Planning a Hike

A primary consideration when planning your hike is the size and experience level of the people you will be hiking with. Also, the terrain, weather, distances, resources, and many other factors will impact your planning. Lastly, each person either by themselves or in groups has different objectives when hiking.

Like the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" there may be two types of people in this world. Those who enjoy knowing how things work, and those more content to using things that work. It is your job to get the most out of it according to your sensibilities.

Group Size

The size of the group is very important. This ranges from solitary hikers to informal groups of hikers with friends, to formal groups such as outdoor class hikes, and to larger groups of hikers on some occasions. For a solitary hiker the risks can be very high. In hikes with a couple friends too often a casual and unprepared hike can lead to disastrous results. In large hikes there are requirements of leadership, ranges of experience levels and other factors that need to be considered to make of every hike and for each hiker.

Location & Weather

There are 30,000 hikes throughout the United States and Canada. A very good source of hikes on the West Coast is with an excellent website LocalHikes. The American Hiking Society covers the entire nation but there is a nominal fee to join. AHS is a superb group of dedicated hikers who provide the trail references education, volunteer opportunities, local, state, and federal initiatives to support our trails.

One can find many references and sources of excellent hikes with books and magazines at your local bookstore or sporting goods store. These books, pamphlets, magazines and brochures are an excellent source of maps, distances, elevations, ratings and many other tips and pointers about the particular hike.

Research is the key to making the most of your hike. Highland Hiking has provided just a small sample of the main excellent sources of references.

Contact your area rangers and managers for more information about permits emergency numbers safety issues and specific hazards such as wildfires or high risk conditions.

Talk with others who have done the hike. Many sites provide reviews and stories about particular hikes; more importantly, trail conditions, water availability, parking and trailhead access, trail highlights, estimated times and a host of other information is well shared by others.

When you begin your search for hiking trail near you, you need to look for the following information to best prepare for the hike:

• Distance and elevation gain will best describe the effort level of a hike.
• Access to trailhead with highway directions and parking information.
• Descriptions of hiking training and trail highlights.
• Emergency contact numbers and responsible supervision.
• Reviews by other hikers, tips, and experiences.
• Topographic and trail maps.

The Leave No Trace Practices provides excellent guidelines to
preserving and fostering the hiking trails across America.

Weather is always subject to change.
Contact The Weather Channel or your local papers to find updated weather.

[ Back to top ]