Alex's quick reference guide

What: The Ten Essentials are a list of items that are highly recommended for safety in the backcountry and should always be packed in your hiking daypack.

Where: The Mountaineering Ten Essentials are mandatory for your daypack if you plan on spending even a relatively short time in the mountains. But they’re also a good idea in any backcountry environment (I’ve added the +2 for hikers to bring back the “signalling” group from the older version of the list, plus bug protection for certain regions). By backcountry I mean areas that are significantly far from a parked vehicle, or anywhere that is separated from permanent human settlement. There is no specific distance threshold I have in mind. In theory and in practice, you could be within just a few kilometres of an urban environment and still be in the backcountry.

Ontario’s Crown Country has many obscure campsites that are a short distance from the road but would be considered backcountry. On the other hand, though there are many hikes that are more demanding but would still be frontcountry day hikes, such as the various hiking trails maintained by our various conservation authorities.

The basic definition, then, is that the backcountry is any wilderness location where you could get lost, that would result in sleeping overnight in the outdoors. It also includes any intentional overnight camping that is in the wilderness, excluding car camping.

Why: Therefore, you would take the Ten Essentials with you whenever there is a possibility that getting lost would mean you had to sleep overnight, under the stars. You won’t need them many hut-to-hut trips adjacent to urban areas, such as much of the Bruce Trail or the Camino, but it may be a good idea to bring them for hut-to-hut treks in the Alps or in the Sierra Nevadas. It’s not overkill, and as the search-and-rescue community always say, never underestimate the mountains. I found Tom Mahood’s volunteer search-and-rescue work instructive.

How: Hiking and camping skills are things that are better practiced than read about. I would encourage you to find community groups that support novice hikers. Also consider taking a wilderness survival course for beginners.

This advice may come off as unnecessarily risk-adverse, especially to any experienced outdoorsmen reading this. If you have confidence in your own skills, then there is of course no need to take with you what doesn’t work. However, overconfidence is usually what causes experienced outdoorsmen to encounter a survival situation.