Make a trip plan and turnaround rules

After this lesson you can write a one-page trip plan with four separate times, give a home contact clear instructions, and list the triggers that end a walk early.

What you need

A trail map for a park near you, the current forecast, a pencil, and a friend or family member to act as your home contact.

Four times

Write each one on its own line.

1. Departure. When you leave the trailhead.
2. Turnaround. The latest time you start back, even if the destination is close.
3. Expected return. When you plan to be back at the car.
4. Overdue action. When your home contact acts if they have not heard from you, and exactly what they do.

Turnaround is for the walkers. Overdue action is for the person at home. A real emergency is reported at once; nobody waits for the overdue time.

What goes on the plan

• Names of everyone in the group and a short description of what they are wearing
• Trailhead name, route and destination, using the names on the map
• Map name and date, and the park office phone number
• A shorter return route on established trails
• Stop triggers: thunder, a closure sign, illness, low water, losing track of the route, or anyone asking to stop

NPS advises letting a trusted contact know your plan and setting a turnaround time. Phone coverage often fails on trails, so the paper plan is what your contact uses.

Estimating time

Time a walk you already know. If your group covers 2 kilometers an hour on flat park trails, use that number, then add time for breaks and hills. Do not plan with a speed you have never walked.

Worked example

Two friends plan a 2.4-kilometer out-and-back trail. Their usual pace on similar trails is 2 kilometers an hour.

• Moving time: 2.4 ÷ 2 = 1.2 hours, or 72 minutes.
• They add 30 minutes for breaks and 30 for delays.
• Departure 9:00. Turnaround 10:00. Expected return 11:15. Overdue action 11:45: the contact calls the park office, then 911, and reads them the plan.

At 8:55 thunder starts. They cancel. When they get home, they text the contact "back safe" so the plan is closed.

Pack for the plan

Carry what the plan assumes: water for everyone, a printed map, a whistle, a light, a charged phone and a layer for weather. If the plan says you might wait for help, pack for waiting.

Practice

1. Pick a real trail in a park near you. Fill in all the plan fields.
2. Work out the four times from a pace you have actually walked.
3. Give the plan to your home contact. Ask them to find the trailhead on a map using only your sheet.
4. Fix anything they could not follow.

Expected result: a one-page plan your contact can use without asking you a question.

Self-check

Who uses the turnaround time, and who uses the overdue time?

The walkers use turnaround. The home contact uses overdue.

Should a real injury wait until the overdue time?

No. Call for help at once.

How does the plan end?

With a "back safe" message to the contact.

Keep for your binder

File the plan. Next lesson teaches you to read a topographic map.

Primary references

• NPS: Hike Smart
• NPS: Make an Emergency Plan