1st Time Trail Leader

[MOAK]

The time has finally come for me to put money where mouth is. Years ago I wanted to move west and as a part time encore career become a part time tour guide working for some one like NAVTEC. 4 years ago I promised my wife that we would not leave her octogenarian parents to fend for themselves, so the move did not happen. That's not to say it will not happen, it just isn't in the cards right now. I also said to her,, "hey, no worries, someday a tour guide will be needed right here in our own back yard". Well, that time has come. This Thursday morning I'll be leading a small group of overlanders through the dense forests of central Pennsylvania. We've been exploring the area for nearly 25 years so as far as trail knowledge and lay of the land, I'm OK. I also have a nice route picked out mixing up common forest roads with unmaintained "4x4" access only roads. Nothing hard core, a stock 4Runner would have no problem. I've read and re-read the "10 qualities of a Trail leader" at the adventureportal.com and Im good with 10 of 10. I can check 9 out of 10 of Bill Burke's questions. However, I'm still a bit nervous as I've never done this before. What the heck do you talk about on a CB? My very dry humor may just dry up really fast.. Nonetheless, any of you experienced guys have any firsthand advice? Thanks in advance !!

 

[Tank]

I’m not experienced in being a trail leader. However, just last night I got on YouTube and viewed a couple of Ronny Dahl’s segments on being a trail leader. And, he does talk about communicating through out the group. Sounds like a great run!

 

[MOAK]

I’m not experienced in being a trail leader. However, just last night I got on YouTube and viewed a couple of Ronny Dahl’s segments on being a trail leader. And, he does talk about communicating through out the group. Sounds like a great run!

Ronny, Andrew and Roothy are a plethora of great ideas, information & entertainment. But I am sometimes in need of sub-titles for Ronny and Roothy (lol).. However, I find I am drawn more to Andrew as his view of the outback travel is more in alignment with my own, ie, my wife and I usually travel alone and live for those multiple moments of serenity that one can experience when far away from society and it's material trappings. Communications? Absolutely. Beforehand, and on the trail. I'll be composing my final e-mail to the group this morning. I'm just hoping I'm leading a lot more Andrews than Roothys (ha!) That being said, I must confine myself to being a simple trail leader, not an outback guru, or maybe, depends on the groups willingness to open up. I ramble, and welcome any thoughts.

 

[Michael]

The time has finally come for me to put money where mouth is. Years ago I wanted to move west and as a part time encore career become a part time tour guide working for some one like NAVTEC. 4 years ago I promised my wife that we would not leave her octogenarian parents to fend for themselves, so the move did not happen. That's not to say it will not happen, it just isn't in the cards right now. I also said to her,, "hey, no worries, someday a tour guide will be needed right here in our own back yard". Well, that time has come. This Thursday morning I'll be leading a small group of overlanders through the dense forests of central Pennsylvania. We've been exploring the area for nearly 25 years so as far as trail knowledge and lay of the land, I'm OK. I also have a nice route picked out mixing up common forest roads with unmaintained "4x4" access only roads. Nothing hard core, a stock 4Runner would have no problem. I've read and re-read the "10 qualities of a Trail leader" at the adventureportal.com and Im good with 10 of 10. I can check 9 out of 10 of Bill Burke's questions. However, I'm still a bit nervous as I've never done this before. What the heck do you talk about on a CB? My very dry humor may just dry up really fast.. Nonetheless, any of you experienced guys have any firsthand advice? Thanks in advance !!

Hi @MOAK That is awesome! I'm glad to see you taking folks out - you will do great! Some thoughts...

Before the trip:

• Out of respect to everyone, I always let people know, we roll like a cruise ship, meaning, "Wheels Rolling" at 9:00AM means 9:00 AM. Not walk to your truck at 9:00AM, but wheels rolling at 9:00AM. I do it with a sense of humor, but, "ever been left at the doc by your cruise ship" usually gets a couple chuckles, and gets the point across. I find folks are usually on-the-dot.
• Be clear about 4WD or not, or any vehicle requirements.
• Be clear about previsions - do they need to be completely self reliant or will you be serving spaghetti sandwiches?

During the trip:

• Do a drivers meeting in a circle before you roll out.
• Be reassuring, "no ones in a hurry", and "we're here to help" - take it slow.
• Ask who's a beginner and thank anyone who raises a hand for there transparency and make them feel welcome. Assign a person to help out - another experienced driver.
• Establish comm channels and also add - if all else fails, lay on the horn. If anyone hears a horn, they should also honk, saying, "I heard a horn".
• Tell everyone to keep the car behind you in the rear view, and if you lose sight, stop.
• Assign an experienced "Caboose" or "Tail Gunner" at the back of the pack. That person should be knowledgeable, and have good comm broadcast capability to reach you, presumably at the front.
• Do a rig count! Make sure all drivers know if there are 12 or 14 or 9 rigs in the party.

I'm sure I am forgetting some basics - but those are the real-world things I've learned that sometimes get forgotten.

M

 

[MOAK]

Hi @MOAK That is awesome! I'm glad to see you taking folks out - you will do great! Some thoughts...

Before the trip:

• Out of respect to everyone, I always let people know, we roll like a cruise ship, meaning, "Wheels Rolling" at 9:00AM means 9:00 AM. Not walk to your truck at 9:00AM, but wheels rolling at 9:00AM. I do it with a sense of humor, but, "ever been left at the doc by your cruise ship" usually gets a couple chuckles, and gets the point across. I find folks are usually on-the-dot.
• Be clear about 4WD or not, or any vehicle requirements.
• Be clear about previsions - do they need to be completely self reliant or will you be serving spaghetti sandwiches?

During the trip:

• Do a drivers meeting in a circle before you roll out.
• Be reassuring, "no ones in a hurry", and "we're here to help" - take it slow.
• Ask who's a beginner and thank anyone who raises a hand for there transparency and make them feel welcome. Assign a person to help out - another experienced driver.
• Establish comm channels and also add - if all else fails, lay on the horn. If anyone hears a horn, they should also honk, saying, "I heard a horn".
• Tell everyone to keep the car behind you in the rear view, and if you lose sight, stop.
• Assign an experienced "Caboose" or "Tail Gunner" at the back of the pack. That person should be knowledgeable, and have good comm broadcast capability to reach you, presumably at the front.
• Do a rig count! Make sure all drivers know if there are 12 or 14 or 9 rigs in the party.

I'm sure I am forgetting some basics - but those are the real-world things I've learned that sometimes get forgotten.

M

Thanks Micheal, everything you mentioned has been, and will be discussed at the drivers meeting, self sufficiency, 4x4, CBs are required, safety gear, extraction equipment, safety kit, etc etc. (it's a TLCA event so many rules & regulations are not only implied, but written as well) even so. I'll be talking personal and vehicle safety, a lot. Except, and I hadn't thought of it, asking if anyone is a beginner. That is a very important point, and that person will be my best friend for the 3 day journey. 8 rigs in the party. I've been chosen to be the caboose on many runs over the past few years so I'll be making a wise choice on that, or trade things around a bit after I get to know everyones abilites. Smiles and good natured chuckles go a lot futher than frowning. On time all the time..

 

[Jim SoG]

Michael I love what you posted for help/ideas, if I could see or figure out how to quote you I would have....LOL
Another thing to ask is if anyone has any medical issues I need to know about...Say diabetic who needs to eat by noon or whatever....Always good to get all the info you can and God forbid a guy drops and you aint got a clue of possible issues.

Jim

 

[brien]

@Michael's list is spot on. I'll also add a few things I always do when I am leading a run:

ROUTING

• Research and plan your route ahead of time. If the route has not been driven in-person for a considerable amount of time, also plan some backup routes. (Where i'm at, it's not uncommon to get pretty far down a trail and then hit a locked gate that was unlocked last year)
• If you are able to, load your pre-planned route into your GPS device/software. When you are out on the trails you can follow the line and hopefully avoid missing turns. It is very frustrating when a leader misses a turn and forces everybody to have to turn around or back out. Sometimes that's not an easy feat, especially on narrow mountainside trails.
• Research points of interest ahead of time, and mark their locations. Load waypoints into your GPS if you are able to. Point them out over the radio or stop to allow people to experience them. Most of the runs i lead here go through land with a ton of history, historic graves, ghost towns, ruins, vista points, mines, etc. I typically scour old USGS maps looking for them and marking waypoints on my route.

COMMUNICATION

• Announce turns over the radio. For major turns or possibly hard to see turn offs, also ask your tail gunner over the radio to confirm when they also make the turn.
• Announce any obstacles and if there is a bypass, clearly announce "Obstacle on the left, bypass on the right", etc. If you know the limitations of an obstacle, announce those, too, something like "I would recommend taking the bypass if you don't have a locker".
• Announce any points of interest you have researched when you were doing your routing.
• AVOID Conversations on the comms channel when leading a larger group. I've been on some runs where the leader and another guy will get in these long conversations with each other over the common comms, it always leads to that awkward feeling like when you are out to dinner with somebody and then they answer a phone call and leave everybody else there one the sidelines. Not a great feeling to leave your "guests" with. It also hogs up the comms and could make it difficult for somebody else to announce a problem or a need. (You mention "a small group" so this one may not apply to you. I regularly have conversations on the comms frequency if our group is only 3 or 4 vehicles)

GENERAL

• If you will be eating a meal on the trail, like lunch, try to have a good spot pre-selected where you know all the vehicles will fit and be safely off-trail. Obvious bonus points if the picnic spot has an awesome view or some other point of interest.
• On longer runs make sure to have regular stops so people can stretch their legs, take a bio brake, and just hang out with each other. They don't have to be super long, just 5-15 minutes. ANNOUNCE ON THE RADIO before the stop exactly how long the stop will be, stick to that time to the best of your ability. You could even shout a "FIVE MINUTE WARNING" toward the end of longer stops.
• If there are any obstacles that you know are particularly tricky, don't wait for people to ask for a spotter, just ask people to wait, go through, park out of the way, and then come back and spot everybody through (or designate a spotter).
  
• Re: Points of Interest - if you know some interesting fact or history about any particular place or thing, announce it over the radio or as you are stopped and enjoying it. I know at least down here in Baja Arizona, we all tend to geek out pretty well on mine or ghost town historic information, so people appreciate it when i say things like "this used to be called the such and such mine, they employed 8000 people and mined copper out of here up until 1908" or "Believe it or not, this ghost town used to be the biggest city between Chicago and San Francisco up until 1897".

Have fun! Let us know how it went when you get back!

 

[Jim SoG]

Brien, all very excellent points! Love the "Baja Arizona", makes me smile......

Jim

 

[MOAK]

wow, what a great experience. After I learned that every one of the members of my group were experienced continental travelers, with two of them having even been to the land of Oz, I was a bit concerned that they might have found the back woods of Pennsylvania kinda boring... My concern was obliterated after our first run down a rickety unmaintained forest road. I recieved a big hug from one of the ladies, and lots of "wows" and "how cool was that!" On our last morning before packing out, my new friend put it into perspective for me during his interviewing me for his blog sight on our last morning before bugging out. "Moak, you have lost perspective on how beautiful it is right in your own back yard" and he was correct. Since traveling west as often as we have done, I did loose my perspective. This trip, leading a group of uber experienced world travelers through my own back yard, has renewed my appreciation of my back yard.. I'm looking forward to doing it again...

 

[Tank]

Great times with great people. It doesn’t get any better then that! Thanks for sharing your post run thoughts. It sure sounds like you are a natural trail boss!


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Jim SoG]

wow, what a great experience. After I learned that every one of the members of my group were experienced continental travelers, with two of them having even been to the land of Oz, I was a bit concerned that they might have found the back woods of Pennsylvania kinda boring... My concern was obliterated after our first run down a rickety unmaintained forest road. I recieved a big hug from one of the ladies, and lots of "wows" and "how cool was that!" On our last morning before packing out, my new friend put it into perspective for me during his interviewing me for his blog sight on our last morning before bugging out. "Moak, you have lost perspective on how beautiful it is right in your own back yard" and he was correct. Since traveling west as often as we have done, I did loose my perspective. This trip, leading a group of uber experienced world travelers through my own back yard, has renewed my appreciation of my back yard.. I'm looking forward to doing it again...

What blog?
Jim

 

[MOAK]

Here I go shamelessly pushing a new friends podcast.
http://toyotatrucksandtrails.com/

 

[Jim SoG]

No, I asked....LOL

 

[Overlandllama]

MOAK,

I’m working on a route for PA trip in September. I typically build these on my own as it’s half the adventure dealing with closed or impassible trails, however, would you have recommended routes you’d be willing to share. Trying to find roads and trails with some challenge to the rig and to test out some gear for about 2-3 days total. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Orion