Hiking alone / what gear to carry

No hike today - raining this morning, feeling lazy, not much sleep last nite, and I hurt my back on the long hike 3 days ago. Exercise is good for an achey back, but ... here I am sitting at Starbucks, where I ate what I *thought* was fairly low cal - a mini zucchini walnut muffin - turns out it is 390 calories! 27 grams of fat!

Anyway - about hiking - I hike alone almost all the time. I know that's not the smartest move - but we are mostly talking about here in town, on well-traveled trails - altho not THAT well traveled on a weekday. And I have done the same on some more remote (for me) trails - for example, the peaks I have climbed in Angeles National Forest - Vetter, Hillyer, etc.

Now, I do always tell a friend, Gloria, where I am going, and when I will call her back - and she would start calling people if I did not call when expected. And I do usually carry a decent amount of water and snacks, a whistle, an extra shirt, etc. Not all of what are called The Ten Essentials - things you should ALWAYS carry when hiking, in case of emergency. But hopefully it's enough to keep me alive until help arrives.

But lately, I am going a little more minimalist on my gear for local hikes - I have a belt that holds one bottle of water, plus a small flask I attach, and 2 small pockets - one for my cell phone, and one for a snack or two. I carry a towel - to wipe my sweaty brow! - in my quick-dry nylon cargo shorts - but that's about it. No place to carry an extra layer of clothes - which seems like almost the most important thing - for a sudden cool breeze, or a forced, extended stay (if I twisted ankle, or fell of a cliff, for example). So I am thinking of going to my larger belt pack - with room for 2 bottles of water, and I could squeeze in a shirt, or a great, very light weight rain jacket that I have - a Patagonia Houdini Full-Zip Jacket. They list for $125, but Patagonia had a special on one particular color for only $75. Like, I care what the color it is?

Now, I had been using my light-weight backpack - it was probably overkill for my short, local hikes - but my hikes are actually getting longer, as much as I can. And carrying the backpack is good exercise and good practice - and let's me carry a LOT more stuff for emergencies.

I have to admit that I am self-conscious when I carry more gear - I am on these local trails, and I see people with NO GEAR - sometimes no water, sometimes a bottle of water and nothing else. My friend Gloria says to IGNORE THEM - do what's smart - carry the gear ... and I do - but I still feel self-conscious.

I think the fact that I hurt my back on my last hike made me think about this a little more. That's never happened before - just walking down hill and all of a sudden a sharp back pain. I have had back pain before - but not just walking, even on an uneven trail. I guess I just came down too hard. But it could have been worse - what if I had been unable to make it down the hill?

So - bottom line - I need to use the bigger belt pack, or carry my back pack. Carry more water, food, extra clothes, etc. I love to hike, but I don't want to die up there - at least, not yet, and not for some stupid reason!