Not to bring you bad news, but someday you'll need a good First Aid kit, either for yourself, or for someone you meet on the trail, whether hiking, biking, running, or any other outdoor activity... I've been going to remote places for over 45 years, usually solo for one or two weeks, often in winter (I climbed Mt Washington solo at 45 below zero), and I've been just a few feet from many wild animals (wolverine, coyote, mountain lion, etc... and I've been just ½ inch from a sleeping rattlesnake), these were any of dozens of events that could have needed a good First Aid kit... while there are many kits that can be purchased (I have four kits of varied sizes), every kit that I bought has been altered by me, as I add extra items that I think are important... below I have some lists of First Aid kit contents, use these lists to give you ideas about your own First Aid kits.

If you spend much time outdoors around here, you will encouter Poison Oak, this plant is very common in the Bay Area...  like Poison Ivy and Poison Sumac this plant has the poisonous sap (urushiol) in the roots, stems, leaves and fruit, so this plant can bother you even in winter when there are no leaves... Poison Oak can grow (a) very short (just inches) in a field of wild grasses and plants, or (b) as a vine-like plant climbing some other plant, or (c) as a bush, at times this bush can be quite large... sap is released when the plant is bruised, making it easier to contract Rhus-dermatitis in the spring and early summer when leaves are tender... the sap may be deposited on the skin by direct contact with the plant or by contact with contaminated objects, such as shoes, clothing, tools and animals, and some people have even gotten this from sap-coated soot in the smoke of burning plants... not everyone is sensitive to the sap, for instance I've walked for 30 minutes through a huge field of waist high Poison Oak in the Santa Cruz area, then casually changed my shoes before driving home, and used no other precaution, but I am barely affected by Poison Oak... but most people (up to 80%) are easily affected, some are extremely sensitive, you should use care until you know your level of sensitivity.

While I've seen some people with altitude sickness at 7,000 feet, it's not too common until they get above 10,000 feet, many people show mild altitude sickness that recovers with one day of rest...  this becomes more common above 12,000 feet, symptoms include severe headache and nausea, though I have seen a few cases much more serious which include pulmonary edema, the only recovery is to return fast to a lower altitude...  every year there are thousands of people who try to hike up Mt Whitney (14,496 feet) in one day, where altitude sickness can be very serious, I've seen some people barely able to return to lower altitude under their own power...  my own yearly climb up Mt Whitney always started about 50 miles away at 7,000 feet, and I'd take a week to hike to the summit, this allowed me to slowly acclimate...  if you need to gain very high altitude much faster, there are a few ways you can try to speed this acclimation process a bit, but not much, the human body needs time to adjust, most doctors say above 10,000 feet your sleeping altitude should increase about 1000 feet per day...  the sites below have some ideas that might speed the acclimation process, or at least help you know when altitude sickness has become severe.