Lori, if you never learned to make noise as you're hiking when there may be bears around so they'll know you're coming and run, as opposed to suddenly finding you five feet away from them and maybe attacking, that's scary. And you're not supposed to keep food in your tent and you're supposed to seal up your clothing after you cook. And I'd have someone with me who could get help if I'm bitten by something potentially poisonous (you're supposed to lay still), be an extra set of eyes, help scare away dangerous animals, etc. And I'd use a non-metal pack, even if I have replace the metal parts myself.

These aren't just my theories. They're best practices for safety that I've heard or read elsewhere (except for the non-metal backpack, but I read to keep it 100 feet away in a thunderstorm if it has a metal frame, and I don't want to.)

For day hiking, it says here that you should carry 32 oz of water.

I'd probably think more about poisonous insects before I went hiking, but I think snakes are more dangerous.