A Weekend Hike Needs A Headlamp Even In August

Seattle summer makes it easy to leave the headlamp at home. The trail is dry, the forecast says clear, and nobody plans to be out after dinner.

That plan only works until a toddler nap, a slow lunch, or one wrong turn moves the schedule by an hour. August gives you daylight, not unlimited daylight.

My small hiking checklist now includes:

• headlamp, even for a short afternoon walk
• phone above 50% before leaving the house
• one snack that is not reserved for the drive home
• a layer for the walk back
• the actual turn-around time, decided before starting

The headlamp is the useful part. It weighs almost nothing, leaves both hands free, and makes the last stretch boring instead of exciting. That matters more when the walk includes a stroller, a tired dog, or a child who has decided that sitting on the trail is a reasonable transportation strategy.

I keep it in the daypack rather than moving it between bags. A Seattle hike does not need much gear. It does need the one thing that makes being late less dramatic.