Hiking the Trail with a group of people is a great way to strengthen camaraderie and get to know new people completely. The person at the Lead has a very important role in keeping the group together, safe and high in spirits.
Here are some important roles that a good trail leader should have.
1. Keep an Eye for the Trail Markers
Most trails are either marked with ribbons or crossed leaves/branches to help hikers stay on the trail, as well as avoid trampling vegetation and getting lost.
A good hiking leader knows what trail markers to look for and keeps a mental note of when they saw the last one. If the trail starts to get sketchy or it’s unclear where it leads next, the leader should stop and think back to when they saw the last trail marker.
If you can see another marker ahead, try to head straight towards it. It’s also possible you missed a turn and might need to head back to the last marker you saw to find the trail again.
Keeping track of the trail markers you pass may seem like a mundane task, but it’s one of the most important tasks the hiking leader has.
Often, people walking behind you will just follow in your footsteps, without looking up or really having much sense of where they’re going.
That's why we at Team Una encourages getting a local guide for a sound and hassle-free hike.
2. Stop at Trail Junctions and River Crossings
Any time the trail forks or presents multiple paths, it’s very important that you wait for everyone in your group to catch up before continuing on with the trail.
The most common way that groups get split up and hikers end up lost is when they’re too spread out to see each other and end up taking different paths at the same junction.
3. Keeping the Team Informed
A good trail leader knows what lies ahead, and keeps the group well-informed so everyone knows what to expect. Does it get steeper? How far is it to the next water source? What are the terrains to expect? Screening of participants must always be practiced, for a major hike I dont recommend newbies to join such an event unless that person is a marathoner or an elite athtlete.
Even if you’ve never hiked this trail before, you can answer a lot of those questions by doing some serious research. It’s a good idea to consult blogs ahead of time to see what people have said about the trail in general.
4. Manage the Group's Pacing
There’s a common saying among hikers that you should “hike your own hike” (HYOH). Part of that means setting a pace you are comfortable with and sticking with it.
But if you are the lead hiker, it’s important to recognize how your pace impacts everyone else’s pace, and in turn, affects how they all feel about the hike.
If you’re going too fast, some people will try to keep up with you, pushing their heart rate up higher than they’d like, which will wear them down more quickly. They’ll struggle more over steep terrain and need to take longer breaks to feel comfortable.
Other people will see you getting further ahead and get discouraged. As you start to disappear down the trail ahead of them, they’ll start to check out and their pace may slow even more as they feel left behind.
Alternatively, hiking too slowly can cause people to get jammed up behind you and frustrated. It also makes the hike take longer, which can have an impact on morale if you’re not making good progress towards your group’s goal.
As the trail leader, it’s important to recognize even the slight differences in speed between hikers which can have a big impact over the course of several hours and can potentially create lots of frustration in the process.
Be willing to adjust your pace and hike towards the middle or rear of the group if you sense that the pace is causing people’s enthusiasm for the hike to wane.
During our descend from Mt Mcdo, I adjusted my pacing so that none of my groupmates will be left behind. It's more difficult to look for a missing teammate in the midst of a densely populated jungle most especially when darkness sets in.
5. Set Expectations When Taking Breaks
Whenever the group agrees to stop, it’s a great idea to quickly establish how long the break will be so that everyone is on the same page.
As s coordinator for some time, I usually try to establish whether the break will be:
2 Minutes - For grabbing a snack or water, or putting raincoat/ponchos
5 Minutes - Bathroom breaks, enjoying a quick view
30 Minutes - Making a meal, enjoying the summit, tend to first aid
If you don’t set expectations, people end up sitting around not knowing if they have time to take care of something, and then getting cold and anxious.
For longer breaks, I also like to give a “2-minute warning” before we start hiking again so that people know that now’s the time to grab that last handful of trail mix and start packing their bag back up.
Make sure you stop for enough time that the person in the back has all the time they need to rest, take some trail food and take care of issues as well. I usually give 3-5 minutes for the last person to arrive depending on the steepness of the ascend or difficulty of the trail.
It's Not About Being the Fastest Hiker
If you’re the lead, it’s especially important to know how your decision-making can impact the rest of the group. What's more important is to ensure that all of your teammates are safe to descend back to jump off.
Taking ownership of the group can go a long way to make new hikers more at ease, earn their trust and most especially their respect.
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