Trip planning is an art in its purest form. It's not just making sure you know your route or have your bag pack with what you need, rather it's the art of designing your next adventure!
When planning your next outing we first look at where we're going and how long we are planning to be gone. This can be broken down into two categories;
stationary and
mobile. When planning a stationary trip we need to look at things like, where available camp sites are located at, availability and cost, rules and regulations of the site, restrictions, amenities if any, and recreation opportunities. A good example of a stationary trip would be tent camping in a national park. We would need to locate what designated campsite we could stay at, how much it would cost to stay there or to buy a reservation there, when quiet hours are, are pets aloud? Number or tents aloud in a space? Are there bathrooms or showers? And how accessible are the other trails and sites of the national park from this location.
Once we have those basics figured out about where we're going we need to look at how long we're going to be there, and how long will it take us to get there both coming and going. This will help us better plan out how much time we will have for activities once we're there and allow us to plan what things we want to spend that time doing. Next we need to look at food and water. Did the aforementioned amenities cover water? If not, we need to bring enough for the trip. A good rule of thumb is 2-3 gallons per person per day. This Covers for hygiene, cooking, and drinking. I've personally found this works well if I'm bringing large hard plastic gallon water jugs but you could also purchase what we call a "Blue-y"
here that holds all you water in one location and makes it easy to pour out. As far as food, bring what you want to and what you will actually eat. No use packing healthy if you're just gonna stock up on snickers bars in the visitor center. Just make sure you bring a cooler if you have perishables and containers that seal air tight so as not to attract critters into your camp at night. And if the campsite you're staying at has bear boxes, please use them. Its much better for a bear to break the camp's box then into your car.
Next let's look at medical possibilities and safety. Is there a accessible hospital relatively close by? Could life flight get you out if you were badly hurt? Will you even have a cell signal to call someone if you get injured? If not, take more extensive medical gear with you and invite that father-in-law whose a LPN nurse on your trip, and possibly invest in a
satellite phone. If you have perfect service, a hospital is accessible, and your father-in-law is still coming anyways you can probably get away with a basic first aid kit and some blister pads. Just make sure when you're planning a trip you take into account any medications you have to take on a regular basis or any prescribed as-needed medications. Too many times have i gone out camping with friends and family and someone has forgotten their medications at home.
Always leave a "flight plan" or a detailed plan of your trip with someone back home. Make sure to include a basic itinerary of what you plan to do, possible check in times, and when to expect you back, as well as a "send the cavalry" cut off point in case something happens. Also, just use common sense and pack accordingly. Don't bring a winter parka in the summer if it's 100 degrees, and don't bring a summer sleeping bag if the night temp will be in the 30's. One good way of testing your sleeping bag to see if it's going to be warm enough is to sleep in it in your back yard at home. This way, if you get too cold or too hot at night you can pull the "rip-cord" and go inside. I've done this with sleeping bags before I've gone out on trips and its helped me determine if I've chosen the right bag for the trip. Even still, the campsite you're going to may be warmer or colder than your home so use your best judgement. Be safe and use your head.
With all that laid out for planning our stationary trip let's now look at planning a mobile one. A mobile trip can be a bit more tricky because you have to plan all of your gear out more. Usually you will only have what's packed in a bag, be that a backpack or a saddle bag or a dry bag. For this example we'll use a basic backpacking trip. We need to look at the route we plan on doing and how long we have to do it in. So pull out your map, compass, ruler, and string and figure out as accurately as you can the total distance of your route. Is it a 25 miles loop? Then 2 days for an experienced backpacker should be fine, 3 for a less experienced one, and 1 for a really good backpacker. Is there any major elevation gains to slow you down or other obstacles? If so you may want to add extra time to overcome them. Also, if the route isn't a loop, do you have some plan to get back to your car once you've completed the trail? And what will the weather be like on this outing in this specific location? I know I love to go up to the high Uinta mountains here in Utah, but where the rest of the state may be 85 degrees up there we could get snow flurries the same day.
Do we have the necessary gear to keep us safe? A good medical kit, a survival kit, proper clothing, a Bic lighter at least? Once we have that covered let's look at our sleeping arrangements. If you're planning on staying the night, choosing items that will give you the best night sleep you can possibly have is crucial. Make sure you have a really great sleeping bag, or wool blanket, and a good sleeping pad. If not I still say take something that can help you get through the night if needed. I take a wool blanket rolled up even if it's just a day outing. And don't forget your bear bag to hang your food! A bar's growl isn't s great lullaby, trust me. Now it's your choice, but I recommend a side arm or bear spray, just in case you have a run in with a wild beast that doesn't think you should be in that particular neck of the woods. As with any gear though it does you absolutely no good if you don't know how to use it. So that bear spray or that survival kit may look really cool in the catalog, but its dead weight if you haven't the faintest idea on how to work it.
Next, do we have enough calories for the trip and water? Most backpacking type food needs to be cooked with water, so will there be streams along the way we can filter water from? If not, that pack is going to be getting heavy very quickly. I recommend a good pump filter like the
Katadyn brand, or at least a
LifeStraw.
Also, do we have tools that can help us along the way? A map and compass or gps to keep us on target, and a chopping tool or saw to help us process wood if we are planning on having a fire, a way to cook our food on that fire, a flashlight or lantern for the dark nights? A medical kit in case of injury? And this is a personal note but I like to bring a book along with me to read at night. Find out the restrictions of the are if any, such as if fires are banned so do I need to bring a stove? Can I bring my dog? Do I need to pack out my own poop?(yes this is a real thing)
Once you have all these details hashed out, test your gear. How does the gear ride on your back when you walk 4 or five times around the block? How do those boots on your feet feel? Unsure that sleeping bag is gonna cut it? Go sleep a night in your backyard and test it. If it's too cold out there you can always come back inside and try a different bag the next night. That's a nice new axe you got, but do you know how to use it? If not ask a friend to show you one evening after work. Take a basic map and compass course at your local REI to make sure you can navigate. Once you feel you have all the details down, leave your flight plan with someone and get excited about your next trip!
And always remember a toothbrush and a comb!
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