Planning Your Hiking Trip Part Two:

Preparations - Knowledge is Power

1. Know what trail you’re taking
You may have decided “I’m going to the Italian Dolomites” -- but there are several different trails up throughout the National Park, of varying length and steepness. Are you planning on doing the ALTA VIE ROUTES or connect several smaller excursions for a multiday vacation. Will you be doing an out-and-back up and down the same trail, or doing a loop where you descend down a different trail to the same trailhead departure point?

Make a plan using the resources from Part One, know the names of the trails if there are interconnecting ones you plan to take, and keep track of blaze colors if you are in an area that uses colored trail blazes. (Blazes are rectangles of paint or other markers on trees and rocks put up by trail maintainers to indicate where the trail is, and which trail you are on)

2. Trailhead location and access
Once you know what trail you’re taking, you’ll want to figure out the location of the trailhead. Some trailheads can be very crowded, so you may want to show up early for parking, or be aware you may need to park a distance away. Also, some backcountry trailheads are on seasonal roads that may be closed during certain times or day or times of year, meaning you may wind up hiking an extra mile or two along a dirt road just to get to the trail.

3. Trail length & elevation gain
How long is the route you’re taking? And what is the elevation gain? (Note: listed elevation for the hike typically refers to the highest point on the hike’s distance from sea level. Elevation gain specifically refers to the gain in elevation from the beginning of the hike to its highest point, since you often aren’t starting at sea level.) Keep in mind that the greater the elevation gain relative to the length of the hike, the steeper the trail will be and the more challenging the hike.

4. How difficult is the trail
Trail difficulty is hard to gauge precisely, since what is difficult is always going to be relative. Something that might be an easy trail by one person’s judgment may be extremely challenging to another. But there are some factors we can look at for what’s likely to make a trail more or less difficult to hike:

Steepness - determined by elevation gain / length. TrailsNH has a useful “hiking difficulty calculator" to help you get an idea of the overall grade of the trail based on these criteria: https://trailsnh.com/tools/hiking-difficulty.php
Terrain - is the ground flat gravel or full of rocks and tree roots? Does the trail description reference ‘scrambles’, ie, rocky areas where you will need to use your hands as well as your feet to climb up?
Trail Conditions - did it rain heavily yesterday, leaving the trail a slippery, muddy mess? Have there been landslides in the area? Did it snow at elevation?
Looking at the elevation gain and distance can help you determine steepness. Pictures of the trail and reviews may help you get an idea of the terrain. And there may be online hiking communities in your area that report on local trail conditions. (If you hike in the New England area, I recommend https://www.newenglandtrailconditions.com/ ). AllTrails also has a comment section where people sometimes leave useful trail reports with the date, so you can check to see if someone hiked it recently.

5. What is your expected hike duration?
Average human walking pace is about 3 miles an hour. But walking pace and hiking pace can be very different, depending on the trail difficulty -- you may find yourself hiking between 3mph and 1mph. A challenging trail will force you to move slower and more carefully, and you’ll probably want to take breaks -- both to catch your breath, and to enjoy the view!

There are a few different formulae out there for predicting hiking time. “Naismith's Rule” is 19.5 minutes per mile, plus 30 minutes for every 1000 feet of elevation gain, but this really only makes sense if you’re on a trail that has very smooth terrain. “Book time”, which is a bit better suited to rocky terrain like you’ll get on more backcountry trails, states “30 minutes per mile + 30 minutes per 1000 feet of elevation gain.” (Personally, in the White Mountains, I make it 45 minutes per 1000 feet of elevation). TrailsNH has a slightly more involved calculator that factors in overall pace, terrain, and the weight of your pack: https://trailsnh.com/tools/hiking-time-calculator.php . (Note that none of these factor in "snacking time", which is an egregious oversight in my opinion.)

If you’re new to hiking, always err on the side of giving yourself more time than you expect to need, until you get to know your own pace! And be sure to give yourself extra time to enjoy the wilderness without stress.

6. What’s the forecast?
Always look up the weather before you hike! Hikers are far more likely to die of exposure than of bear attacks or whatever else you may think is a threat in backcountry. Pay attention to temperature (extreme heat and extreme cold are both dangerous), humidity (humid days will have you sweating more, so you will need more water), wind speed + wind chill (especially if you’re hiking in exposed areas -- wind is a killer above treeline), and precipitation (you’re at greater risk of hypothermia, even in mild temperatures, if you’re wet). The weather conditions will impact the trail conditions, impact your own physical tolerance, and dictate what you need to bring if you do go hiking, or whether you should even be hiking at all.

There may be different weather concerns depending on where you’re hiking. If you’re hiking in the mountains, you’ll want to make sure you know what the weather is at summit, not just at the base of a trail. It may be 80ºF down in the valley, but below freezing at the top of the mountain. On the other hand, if you’re hiking at low elevation, especially if you’re hiking in a canyon, you’ll want to pay close attention to flash flood warnings.

Useful forecasting tools:

https://forecast.weather.gov/ - NOAA weather forecast, offers detailed hourly weather forecasts
https://www.mountain-forecast.com/ - provides forecasts for mountain summits (including windchill, wind speed, and wind direction)

Before you leave for your hike:
Plan your departure time. Know when sunset is, how long you project your hike to take, and how long it will take to get to the trailhead. Give yourself an ample buffer in case you underestimated your hike duration, and working backwards, plan to leave early enough that you will be done with your hike and back to your car well before the sun goes down so you aren’t stuck blundering through treacherous terrain in the dark (more on this in the next part where we talk about gear!).
Check the weather forecast once again the night before, AND the morning of! Weather can be volatile. If conditions change and become unfavorable, don’t be afraid to reschedule your hike. You cannot outrun mother nature. Numerous people -- including seasoned hikers -- have died in the White Mountains (where I hike) from failing to adequately check the forecasts and getting trapped in deadly weather. There’s no shame in bailing out at the last minute if conditions are just plain bad.

Notify someone reliable in your life of:
Where you are hiking
What trail(s)/route you are taking
How long you expect to take
When to worry and call for help if they haven’t heard from you or can’t get hold of you
Stick to the plan you’ve communicated once you start your hike! If you are injured or lost and don’t have the ability to call for help (dead phone battery, no service, etc.), you will want someone who will recognize that you’re overdue and can call for the authorities to tell them where to look. The sooner someone knows you’re missing, the sooner Search & Rescue teams can be deployed to help you.