Hello Happy Hikers! (Or Would-be, soon-to-be, or plan-to-be hikers!) It’s Shannon, the planner of the peaks and pride duo. Whether you’re new to hiking, or a seasoned trail connoisseur, the most difficult aspect of any trip is the planning part! It’s like the blank page staring back at an artist before they draft a masterpiece. Never fear! See below for my Happy Hiker’s Perfect Go-to Planning List for an Amazing Hike. This list also includes quick trip tips to get you started on your first, or next, hiking adventure!
It’s as they say: poor planning results in poor performance, so you want to make sure you don’t trek off into that great beyond without a good plan of action!
First things first…. How much time do you have for your Hike?
The first thing on the Happy Hiker’s Perfect Go-To-Planning List for an Amazing Hike is time management! You want to start by looking at how much time you have for your hike. Now I don’t mean how much over all time, I mean actual HIKING time. If you have 2 days for your trip, but you want to hike a route that is 30 miles long, that’ll mean you’ll be hiking 15 miles per day on average. The average hiker, with a normally loaded pack, hikes around 1.5-2.5 miles per hour depending on the terrain. The steeper, or more difficult the hike, the slower you are going to move. So make sure you’re planning enough daylight hours for you to hike what you want to hike, based on your terrain and capability. No one wants to be hiking in the dark on day 2, on the backside of a 16 mile hiking day, because you didn’t plan correctly and have to work the next morning…
Are you doing a day hike, or an overnight?
The next item on my Happy Hiker’s Perfect Go-To-Planning List for an Amazing Hike is also about time! It’s important to know if you’re doing an overnight or a day hike (single day trip). Your pack and your preparation will be vastly different. There’s no need to hike with a fully loaded pack for a day trip, unless you’re training your body for a long hike later in the season. And you definitely don’t want to be out on an overnight without the essentials, because you packed for a day trip by accident. There are some hikers that are “minimalist”, and they hike good distances and overnights with very little in their packs. This is not something to attempt unless you are a seasoned outdoor enthusiast, and have strong knowledge of wilderness survival, first aid, and navigation. Check out the day trip pack list, and the overnight pack list, to get you on the right path towards being a prepared hiker.
Are you starting and ending at the same place?
Although the start and finish point of your hiking trip might not have a huge impact on what you carry on your back, it should have a big impact on the planning you do before you set out on the trail. Are you planning to stage your car at the end and UBER to the trail head, or vice versa? Is UBER even an option in the location you’re hiking? What’s your plan of action if you get to the end of the trail and don’t have cell service to call for a ride, or your cell battery is dead? What is your plan if you get back to your car and have lost your keys along the trail? Some trail heads are 20+ miles from the nearest house or store, so trekking it to the next house on the road might be more than you’ve bargained for. Its always important before ANY trip, that you tell someone where you’re headed, what trails you plan to be on, and when you plan on being back. All too often hikers go missing, and having someone know where they were supposed to be, is sometimes the difference between a rescue or a recovery. You can still lose yourself in the beauty of the hike, with folks knowing where you’re going to be.
Weather and it’s impact on your trip
Weather. Weather. Weather. It’s the difference between a hike you’ll never forget because of picturesque views, or one that still gives you that pit in your stomach when you think about huddling on your camping mat praying that you’re not struck by lightning. When planning a trip, I always look at the weather expected for the trip two days ahead and two days behind the dates I want to hike. Weather moves quickly, and if you haven’t planned for the rain that was supposed to get there Tuesday, but now has arrived on Sunday night, you’ll be a soggy mess and cold to boot.
Keep in mind as well that the weather at the bottom of the trail/mountain/hill, is not the same that is on the top. Terrain matters. Some mountains have a difference of 20-30 degrees from the bottom to the top, and if you’ve started in shorts and a tank top, that’s not going to cut it when it’s 40 degrees out and there’s a wind chill. Ravines, or shady areas also tend to be cooler and wetter. This can be a blessing if it’s 90 degrees out, or miserable if it’s 45. Plan for the weather and it’s impact on what you need to bring, wear, and how much water you are taking with you.
Always have a backup plan for your trail route. If the hike you were originally taking has a long leg next to a stream or river, and there’s a rain storm on it’s way, then have a plan for an alternate route. Flash flooding is a real thing, and happens quickly even if it’s not raining where you currently are. Water flows down hill, and moves faster as it starts to accumulate. If it’s pouring at the top of the mountain, all those small streams typically flow into one larger stream down hill. It’s important to keep this in mind, and plan for small rivers to be larger, and a normal water crossing to be impassible. Never try and cross a river on foot if it’s moving swiftly, you can’t see the bottom, or there’s a chance that you could lose your footing. It only takes 4 inches of swiftly moving water to move a vehicle downstream, so you and your walking stick just aren’t going to cut it. As they say, “turn around, don’t drown”.
Safety First!
There are some key items that you need to bring on any hike you’re planning.
Seriously. A Map. Not a phone with the map on it… not your tablet with a picture of the map… an actual, printed, you can smell the paper-and-ink kind of map. I’m not old school when I say that you need to bring a paper map, I’m a realist. And I’ve been bitten too many times by Mr. Murphy and his ridiculous law to not think for one second, that the minute I round the bend in the trail and can no longer see my car, my phone will immediately die, and I’ll be working off a memory-map of where I’m supposed to be going, trying to remember which color blaze I’m supposed to be following. As my wife can attest… I have no business relying on my memory for a shopping list, let along a trail map.
Basic First Aid Kit
Even if you’re just going for a quick day hike, you need a basic first aid kit. And you need to know how to use it. Familiarize yourself with the contents before you hit the trail. Last thing you need to be doing is trying to thumb through the little scrap of a first aid instructional pamphlet while poor Suzy-Q is holding her “should-not-be-pointing-that-way” foot, after having tripped over her own hiking pole.
Missing Persons Alert
We’ve already covered that you need to let someone know where you’re going to be. It’s important. Many state parks have the option of checking in with the ranger station to give then your plans before a hike, but at minimum, you should be sharing that information with the person who will be responsible for calling the authorities if you’re not where you plan to be after the hike. If you think you don’t have anyone in your life that fits this bill, you do. If you don’t have any close family, then a coworker, boss, or neighbor will work. None of those?? The local police department, or forest rangers office will suffice. Don’t want to touch base with the PD? Leave a note in your car saying who you are, where you went, and when you’re expected back. If your car is parked for an extended amount of time at a trail head, most likely they’ll find the note when they tow it and you’ll at least have that safety net as a last resort.