90% of a successful hike is planning. The most important tool you take on a hike is your brain.

You can typically get great information, trail notes and photos by doing an internet search for where you plan to go. Always treat internet information with a grain of salt like trail signs, but all information can be useful until you update it with your own wisdom and experience.

Don't be afraid to Change the Plan...

The most difficult thing a leader can do before or during a hike, is cancel it or modify the plan. Having put so much time into planning the perfect outing, deviating for mother nature (weather- forcasted or as surprises), injuries or unplanned health concerns, trail closures or running out of daylight can be disappointing. Having a do or die attitude to anything in nature in most cases obliges mother nature to help with the latter of the two options. Most tragedies can be avoided through common sense, taking a deep breath and counting to ten when faced with a decision to make and removing emotion from the equation. When having fun, always live to hike another day.

Before you take a group out on a hike, preview the hike with a trusted friend. Getting the lay of the land, visually converting the map into mental guideposts is so much better than having 12 people stare at you when you don't know where to go. It also gives you a chance to:

  • check the trail condition (water crossings, animal expectations, plant expectations, trail damage or detours, etc...)

  • confirm if you have cell phone reception

  • time your route plan to see if you have accounted for a practical pace and/or an actual distance


Some Topics for Consideration when Planning a Hike:

The Route

What is the pace and how far? (The first question everyone asks is: "how far is the hike and when will it be over?")

What is the terrain? (Every hike is flat on a map. Calculate your vertical increase per mile to determine how strenuous the hike will be. This can limit who is comfortable coming and

Is there shade or direct sun? (This can affect when you would choose to begin the hike and/ or how much water to bring)

Making a Hiking Plan Document...Creating a hand out to distribute ahead of the hike can be helpful in preparing the group and helping people determine if the outing matches their capability. When I build these, I have them include:

  • Driving directions from a common starting point to the trailhead. (Caravaning/ following each other on the road is not a safe practice)

  • Who, What, When, Where, Why

  • Trail plan grid

  • Summary map of the hike

  • Contact information for the hike leader and an emergency contact person not going on the hike

Weather & Seasonality

When you are taking a hike can determine how enjoyable it can be. Scheduling a hike around wildflower blooms can add a colorful dimension. The number of daylight hours and when sunrise/ sunset occur all change based on the seasonality.

An example is the southern California San Gabriel Mountains. There are two parallel peak ranges; a front range and a back range. During the winter months the back range is snowed in and the front range is cooler weather and fewer bugs. During the summer months the front range turns much hotter with many more bugs while the back range turns into the preferable option.

Always check your weather leading up to hike the week before and then 48 hours before. Communicate with your group updates so they can pack appropriate clothing. I like the charts that www.weather.gov provides (an example is at the bottom of this page).

Permits

Always research the requirements to take your hike. These requirements can change based on the management authority.

Hydration

Each person has different amounts of water they need to drink during various levels of exertion. Figuring out you needed more water once you run out on the climb to a peak is a bad plan. There are rarely drinking fountains on most backcountry trails. Know thyself and what you need given the timing of the hike during the day, weather, sun exposure and expected exertion level.

As a leader, always carry enough extra water to help others (usually 12oz or 0.5 Liter is a good starting point).

Find out if there are any water sources along the trail. If you can filter or purify water, that may be a better option than carrying gallons of water. Water is heavy...and anything you can do to not burden yourself unnecessarily, can make the hike more enjoyable.

What Are You Going to See?

Plan interactivity along the trail but be cautious of people's attention spans. Time learning opportunities with water breaks. These can include animal trivia, plant trivia and first aid trivia. A little bit of homework ahead of time can add some interesting distractions to a hike.

Contingency Planning

If something were to happen at different spots along the hike, what would the plan look like? Asking these questions before the hike saves a lot of stress induced panic if something occurs that you have already considered.

Know ahead of time what situations, weather and first aid needs determine the hike is over.

Training

Don't hesitate to take training opportunities as they are available. First Aid certification, Boy Scouts of America, Sierra Club and REI classes are all great to hear how other people do things. Best practices are meant to be shared to benefit everyone.