Your summer essentials when hiking or camping

Summertime: the season of long, lazy days spent exploring the great outdoors and evenings relaxing around a fire pit. The season of hiking adventures and spontaneous dips in the creek to cool off. Yes, it’s all very idyllic…until you remember the dehydration, the sticky heat, and the mosquitoes that do their best to ruin your summer fun. So, how can you best prepare yourself and your family to enjoy outdoor adventures to the fullest? Read on for some essential tricks and products to make any camping or hiking adventure a breeze!

First, and most importantly: don’t forget water. It’s so easy to dehydrate when hiking on a sultry, sunny summer day, so make sure that you bring plenty of water for yourself and your family (and if you’re backpacking or camping, know where your water sources are and acquaint yourself with water purifiers!) Make this part of the adventure. Have your kids and even dogs carry their own water in appropriately sized backpacks, and take water breaks more often than you think you need to. And of course, to protect the environment, invest in reusable water bottles. No single-use plastic here.

Then, don’t forget layers! Sure, it might be 75 and sunny when you leave the campground for a hike around the lake, but in certain parts of the country weather conditions can change rapidly. You definitely don’t want to get stuck outdoors in shorts and a tank when a rainstorm hits the area. In your daypack, make sure that you always have a light waterproof shell or jacket even if the forecast doesn’t call for any rain. It’s also a good idea to dress in layers so that you can easily add or remove as conditions change. Remember, too, that bugs are everywhere and love bare skin! It’s a good idea to wear loose, light-colored, and long-sleeved clothing to best protect yourself.

And to even further help protect yourself from mosquitoes, flies, ticks, and other creepy crawlies, make sure you pack a conveniently travel-sized Herbal Armor into your bag, and reapply every 2-3 hours, as needed. All Terrain’s Herbal Armor should be one of your go-to products to help repel ticks and mosquitoes, so that you have more peace of mind when enjoying quality outdoor time with your family and friends. Herbal Armor offers great protection, and is also an effective and safe alternative to chemical-laden DEET sprays. It features a proprietary blend of natural, repelling oils, such as: soybean, citronella, peppermint, cedar wood, lemongrass, and geranium, so you can use it safely on your whole family. Most importantly, it works! You can treat clothing, your ball cap, and even your dog’s collar to help repel mosquitoes and other biting insects. In addition to the travel size, which you can bring on all your summer adventures, you can also keep the larger bottle at your campsite or on your porch to make sure you never run out of this convenient, safe, and effective product.

Finally, we come to footwear. Every year, I see people on hiking trails wearing flip flops to scale a mountain peak and being surprised when they’re injured or in serious pain the next day. Don’t be that person! Make sure everyone in your group has suitable, sturdy, and comfortable shoes. And, pro-tip: in addition to the rain jacket mentioned above, make sure you pack a spare pair of socks in your bag. If your dog excitedly pulls you through a creek or unexpected rain hits, you’ll be so glad to have dry, warm socks to slip your feet into.

Of course, these items aren’t all that you need to have fun on your summer adventures, but they are the absolute essentials! What other items do you think it’s important to remember to bring with you? Have you recently had any fun camping or hiking adventures or mishaps?