There’s a lot of planning and preparation required for any trip; weeks can be spent ahead of time making sure everything is right for departure. However, no matter how much preparation goes in, problems can still occur.

While backpacking with a few friends to Ingalls Lake, which is north of Cle Elum, Taylor Smith, pastor at local Chi-Alpha Christian Fellowship, encountered an issue.

“After hiking for a few hours, it turns out we only had two tents instead of three,” Smith said.

Forgetting to bring shelter could prove to be deadly in some circumstances. But the mistake here only led to a funny story.

“We had all the gear we needed, but as we were deciding who carried what, someone said they had the tent,” Smith said. “We forgot a tent, I had to sleep outside and almost got peed on by a mountain goat.”

In the excitement between locking the car doors and stepping onto the trail, there is a lot of room for error, but problems like this could be easily avoided.

Smith suggests that campers should do a brief spreadsheet before getting to the trailhead, so everything is accounted for.

According to The Mountaineers, a Seattle based outdoor education organization, there are 10 things every person headed outdoors should be carrying, whether day hiking or venturing the backcountry for days at a time.

This list includes: navigation, sun protection, insulation, illumination, first-aid supplies, fire repair kit, nutrition, hydration and emergency shelter.

Those 10 items can help you fix injuries, keep warm and navigate to safety. However, these should not be your go-to supplies for regular use, rather they should be used for emergency situations only, and will increase your chances of survival.

Other than packing the essentials and making sure to carry them, it is important to stick to a schedule.

“Before leaving home, give someone you trust a written copy of your trip plans,” said Steve Tischler, writer and editor on REI’s website. “If you change your plans, call your contact to give them the update.”

This advice applies to hikers, campers, fishers or anyone traveling away from civilization for any period of time.

In case of emergency, your contact back home can supply information to search and rescue organizations, increasing your chances to get found and return home safe.

Everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect, which is why there are extra precautions to be taken when going on an adventure—unless you want to wake up in a puddle of mountain goat urine.