PLANNINg
PLANNING
How to get your first trips on your calendar.
Planning is usually not seen as the most exciting of tasks. But, when it is about putting new adventures on the calendar, count me in. I like to think of plans as big, medium and small. There are the grand plans-”I am going to spend the year taking trips every weekend.” and the medium-”Let me put this month’s bucket list of weekend hikes on the calendar” and small-”Where are we going this weekend?” If you are like me, it is a challenge to plan beyond 6 months. If you can, then more power to you. I find that beyond 6 months, it is really hard to know what the world will bring to us, what we will be feeling and doing. But I think anyone can plan a month or two forward.
Unexpected spontaneous trips are fun but if it is
about really making a change, I highly recommend that
you put pen to paper or calendar and get planning.
If you want to be really organized, get a wall calendar, preferably one with great outdoor photos, and a daily desktop flip calendar ideally with important outdoor facts and photos to keep you inspired, and a desktop planner as well as a small handheld planner to take with everywhere. Of course, you can double up by putting all of this in your online calendar of choice-How fun is it to get a reminder on Thursday for your trip to Joshua Tree on the weekend! Honestly though, I am old school and love to flip through my pocket calendar with all the upcoming trips whenever I have am stuck waiting in line or on the subway.
If you can, pick up some travel books such as 100 Hikes of a Lifetime by Kate Siber for inspiration. If you buy it online, try out the independent bookstore Bookshop.org. If you are like me and you love bookstores, try Skylight Books in Los Feliz in LA. They have a great selection of books on hiking in California. You can also pick a more focused informational book related to the area that you will be exploring such as the Dog Friendly book Best Dog Hikes in Northern California, available at REI where they have a huge selection of hiking books. If you want more book tips, I have compiled a number of book lists including Essential Inspirational Travel Books, Hiking Guides, and Wilderness Safety Guides. You can find those HERE. For more inspiration, it is also fun to listen to relevant podcasts. A list of really great podcasts with an outdoor focus is HERE.
Outside Magazine has a great podcast channel with thrilling, well written stories from the outdoors. I highly recommend their magazine and their website for great information from the pros. It is important to learn how to stay safe as you venture outdoors. Frankly, reading about what can go wrong is sometimes the best way to insure that things go right. One example of this is an Outdoor Magazine article about Mt. Baldy.
