hiking gear Tomorrow a group of my friends are going on a hike, and I'm going along so today I'm getting my hiking gear in order. It's been a while since I went hiking, so I want to make sure that my hiking gear is in tip top shape. My friends are incredible hikers, and I hope I can keep up with them. It seems as though everyone has something that they are good at when hiking. My friends trot up hills so much faster than I can, although my specialty is going downhill. We hike in the mountains, so it's up and down all day long, and the time I lose going up a slope is easy to make up when I start to go downhill.

The most essential piece of hiking gear that I have is my hydration system. Today I'm going to pour really hot water into it to kill any residual bacteria that may be present since I haven't used it for months. Staying hydrated is the crucial aspect when hiking in Arizona because the humidity is so low. Half the time, we don't even know when we're losing water due to exertion because the air dries so fast, so if I do nothing more today to get ready for tomorrow's long hike, getting my hydration hiking gear all cleaned up is number one on my list.