in some departments and I usually walk with "expedition poles" — glorified sticks or ski poles, really — that telescope to make them easier to pack.
The absolute essentials for even a short walk include a basic First Aid kit, good boots, enough water and a hat. depending upon the time of year. After that clothing and gear varies with the type of walk you're undertaking. We'll talk about all of that.
Clothing
Boots (Just an introduction so far. Needs research.)
Socks
Health
Non water-based alcohol cleansers, soap and moisturizers
Some useful inks:
Hiking trips and gear has lots of good tips on hiking information. I can't get images on many of the links, so it's a bit of a walk in the dark for me. Their ten essential items makes a good start for a kit, though.
Hiking-gear-and-equipment-used-for-camping.com has a wide selection of categories relating to gear and some very useful reviews. It's a great place to start a search for your walking/hiking kit.