Trip planning

Going backpacking this season? I am. But I never go without planning it out first. Most successful backpacking trips begin with a careful plan.

The first principle of the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is plan ahead and prepare. And from my Boy Scout years, I remember the motto "Be prepared." My mantra as an adventure educator of camping and backpacking continues to be "begin your trip with a plan."

I enjoy planning a trip almost as much as I enjoy taking the trip itself, be it for a weekend camp out or an extended canoeing or backpacking excursion. Rick Curtis, author of The Backpacker's Field Manual, writes, "Planning a trip requires more than simply deciding where to go and when."

Let's start by deciding who will accompany you on your trip.

Not many people my age appreciate a challenging backpacking adventure. So I keep a list of a few adventurous cronies. Because I teach backpacking and camping courses, I have a built-in group of young adults who will go on trips with me as well.

Whomever you invite, it is important to know their fitness level, skills and experience. Then plan your trip to fit within those levels. You do not want to plan a high altitude trip to a mountain that involves rope climbing and traversing ice fields with flatlanders who have never been above 2,000 feet. Be practical and smart in planning a trip to match the profile of your participants. I never plan a trip beyond my own level of competency. It is also important keep your group small and manageable.

Selecting a location to backpack is exciting but can require a great deal of energy to research. Identify what your group wants to experience then look for locations that meet your group's goals.

If you are interested in a place that offers challenges, consider a location that may include elevation, stream crossings and deep backcountry hiking. If it's beauty and tranquility you desire, look for highly rated picturesque areas and trails that are infrequently traveled. If your group is more interested in regional history, then look for areas that will lead to American Indian pictographs or perhaps an abandoned historic lighthouse.

Use various references. When backpacking locally, consult regional backpacking guidebooks. For example, I refer to Eric Hansen's Hiking Wisconsin and Hiking Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Jack and Elizabeth Hailman's Backpacking Wisconsin. There are many regional backpacking guidebooks out there.

Or go online. If you want to backpack segments of the Ice Age Trail, go to www.iceagetrail.org. If backpacking Midwest segments of the North Country Trail, check out www.northcountrytrail.org. And for those interested in the Superior Hiking Trail, consult www.superiorhikingtrail.com.

When I select a new unfamiliar location, I enjoy envisioning what the area and terrain look like based on maps I find. When I hike the area, I compare the actual locale to my prior visualizations.

Once your location is determined, then purchase a topographical map of the area. Topo maps are needed to locate and judge the difficulty of reaching landmarks, and certain elevations and distances.

Besides getting to the trailhead, what hiking route will you take? A linear plan will involve parking your vehicle at the beginning of a trail and another at the end to get you back. A circular route, on the other hand, can be done with one vehicle.

Use your topo map to measure your trail distance and estimate the time you'll need to cover it. Depending on the terrain and your group's physical condition, you may be hiking somewhere between 1.5 to 2.5 miles an hour, plus time for rest breaks. For distance formulas, reference The Backpacker's Field Manual.

Sometimes the logistics of planning a hiking trip include securing hiking and camping permits. Some trails require a trail pass and many designated campsites are reserved with a permit. In many cases, you can secure passes and permits online. Check regulations for the area in which you plan to travel. It is important to play by the rules.

Finally, leave a travel plan with a friend or family member, and with a park or property manager, including your name and that of everyone with you, contact information, emergency contacts and your intended itinerary. This information could be critical should there be an emergency.

When I go on a trip, I like to eat. So meal planning is essential to me. In the July 2007 issue of Silent Sports, I wrote a column titled "Chef Outdoordee offers tips for better backcountry cooking." That article is a helpful resource on how to plan and cook in the backcountry.

For trip planning, I recommend you write down what specifically you want for each meal on your trip. For example, "breakfast: oatmeal, dried fruit, bagel; lunch: cheese, sausage, crackers; supper: packaged noodles with tuna and chocolate dessert bars." Once you have a specific list of all your meals, go shopping. Then repackage your food to rid yourself of the packaging you won't want to carry.

Do you want more than one person in your group bringing food or do want one particular person in charge of the food for the entire trip? I prefer to purchase the food myself and have my trippers pitch in to cover the cost.

Who pays for what? In the beginning, I discovered when I planned a trip I spent more money than my fellow campers. This doesn't need to be the case. Share the expenses. Once I plan out food costs, work out travel expenses and purchase any permits and group gear, I itemize it all on paper and divide the total equally by the number going on the trip. Then I have each person pay in advance of the trip.

Early on I also cooked, cleaned and did many chores with little help. The following summer for a six-day trip, I created a "chores matrix." I assigned two campers each to five chores per day and then rotated the pairs through the chores that needed to be done. And I supervised. It worked out so well our wilderness orientation program has maintained the same chore plan since.

The chores assigned to these groups included cooking, cleaning, hanging food, filtering water and maintaining the campfire. Two cooks were responsible for getting food from the packs, prepping and utilizing the stove or campfire. The cleanup crew washed, dried and packed dishes. Food hangers did what we call "bear bagging," hanging and taking down food bags tied up in trees. Water filterers would fill water bottles two or three times daily. And the two in charge of campfires would collect firewood, start and keep the fires burning and extinguish it later.

Another responsibility of everyone is to leave no trace in the backcountry. Whatever is packed in must be packed out.

I do not go on any adventure without first creating gear and clothing lists, including both personal and group equipment. For example, my personal list may include such items as backpack, sleeping bag and pad, headlamp, knife, compass, whistle, hiking poles, water bottles and toothbrush and toothpaste. The group gear list may include additional tents, a stove and fuel, matches, cooking gear, food bag, rope, first-aid kit and toilet kit.

Check all mechanical equipment to be sure they work, such as your stove, headlamp and water filter. And check tents, sleeping bags, pads and rain gear for rips, tears and broken zippers. You want to be sure all gear is operational before leaving on your trip.

Create a personal clothing list appropriate for the season and be sure to include layers such as a jacket, head wear, footwear, gloves or mittens, and rain gear.

Create a safety plan that identifies risks and establishes procedures for preventing potential dangers. I always write down potential human hazards, environmental hazards and equipment failure hazards. I then list what I can do to minimize these hazards, thus reducing accident potential. I strongly recommend doing a risk assessment prior to any trip.

Of concern, too, is the weather. Check the National Weather Service at www.nws.noaa.gov to get a regional weather report for the duration of time you will be backpacking. Or bring a weather radio.

Here is a list of other things to do before leaving.

"Planning a long walk takes time and energy, and the adventure itself can vanish in a welter of lists, logistics, maps and food. This is only temporary, of course. When you take that first step, all the organization fades into the background. Then it is just you and the wilderness," wrote Chris Townsend in The Backpacker's Handbook.

I once planned a trip to Isle Royale in Lake Superior for a group of six of us. The planning was more involved than most trips I organize since it required securing tickets on a passenger ferry over to the island, organizing an overnight stay at a state campground the night before departure, and creating strategic hiking and camping plans across a major segment of the island.

Although we didn't stick to the original hiking and camping plan due to a group member suffering heat exhaustion and another's severe blisters, I remember seeing eight moose on that exciting trip. My friends rewarded me with kind comments and a gift at the end of our adventure; a book they purchased about the moose of Isle Royale.