Hike Planning

Hike Planning

Hiking Trip Plan

A trip plan prepares you for the challenges of a hike. Take a copy of your trip plan with you and leave one with your parents or other adult. The parts of a trip plan are:

Hiking Trip Plan (pdf) 


Naismith's Rule

The Naismith's rule is a rule of thumb was devised by William W. Naismith, a Scottish mountaineer, in 1892.

This rule can be tailed to your crew based on load, terrain and ability of individual Scouts and Adults.

Kinds of Hiking

If you think hiking just means following a trail around your favorite Scout camp, think again. There are all sorts of hikes you can take.

Long Distance Hiking Technique

Long distance hiking requires a buildup/trainup.  Don't expect new Scouts to be able to handle a super long hike without any previous experience, regardless of how motivated they are.  A big part of having a successful long distance outing is to plan ahead and have several   up sessions.  This will iron out many wrinkles and test to see which Scout are going to be ready for the "big" outing. 

There are also techniques to hiking that should be learned to improve long distance treks. 

Taken from Special Forces Assessment and Selection Handbook:

Source: goarmysof.army.mil