7. A Good Book

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When hiking over a period of many days, weeks, or even months, the chances are you’re going to encounter some foul weather at some point. While the down-time might be used in a variety of ways, during a long stretch of inactivity you might run the risk of ‘cabin fever’ without some form of entertainment. To keep you in the mood, we’d recommend ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson, ‘The Snow Leopard’ by Peter Matthiessen, ‘A Philosophy of Walking’ by Frederic Gros and, of course, ‘Walden’, by Mr. Thoreau. If you’re concerned about the weight and bulk, many publishers offer tiny, lightweight pocket-boots which, as the name suggests, won’t add to your load unreasonably.