Miscellaneous
Towel, washcloth, soap, shampoo
* Extra Towel for swimming or spare
Toiletries
Flashlight
Earplugs (in case your room-mates snore)
Watch or travel alarm
* Padlock (there are lockers for your valuables) Books [10]/journals
Prescription and Over the Counter medications [9]
Sleeping bag or bedding and blanket for your bed in the Lodge. There are no heaters in the rooms. [7]
Money [8]
As few electronic devices as possible.

THE REVISED TEN ESSENTIALS [11]
Sun Protection - (sunglasses, sunblock, lipscreen) [5]
Insulation - (extra clothing)
Hydration - (water and purification system)
Signal device - (whistle)
Navigation - (map and compass or GPS)
Illumination - (flashlight or headlamp)
* Nutrition - (extra food)
* First-aid kit - (wound management and medications)
* Emergency shelter - (trash bag or space blanket)
* Fire - (matches or lighter)
* Knife

• 1. You should already have purchased your boots and taken them on many happy hikes, walks with the dog, or trips to the store. You'll be much happier if they're well broken in BEFORE the trip. You won't need heavy-duty hard-core stiff all-leather boots - nylon uppers are fine, as we won't be hiking more than 8 miles or so, and all of it will be on trail. However, high-top boots are recommended over "walking shoes".
• 2. Socks that wick moisture and don't chafe are best. Many people like a light-weight polypro or equivalent liner socks (also to prevent chafing).
• 3. I use a down vest with a softshell, but if you tend to chill a parka would be better.
• 4. Long pants (Avoid jeans. If they get wet out on the trail they take FOREVER to dry).
• 5. The sun can really burn you at this altitude (7-10,000'), so a wide brim hat and sunscreen are important. (The tops of ears are particularly vulnerable.)
• 6. The Lodge provides paper bags and other disposable lunch containers but if we bring reusable stuff, we'll be doing our part to cut down on what goes in the land-fill. Lunch may include a green salad or humus, so small plastic containers would be useful for these as well as keeping your sandwich from getting squashed in your backpack.
• 7. The average low in August is 37° and the 10-year low day was 28°
  For September the average low is 32° and the 10-year low day was 16°
• 8. Money - don't forget, you'll have the opportunity for optional activities on your day off. Some of the options could include: Hiking at a place of your choosing: FREE. Touring the Vikingsholm Castle (on Lake Tahoe):$1, canoeing on Lake Tahoe: $10 an hour per person. Rafting: $79 a day. We will discuss these options on Sunday night so reservations can be made by Tuesday. Also, you will need to purchase dinner for our night out or free day.
• 9. Basic, personal first-aid kit, along with whatever over-the-counter and prescription medications you may need. If you are bringing a prescription medication, it is best to bring a spare set in the event that your primary set gets lost, wet or unusable.

  EpiPen - Anaphylactic Shock - It may take well over an hour to evacuate people from some of our hikes, so if you are allergic to bee stings you will want to make appropriate plans. See EpiPen - Anaphylactic Shock page.

  Motion sickness - Our trips may have a boat ride and some of the roads (e.g. to Emerald bay) are windey, so if you are prone to motion sickness you may want to bring Dramamine™ or your preferred motion sickness remedy. The water is generally calm on Lake Tahoe and the roads are not that bad; we have never had a problem with motion sickness.

• 10. Some popular books are:

      * Sierra Nevada Natural History by Tracy I. Sorer and Robert L. Usinger.
      * Wildflowers of the Tahoe Sierra by Laird R. Blackwell.
      * Geology of the Sierra Nevada by Mary Hill
      * History of the Sierra Nevada by Francis Farquhar.
      * My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir.
  

• 11. Ten Essentials:
  See: backpacking.net, Weekend Hike list, REI

  We have never had anyone get lost on these trips and they are all close enough to civilization that we can make it back or get emergency evacuation before sunset. However we did have some birders wander off once, so to be realy safe you might want to have some of the optional items. Cell phones work in about 2/3 of the areas where we will be hiking.