How I prepare for hiking trips.

Below are to-do lists that I use in the process of planning. These live in my Trello Travel Board, which I highly recommend creating if you are also crazy.

Lists to keep in your Trello Travel Board:

Broad planning for each trip:

• Feel free to copy and use my spreadsheet
• Make AllTrails list of hikes. See where they cluster. You’ll want to book hotels near those clusters. If you don’t, you might end up farther than you’d expect from hikes and waste time driving a long while each way.
• Google map beforehand to make sure the trip from hotel to trailheads isn’t too long.
• Google best times of year to go — average snow/month, temp/month, days of rainfall/month. Love this website for data.
• Check for any regular or special road closings
• Book flights/hotels together
• See if you need any special equipment — helmet, crampons, poles, water shoes, bear canisters, etc.
• Plan hikes for each day, and have backups nearby
• Book a car suitable for the terrain — if there’s a lot of offroading, take that into account
• Book bear spray if needed. Search to find out what kind of wildlife frequents the area and how you have to prepare
• Tell your credit cards that you’re traveling

Hotels: figure out what you want to check before you book. I like to have a mini or full kitchen because I’m a kosher vegetarian. It makes life a lot easier.

• Kitchen
• TV
• Wifi
• Breakfast
• Laundry (handy for longer hiking trips so I have to pack less)

Keep a massive packing list:

• Clothing
• Swimsuit
• Masks
• Toiletries
• Laptop + charger
• Phone charger + battery
• Headphones charger
• Car phone holder
• Backpack/gym bag
• Filtered water bottle and other water bottles [empty]
• Car USB converter
• Poles
• Hiking boots
• Hiking hat
• Gloves
• Crampons
• Water shoes
• Helmet
• Sun block
• Jacket
• Lip balm — it is DRY at high elevations
• Altitude pills
• Passport/IDs