Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club
Guide to Planning a Trip


well equipped
The well-equipped Arizona hiker.
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Hot Tips for Campers
Lessons Learned
How to Plan a Trip
  1. Decide where you want to lead a hike.
        There are many on-line resources, including our own Hike Arizona page and our Outdoor Links page.
        The first hike you lead should be one that you have done before. Think about how many miles you want to go, how much climbing, what time you should be at the trailhead, etc.

  2. Choose or compose a hike description.
        For examples see our on-line Calendar of Events. If it’s a hike the club has already done, there may be an existing hike description which you can simply update. The webmaster knows, and can usually help you fill in the missing details.

  3. Set the date.
        Check the Calendar for open dates. Most of our hikes are on weekends, usually on Saturday.

  4. Email your announcement to the AZHC .
        Day hike announcements are sent out early on the week of the hike. Camping trips are announced one or two months ahead of time.

  5. Keep a list of people who plan to go.
        Name, phone, email address.
        Some of our leaders use an Excel spreadsheet, but paper is O.K.

  6. Meet your hikers and sign them in.
        Make sure everybody signs the Trip Release Form and gets to make their voluntary contributions of $1/member or $3/non-member. Arrange car-pooling and give them directions to the trailhead. For directions en route, you can send 2-way radios in the cars. Provide maps for the drivers if need be.

  7. After the hike, mail the Treasurer a check for the donations.
        Your filled-out Trip Release Form goes in the notebook in the club backpack. Arrange for the next hike leader to receive the backpack from you.

  8. Email your words and pictures to the AZHC webmaster for the trip report.
        Our friendly Webmaster will format them in HTML for the Arizona Trailblazers web page. You’ll get to review the report on line before it is released.
updated September 7, 2011 © Copyright 2011 by the Arizona Trailblazers Hiking Club