So here’s what I’d take for a day hill walk in Scotland. In Autumn you can expect wetter weather, stronger winds and less daylight. So all that means some extra kit and prep are needed to be comfortable in the hills. For info, I have noted the brand names of my kit in brackets.
1. Rucksack, about 30litres (Lowe Alpine)
2. Waterproof Rucksack liner (Army surplus)
3. Survival bag (Life Systems)
4. Waterproof Jacket with hood (North Face, Gore-Tex)
5. Waterproof trousers with long zips down the side (North Face, Drilite – these are salopettes)
6. Warm layers x 3 (merino wool thermal top, thin wool jumper, North Face Polartec fleece top)
7. Walking trousers (Fjallraven)
8. Leggings (sometimes I use merino, sometimes running tights. If it’s going to be really wet weather, I will normally wear these and my waterproof salopettes and not use the walking trousers.
9. Thermos flask for hot drinks (I use a 500ml thermos) and 1 litre water bottle (Nalgene)
10. Map, map case (A5 Ortlieb map case with cord attachment and small carabiner), compass (Silva with cord and small carabiner)
11. Miscellaneous kit in a stuff sack – head torch; spare batteries; tissues; small tub of sun cream; mobile phone with GPS capability, OS Map app like Memory Map and OS Locate; waterproof cover for my phone (I use an A6 size Ortlieb document bag); battery pack and charging cable.
12. Sun hat and buff
13. Gloves x 2
14. Warm hat
15. Walking boots (Scarpa)
16. Gaiters
17. First Aid kit
This photo groups my kit into stuff I will wear, including the kit I will have in my pockets (like map and compass and phone); stuff in the main compartment of my Rucksack; stuff in the top lid pocket of my Rucksack; and walking poles.
Climate info
In Tulloch Bridge near Fort William in October, you can expect more wet weather days than in any other (20 days on average); 10 hours of daylight (8 am to 6 pm); average minimum temperature of 3.9c°C and an average maximum of 11c. And on nearby mountain summits (Aonach Mor), you can expect an average minimum of 0.2c °C and a maximum of 4.3c °C with a mean wind speed of 25mph.