If you are anything like me you will undoubtedly have arrived for the start of a hiking trip only to find that you have forgotten something crucial. It used to happen to me on almost every trip but now it is fortunately a rare occurrence. And the secret - a checklist come shopping list. Now before any trip I sit down a few days before I am due to depart and carefully write out a checklist of everything I need to take with me. This list then becomes firstly a shopping list for those things which I need to pick up from the store and secondly a packing list to ensure that everything finds its way into the car. So far I have never forgotten any major items, such as my favorite pair of Asolo hiking boots, but since starting my checklist I have not forgotten any minor items such as my first aid kit or insect repellent either.