How to Plan Your Next Hike

A Step-by-step guide to planning your next outdoor adventure

Ben Franklin said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  Now, my kids will tell you that I fail plenty anyway (and they’re right), but preparation USUALLY keeps me from a devastating failure, which in this case would be the dreaded HIKE GONE WRONG.  My hiking time is precious and used to be very hard to come by.  I couldn’t mentally afford to have something I’d looked forward to for months to go badly.  And so I prepare.  In fact, preparing for my section hike in less than 3 weeks inspired this post.

Step 1:  Where To Go

The choices are limited only by the number of days you have to hike and your ability to get to the trailhead.  Most of my hikes are section hikes on the Appalachian Trail, so I merely pick a section I haven’t done yet.  But maybe once a year I plan an epic adventure, something different.  Didn’t pull that off this year, but next year I’m heading to Utah for a week in the canyons.  And occasionally I’ll do a 3-5 day trip closer to home, just to get out there.

Step 2:  Acquire Trail Map

This is pretty easy for the AT, but you always need a map of the trail no matter where you go.  Online resources are abundant.  Sometimes a guidebook comes in handy.  As part of this, you’ll need to decide where you’re starting, and where you’re finishing.  Is it a loop hike or an end-to-end hike?  The map and/or guide can also help you pick potential campsites and review water sources, notable sights and more.  Also, try to find online trip reports for where you’re going, the more recent the better.  These can alert you to the spring that ran dry, the bridge that washed out, the shelter that’s now closed because of a bad bear and much more.

Step 3:  Arrange Shuttle Service

This obviously doesn’t apply to a loop hike.  But any other hike where you’re going from point A to point B, you need a shuttle.  You can provide your own if a friend comes and you have 2 vehicles- you drive to the finishing point, leave one car there, and then drive together to your starting point.  I’m often hiking solo, and even when I’m not I find it simpler to use a shuttle driver.  Some of my trips take hours to reach, and I prefer company in my car while driving.   Like the time Mule and I went to the Smokies and he threw up every 15 minutes on the drive up.  Shuttle drivers can also provide invaluable beta on the water situation etc. for wherever you’re hiking.

Step 4:  Check the Weather

It’s easy to go to a weather website and see what average temperatures are for any area you might be hiking, for any time of year.  This gives you a rough guideline, but be monitoring local conditions in the days leading up to your hike, as atypical weather may cause you to make changes to your gear list.  One of my hikes this year was impacted by a hurricane, for example.

Step 5:  Prepare Your Gear

Yeah, this is the fun part- deciding what gear items you’re going to bring.  This includes clothing choices, which are dictated by weather.  Choice of shelter and sleep system are also impacted by the expected weather conditions.  You don’t want to bring a 40 degree sleeping bag for a night that gets down to 16.  Don’t ask me how I know that.

Step 6:  Make Your Food Choices

I am all about this one.  Do you plan to cook meals?  If you do, you will need a stove and fuel.  Going stoveless?  You will need to make appropriate food choices.  If you’re cooking, are you going to by commercial meals, or will you choose freezer bag cooking, or even cooking a la FiveStar?  Make sure to plan your meals so that you will get an appropriate amount of calories for as little weight as possible.  Calorie-dense food items such as nut butters, olive oil, Snickers etc. can help you save weight.  Planning for any necessary resupply is also part of this step, whether you mail a resupply package somewhere or do it on the fly at a grocery store along the way.  Also, plan ahead for how you plan to store your food, and how you plan to carry and dispose of your garbage.

Step 7:  Go Over Your Small Items

This is actually a big deal.  Make sure you have TP, fresh batteries in your headlamp, bug repellent and sunscreen if appropriate, whatever medications and first aid items you need, repair kits, fire starters, etc. etc.  This is the area where I incur the most fails.  Reviewing the gear lists of others can help guide you.

Step 8:  Review Your Pack Weight

I use LighterPack to help me get my pack weight down as low as possible, and I highly recommend it.  It always helps me knock off a pound or two by putting my choices right in front of my face.  It’s all too easy to just mindlessly add items to your pack, saying “heck, that don’t weigh nuthin” and then when you hit the trail with a 40 lb. pack you wonder how come it’s so  heavy.  Pay attention to what you bring.  There’s an old hiker saying that you pack your fears, and it’s true.  But at least make sure that you don’t pack stupid fears on your first hikes (such as bringing a spare tent just in case you get a hole in your main one).  And debrief yourself AFTER every hike- go over what items you NEEDED and USED, what items were nice to have, and what items you carried for a week for no purpose.  Eventually, you’ll start to leave items from that last group at home where they belong.

Be aware that what’s right for YOUR pack is probably different from mine or almost anybody else’s pack.  HYOH- hike your own hike.  If you get your pack weight way down and decide you want to bring a camp chair, 2 cans of beer, a Kindle and a giant stuffed hippopotamus….and you’re still under 30 lbs. pack weight, hey, whatever works for you!  It’s not “wrong” per se to have a 50 lb. pack either, if that’s what makes you happy.  But I’ll give you the spoiler here…..that won’t make you happy.  At least not your knees.  And your feet.  And your shoulders.

Once you’ve selected your gear, make sure you match it to an appropriately-sized backpack.

Step 9:  Leave Your Itinerary With Someone

What if you get lost, or worse?  You don’t want your co-workers saying “I ain’t seen Cletus in a month, I reckon he just run off to avoid paying his child support” when in fact you’re lost in the woods.  Make sure somebody knows where you’re going and when you’re expected to return.  Just in case.

Step 10:  Have Alternate Plans 

If you need to bail out urgently, know your route options.  If you aren’t able to keep up your planned mileage, know your alternatives to finish at a different location.  If a volcano erupts where you were planning to hike, or if a government shutdown makes it inaccessible, have somewhere else to go.  A second choice hike beats staying home.

Before Anything Else:  Be Training!

If possible, for at least a few weeks out get some training in.  Daily walks at a minimum, not only for the obvious reasons, but to toughen your feet up as well.  Losing a few pounds before a hike and getting in better shape will pay off, dare I say, bigly.