Unexpected Necessities to Bring Backpacking

Whenever you go backpacking, you’ll hear every single person on the trail telling you to only bring the essentials. This is great advice. You don’t want to pack more than you absolutely need because that’s just a waste of your energy. But, there are a few things that I believe should be moved from the “maybe bring” list to the “absolutely bring” list! They are:

Cheers!

1. nail clippers

2. portable bidet + pee towel

3. tubular bandana (aka Buff)

4. Prep-H

5. local beer

This list has and will evolve with my experiences. Five things may not seem like a whole lot, but they make a world of difference when you're stranded out in the wilderness thinking dang, I wish I had (insert item here). These five items may not be on your "must-have" list, but after a few troublesome experiences, they are definitely on mine!

Nail Clippers

Your toenails will likely be pushed to their limits while hiking. They go through a lot on these trips! Pressure, confinement, bumping into rocks, you get it. Nails can also become a real menace when they start to pierce into your toes. Sound gross? Welcome to hiking!

Hiking is a dirty sport for dirty people, and I say that as a grand compliment! Nail clippers make sure you can stay dirty with less pain. Being muddy and gross is half the fun! Painful ingrown toenails can put a damper on the grody glory.

Nail clippers come in handy (lol) when you need to alleviate some of that toenail or fingernail pressure that comes with hardening feet and swelling phalanges. I recommend getting a small nail clipper to keep with your toiletries. You don’t have to go all out with a nail kit or anything (that may be overboard). A little one from your local drugstore works just fine.

Portable Bidet

God bless the person who came up with the hiker’s bidet. A hiking bidet is my favorite little knick-knack to tuck away in my pack. If you have never used one, you’re missing out. Please try it. I hope you also fall in love.

You stick it on the top of a small-mouth water bottle, hold the water bottle upside down, and let the waterfall of cleanliness cascade! I’ve found that a smart water bottle works well. Be sure to know which water bottle is which though. You don’t want to make the mistake of mixing up your drinking bottle and bidet bottle. That’s a big whoopsie.

There are many perks to bringing hiking bidet’s with you on a trip.

• You feel refreshed

• They’re environmentally friendly because you’re not creating TP waste

• You don’t need to pack out your used toilet paper, or you at least can pack out less

• They’re small and lightweight

• They actually clean your bum

• Water is easier on the body than the friction of toilet paper

• You have more space in your bag because it’s not full of new and used TP

The Pee Towel

You may be wondering, but Tiff, it’s wet, why would I use a bidet? Also, what do I do when I pee? Great questions, I'm glad you ask.

Along with your portable bidet, bring a microfiber pee cloth and/or a cloth to pat down your butt to dry the droplets. Are you a squatter who doesn't usually use TP to pee? Use the towel for the drying technique post-bidet use. Or, bring a pee towel if you like to be dry all the time. Find what works for your wilderness "bathroom" needs.

Microfiber clothes and bidets go hand in hand. Think of all the room you can save while being eco-friendly.

A portable hiking bidet is a game changer. Try it out on an overnighter or even in your shower to get the hang of it before you hit the trail. You won’t regret it.

All on one trip: my friend Ryan and I shared this bandana on and off for holding back our hair. It was later converted to my pee towel. Versatility!

Buff Tubular Bandana

Buff bandanas are already on a lot of people’s gear lists. If you’re wavering on whether or not to take one or two, it’s a must-have. They’re so versatile!

Here are some fun ways to use your buff:

• Extra warmth for your ears while sleeping

• Cooling towel on hot days. Soak your buff in a creek and put it around your head or neck

• Hair tie or headband

• Tube top while hanging out at camp and/or while your hiking clothes air out

• Sweat rag

• Make a cap

• Really anything you want

• As your pee towel (see above)

Buffs are magical and malleable so stuff ‘em in your pack and find a use. It's what you didn't know you needed.

The Buff I'm wearing in this picture is a cute headband and an even cuter tube-top (moment never captured on lens)

Prep-H

Preparation H is a magic serum that protects your butt from all of the harm that you subject yourself to down under. When I first started hiking, someone asked me if I bring prep-H and I had no clue what the heck it even was. I should have listened to the wise advice to pack a little tube because man, did I suffer without it.

Prep-H, formally called Preparation H, is a hemorrhoid cream. The H word may be hard to fathom. If you’ve never gotten hemorrhoids, you’re probably thinking that could never be me. But you’re wrong. They can happen to anyone. And when they do, prep-H is there to save the day. The cream's purpose is to get your butt comfortable and soothed, as well as relieve any irritation you are currently experiencing.

Your body will process dehydrated meals differently than it does normal food. Your digestive system may get annoyed with you and rebel by giving you horrible poops, constipation, and pain. Constipation can quickly turn to hemorrhoids, and once you get them, wiping can further irritate your back-door hole and cause even worse pain. Instead of waiting for this to happen and learning the hard way, come prepared with Prep-H.

For your own sake, I will not add Prep-H related photos. Instead, here is a picture of Rachel and me in a camp bathroom taking refuge from the rain, like the hardcore campers we are.

As an alternative, you can use other salves such as vaseline, which is what I did on the John Muir Trail when I was blessed with hemorrhoids for the first time. It didn't work as well as Prep-H, but I'm grateful it was something, at least. Think of it as the bandaid stuck to the gushing open wound that so clearly needs stitches. It'll do the trick in the meantime. The result was shorts stained with oil and covered in a layer of dirt that stuck to said oil. But, it also resulted in a butt that was in a lot less pain and allowed me to enjoy the rest of my trek. For that, I am thankful.

I kept the shorts more as a memento than anything else. They are an ode to my unpreparedness and a reminder of how aware you are of your butthole during backpacking trips.

Local Beer

Last but not least, bring the local beer! It's not ideal for long backpacking trips due to weight, but it's definitely a necessity after a multi-day. On those fun day hikes and one-or-two overnights, one of my favorite things to do is go to a town's local brewery and try out a refreshing post-hike beer or take a can of local beer up to the summit and have a celebratory drink.

My friend Maddie and I sharing a mid-hike beer on a three-town hike thru

Help Build This List

So there ya have it, folks! Here is the start of my forever-evolving list of hiking essentials you didn’t think you would need. If you have any of your own, please reach out! I’ll take all the help I can get! I hope that if you decide to try these out, you’ll see how beneficial and life-altering these items can be on trail!