Trip Planning Tips

What does your trip planning methodology look like?

What do you consider when planning trips?

I'm always trying to learn more and fully believe that proper planning prevents **** poor performance.

For me, I start with looking at weather conditions, terrain, elevation and distance. I familiarize myself with the area in google earth, via trip reports, USGS maps and finally in Gaia GPS.

I estimate how far we can travel each day by looking at elevation and terrain. Under 9k every 1000ft of elevation gain I count as 1.75 miles on flat ground when and above 9k, every 1000ft of elevation gain is counted as 2.25 miles. I estimate 2-3 trail miles for every mile off trail. Snow, mud, rain, etc all slow down travel and make things more difficult.

I look at water sources and plan out when/where I'll filter water and drink a bunch and if necessary, how much I'll carry with me. I try to stay very well hydrated but don't carry much water unless necessary to keep my weight down. Most of the places I hike and backpack have tons of water but if I'm in the desert I'm much more conservative with my estimates and carry more than I think I'll need.

I look at weather station readings for the past few weeks and historic weather ranges when planning what gear I bring. I typically try to give myself a 10-15F safety buffer for daytime and sleep system. If there's going to be snow I'll choose from either micro-spikes, crampons or snowshoes and I may bring an ice axe.

For short trips I'll pack a 3200 mah battery brick, on longer trips I'll bring a larger 10,000 mah battery brick. Short trips get the CR123 powered headlamp but longer trips get the 18650 powered headlamp. If there's off trail route finding involved I may also bring a long throw 18650 powered flashlight.

If I'm with friends we'll plan ahead and typically reduce the redundant tools like knives, saws, etc to save weight and space. I make sure that everyone's phones are up to date with cached maps and that we each have USGS maps and compasses of the area we'll be in.

Once I have the gear selected I'll choose what pack can comfortable fit/haul it.

I do gear checks to make sure that everyone is properly prepared (I've had a few trips ruined because of lack of preparedness). I'll also suggest items to swap out or leave behind if someone overpacks.

On my last trip we had a small guy about my size but lighter whose pack was almost 60lbs. At our night before planning get together/bbq I told him to leave a bunch of stuff behind and lighten his load. I got him down to around 40lbs which was still way more than I wanted him to bring. For reference I was at 22lbs. The trip was very enjoyable for me but he struggled the entire time and was exhausted. At the end of our trip when we got back to the car I picked up his pack to load it and sure enough, he'd brought the entire 60lbs. He spent the next week in agony and is still recovering from some of the damage it did to his body.

I try to stay in shape year round but if I have a big trip coming up I'll ease up on the upper body stuff and put more time in on the trails and working my legs. A multi-day snowshoeing trip will be brutal and potentially not feasible unless I prepare for it and work up to it by doing a few short snowshoeing trips a week for a month or more leading up to the trip. As I age I've also found that stretching and foam rolling has become more and more essential in staying lose and pain free so I'll really concentrate on that prior to any big trips.

That's just a little off the top of my head, what all do guys do? Gear, food, etc considerations do you make?

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Trip Planning Tips