Welcome to episode 69 of the first 40 miles.

If you're new to backpacking, or if you're hopelessly in love with someone who wants you to love

backpacking, then this podcast is for you.

We'll talk about the essentials, how to lighten your load,

and how to make the most of your time on the trail.

I'm your host Heather Legler.

And I'm Josh Legler and this is the first 40 miles.

Today on the first 40 miles we get to dump out our 10 essentials and spill what's really inside. Then on today's top five list, we take you

on our most recent backpacking trip to share the top five things that we loved about it.

Then on the Summit Gear Review, see what Life Straw did

to keep your knees clean.

Next, we'll show you how to make a primitive chair

out of stuff that you can find at the hardware

store and we'll wrap up the show with a little trail wisdom from our good friend on the trail, Charles

de lint. All this and that's about it. Today on the first 40 miles.

A few weeks ago one of our listeners asked us for our 10 essentials list and we realized that even though we mentioned the 10 essentials quite a bit in podcast episodes, we've never actually explained what the 10 essentials are and what we carry in our, quote, 10 essentials.

And this is really great timing because actually I've been feeling just in general in my life this kind of need to get back to basics and the 10 essentials is a great way to really drill down to what's important in backpacking.

What are the 10 most important things in your pack that can really make the difference

between a great experience and a really unfavorable outcome.

Yeah, or the things that are going to keep you alive in an emergency.

So the list that everyone's probably the most familiar with is a list that the mountaineers put together. So this includes a map, a compass,

sunglasses and sunscreen, extra clothing, a light, first aid kit, a fire starter, matches, a knife, and some food.

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