Hello everyone, first post here!
Hmm. Welcome Kyle! and while some may disagree with me, congrats one one of the better thought out first posts I've seen in a long time. You sound like you've put some thought into this a lot more than many who just figure they'll take some gear into the bush for an extended 4:20 break.
My name is Kyle, I am 18 years wise (Hardly wise) and have been backpacking since I was about 10 years of age, so I have a little bit of experience. I am attempting to get together a group for backpacking the "Bruce Peninsula" trail, known as "The Bruce" I have done it once before so I am familiar with the terrain and dangers (Including an encounter with a black bear). So I know what to expect, so long as we stick to a trail. The trip is designed with beginners in mind and is meant for the people who have never backpacked before that are coming long. My only issue is that 90% of the people coming are people I do not personally (Friends of friends) know or people who concern me being on such a trip. I am only inviting people I can trust, but I can't say so much for other people.
The majority of the people, being teenagers I am expecting there to be rowdiness and perhaps a little bit of drinking or smoking marijuana to occur; of course given the area (Cliff's and drinking don't match) I want to try to keep it to a minimum. I don't want to exclude people from the trip, but at the same time I don't want anyone getting hurt. So I have compiled the following solutions.
A: Four selected, experienced backpackers trained in First Aid, CPR etc. Two at the front and two at the back of the group with walkie talkies; this would help minimize the risk of someone wandering off the trail and help keep a sort of pack mentality between the forward and rear lines. Also provides leaders for each side of the group, front will adjust their speed according to the rear lines.
B: In the same token, have a selected group leader per tent section (every 2-3 tents have one leader) to watch over the people, must be responsible, not drink nor smoke. Will be required to carry a flashlight, flares and whistle. Is in charge of maintaining their group in one section of the site and not allowing anyone to wander. Makes sure their groups food is all hung up and that their cooking and cleaning their ware's properly.
C: Two main hike leaders, experienced backpackers whose main purpose is to supervise the entire group and watch for any kind of unsafe activity.
A few idea's I have come up with so far, before the Hike I also want to have a larger group discussion outlining basic rules and stuff, safety issues that we may have. Only reason I want the stuff to be so rigid (not trying to ruin fun, allowing as much as I can) is because many of these people are first time backpackers who are unaware of the many dangers they cannot see; the fact that we are going to be hiking near cliffs and I want to minimize injuries or sickness; also no deaths as a personal preference. Does anyone have any ideas? Or comments to my ideas?
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It sounds like you are thinking it though, and I commend your efforts to think about it ahead of time and keep everyone safe and have fun - so first off, you're miles ahead of many young groups who hit the trails just from my seeeing this post of yours.
Here's a few general suggestions:
0) Consider a "break in trip" of a day in and out before starting a multi day trip - you could pick a short in and out to test both the people, their gear, and the personalities. I know you don't want to exclude people, but you should bear in mind that if somone who you don't completely know is going to be a real jerk, or is horrendously equipped, or has a totally incompatible attitude with the rest of the group - take a leading role and just say no. A good time to do this would be after an initial "test run" before you start the "real" hike. You may not have to say no to someone, but believe me you're better off having the guts to do it than
put up with days of someone making everyone miserable, and while you might get called some names about doing it, consider the rest of the group and many may actually thank you if you have the guts to do it,
perhaps after some discussion with the other experienced members of your group that you trust.
1) watch out when the group gets spread out. Your "tail end charlies" need to make sure they don't potentially push slow hikers too much, or push people with feet problems. You will have them. your experienced people at the front need to deliberatly hike slower than their optimum pace, because many w ill think it's a race - you should have this discussion with your experienced people too, because many may even unconciously think it's fun or manly to show how much they can hike the rest of the group into the ground - so plan and stick to a very easy itinerary <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
2) bring plenty of blister pads and stop and check feet once an hour on the first couple days. newbies will "tough it out" rather than put on a blister pad turning something you can deal with into a potentially big problem when halfway down the trail and walking on hamburger. Make sure everyone has good socks and comfortable proper footwear.
3) Check packweight at the start. while weed is a lot more weight efficient than booze, many will be tempted to bring a lot of booze, and the result can be giant heavy packs that will make the experience not good.
4) Plan on having a bailout option on day 1 (and other days if possible) if you have a large group if you can do it. ensure that someone is ready to go back to an extra vehicle at your starting trailhead, and perhaps drive it to the end of your hike and camp out to wait for the group, or back to town. It's easier than taking someone the whole way whose feet or gear or mental state isn't going to handle it. Since this may be *likely* you should take one of your experienced responsible people who *plans on not completing the hike*. who is just gonna go in and out to the first campsite or two, and then walk back to drive back to town or meet you at the end. I have personally done this with big groups going with an experienced person to do something gnarly. I didn't feel like snowshoeing up a mountain, so I was the backstop guy at low camp, walked in early, had a nice solo night to myself, dayhiked the next day. met the group, and took the people that it was going to be a bit much for on a little alternative, then out.
5) you've talked about managing the "fun" and "rowdiness" - and like anything in moderation I think it's fine. - just remember that if you're in sites with other backpackers they will not appreciate rowdiness late into the night, so try to respect everyone else while still having fun. Remember many are out there for peace and quiet so choose your campsites appropriately, and your "quiet down and mellow out" time appropriately. Having said that, if you're thinking this far ahead you're probably gonna be fine.
If cell phones work take a couple and turn 'em off unless you need 'em. If you had a PLB with that group it'd be great, but I don't know of anyplace that rents them yet in canada, and they're expensive <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Have fun, don't get hurt, and don't make anyone else have a bad hike. Them's the basics.
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