5 Hiking Essentials you never knew you needed!

Let me start by saying that this isn’t any sort of a sponsored ad / affiliate links type thing. I don’t receive any sort of benefit by you purchasing anything I’m recommending. These are just a few things I’ve purchased in Korea that I’ve gotten a lot of value from when hiking so wanted to share. ^^ I’ll include a link (where applicable) to where I purchased these items, but I’m sure many similar products can be found with a quick online search.

#1: Hiking Phone POUCH

So, I saw lots of other hikers wearing these phone pouches attached to their packs last winter. I didn’t think much of it at the time, because I usually keep my phone in my jacket pocket. That is..until summer rolled around. Once summer hit, the pockets on my shorts were too small for my phone to fit and my phone would get steamed up from humidity. So I was stuck having to carry my phone in my backpack. For someone who takes a ton of photos when hiking it was a huge inconvenience having to remove it from my pack every time.

I decided to join the cool kids and order a phone pouch myself. Honestly, I thought it was gonna be a huge pain getting it in and out but it is so easy. I even use it in the winter now too. Best thing is, I can clip it on with a carabiner so I can use it with whatever bag I want.

I ordered it from Gmarket, but the one I purchased is currently out of stock. However, I’ll link to it HERE in case it becomes available again. There are plenty of styles available online though so try a search for “hiking pouch” or “휴대폰 등산” on an app like Gmarket, Coupang, etc.

#2 Tick Spray

It wasn’t until last year that I realized how much of an issue ticks were here. Andrew and I had taken our dog, Gimli, for a hike and when we returned Andrew said Gimli was covered in ticks. I looked and didn’t see any. I figured because he was all white they would stand out. To my surprise they were tiiiiiiny, like flakes of pepper. For Gimli, he has tick protection in the form of monthly preventative meds, but by having them in his fur he was bringing them into our apartment and WE don’t have protection.

After that, I did a bit of research online. I’m far from an expert but apparently ticks are becoming a bigger issue here in Korea. From what I could find, there weren’t any documented cases of Lyme Disease in Gyeongnam province, but there have been some cases in Gyeonggi-do. Of course, not every tick carries the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, but I still don’t want to take any chances.

I should also mention, that a friend and I even had ticks on our hiking pants in early December last year when it was roughly 5℃, so please don’t think that you only need to worry about them in summer. They are hardy little buggers!

Luckily mosquito and tick repellent is available at pretty much any pharmacy, just show the picture above and I’m sure that they’ll give you something comparable! Make sure you get a spray that is also for ticks, and not just mosquitos. The Korean word for tick is “진드기” (jindeugi).

It’s especially good to spray around your ankles and don’t forget to reapply! It goes without saying, but if you are hiking in taller grass be especially careful. Also, if you see lots of animal poop on the trail, it’s a good indicator that there will be plenty of ticks as well. Animals = cozy living for ticks. Bonus Points if you tuck your pant legs into your socks!

#3 Sun Cover

Okay, so I am well aware that this looks incredibly dorky, but hear me out! I’m really good for applying sunscreen at the start of my hike, but there is nothing worse than reapplying over sweaty skin, it’s just…ewww. I contemplated getting one of those huge scarf type hats that I see some of the older “aunties” wearing on the trails, but I’m too vain for that, haha! I wanted something that I could easily remove for photos but still keep my skin protected when on the move.

This has been absolutely perfect since I can attach it over any hat. It keeps the back of my neck protected from the sun as well. I can button it under my chin if it’s a little windy to keep it closed, but I usually just leave it open. It takes literally 1 second to take off or put back on. I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I’ll leave a link HERE to where I bought mine on Gmarket.

#4 Hiking Poles

Okay, so hiking poles aren’t exactly some new idea, but I’m still surprised at the amount of people who don’t use them. The first time I came to Korea I was only 29 years old, yet required more recovery time for hiking the steep Korean mountains than I do now. I tried out some hiking poles, but honestly it felt like it was just something else I was stuck carrying.

After experiment with them for a bit (one issue was that the height of them was too low) I found a rhythm with them and now I simply CANNOT hike without them. Not only do they save my knees by having my arms support some of my weight when going downhill, but they also give me added power when climbing uphill as well. Honestly, hiking feels so much harder without them. I won’t argue that they take some getting used to, but it is sooooo worth it! I can’t recommend hiking poles enough. They truly are a game changer.

There’s plenty of different types of hiking poles available for reasonable prices. Most of them twist and slide down to be more compact or fold in half. I opted for a different style when I bought my newest pair last year and I love them!, They fold down into three pieces so they can easily fit in carry-on when traveling. If you like to fit in some hiking when traveling, or think you may in the future, I really recommend this style.

I can’t find the link to the ones I purchased, but HERE is a very similar pair at an average price.

Sidenote: Some sellers mark the price individually for poles, and some are for a pair, so be sure you’re aware of what you are buying when you order.

#5 Emergency Tag

If you do any sort of solo hiking this is truly a necessity. I probably hike alone about 70% of the time, maybe more due to COVID this year. Although I love the solitude of hiking alone, I know that if something were to happen to me, I may have difficulties getting help.

Last year, I had a hiking accident in which I ended up in the hospital for four nights. I thought I was pretty “with it” at the time, but I panicked and luckily had my friend Ashleigh with me to keep me calm. Had the same accident happened when I was alone, I may have made different choices (at the time, I just wanted to sit and rest since I felt nauseous.)

So an emergency hiking tag is something I hope I’ll never need, but I feel a bit of added insurance with it. Unfortunately I can’t link to where to purchase one as I made this myself, but here is a link to a template file if you would like to use it. First make a copy in Google Drive, then you can edit it from there. I have one side in English with my husband’s contact number and pertinent info about me; such as blood type, prescription medications, etc. The other side is in Korean with a Korean speaker’s contact number and the same information. I simply printed it out, glued it together, and laminated it. Attaching it to a carabiner means I can put it on whatever backpack I’m using that day.