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GaryM
04-09-2018, 15:31
I try to include my friends when I hike. Some get really excited and want to go but it seems that most back out at the last moment. This has been very educational to me.
So, how many here experience the same? Ever have someone all excited to go but for some reason they just can't make it?

George
04-09-2018, 15:43
for meet up group hikes the standard is 1/3 no shows - that is after those who have actually unregistered

john844
04-09-2018, 15:48
I like the company and will try to include friends, but have experienced the same thing as you.

I now look at my invites as courtesy invites and don't expect them to actually show up. I let them know what time I am starting the hike and if they are running late to get in touch with me. I don't wait for them unless they directly ask me to, or unless I know they will show up.

devoidapop
04-09-2018, 15:55
I like the company and will try to include friends, but have experienced the same thing as you.

I now look at my invites as courtesy invites and don't expect them to actually show up. I let them know what time I am starting the hike and if they are running late to get in touch with me. I don't wait for them unless they directly ask me to, or unless I know they will show up.

Same here. I invite my friends but when they opt out I'm not upset, since I like being in the woods alone anyway.

perrymk
04-09-2018, 15:56
for meet up group hikes the standard is 1/3 no shows - that is after those who have actually unregistered

Your meetup group has a much higher participation rate than mine. I'm lucky if anyone shows up.

Tipi Walter
04-09-2018, 15:58
Are you talking about Dayhiking treks or backpacking treks??

GaryM
04-09-2018, 16:02
Are you talking about Dayhiking treks or backpacking treks??

For me it is a week long section hike. Everyone said it is bucket list thing to do. Some reason are legit but others, not so much.

Gambit McCrae
04-09-2018, 16:08
Man o man can I get into this thread lol over the years I have invited, and even packed full backpacks for friends and family that have ended up never setting foot on the trail. a month out of a trip EVERYONE can go. And then closer to time, they start trickling off. Day before, and 2 days before the trip are big quitter days. Its like they are willing to put it on the calendar UNTIL something better comes along and then the ol hikin trip is the first thing to go. It used to infuriate me!!!! " You mean I have spent my time? And sometimes money via shuttle prepays, for us to go on this trip, all my planning, and PACKING a pack for you and your not going because you forgot that your 2 yo second niece is having a birthday party and the kiddyworld at 3pm this Sunday?!"

I see a group of 6-8 guys out hiking there is always a planner/ leader. I always ask him how much he had to pay all these guys to get out here at the same time. They usually reply with "Man it was a real struggle"

I have found that a group of 2 and a max of 4 is all you really want on a trip. And that is a comparable to experience level. If you have 4 guys that are always used to going by themselves? Its gunna be just as tough planning as if ya got 1 experienced guy leading 3 blind mice with loner gear. Experienced people want to do their own thing. Inexperienced people don't have a clue so you spend your whole weekend teaching common sense.

I have asked guys to go on sections of the AT and 40 miles into the trip you get
Hiking Buddy: "Hey man I'm just gunna hitch back to the car today I don't feel like hiking"
Me: "Well what about the shuttle I arranged for us to take this evening?"
Hiking Buddy "Yea I don't really wanna pay for a ride so I am just gunna hitch, see ya at the car!"

I have found that it is best to plan trips that are not effected by others going, if they go or not I am leaving the house at 4pm on Friday.
I have also learned to tell someone 1 time I am going on the trip, if they want to go they will make the effort, not me.
3rd I have learned what kind of trip and what kind of person to invite and when. Examples Below

Example 1: A weekend trip to Grayson Highlands? Invite the whole darn family. Easy mileage, great scenery, wildlife, great terrain. Just an absolute dream trip. Who knows, maybe that is the kind of first trip that new hiker needs to get the itch to go again. For what it is worth, my one and only steadfast hiking buddy that did 557 miles with me last year, took his brother on one of his first hiking trips and we went to Grayson. Ever since that trip he is just dieing to go back.

Example 2: To complete my goal of walking the entire AT I am taking a week long 115 mile trip to central PA this JULY. Lets see: a week of walking in PA summer humidity with the ROCKS, and RATTLESNAKES and all the green tunnel PA goodness? Yea.. "Check Please, ILL go alone thanks in advance".


So, many factors in trying to curve your success rate of hiking. Another great tactic is money up front. If you have a shuttle prepay, lodging expense like a hotel etc and people say they want to go? Don't feel bad about asking for their share up front. You can say it is so that the whole expense is divided up front to not burden you, but what your also doing is getting a real commitment out of them.

I may add more to this post later after I think about it lol good topic

illabelle
04-09-2018, 16:16
... And then there's the weather factor:

It's going to rain!
There's gonna be strong winds!
It's going to be cold in the mornings!

BuckeyeBill
04-09-2018, 16:22
I lost my hiking buddy in 2013 after we finished our CDT thru-hike. He was killed in a car accident in California. In 2014, I thru-hiked the PCT for the second time with his former fiance so we could scatter his ashes at Forester Pass. I could always count on Steve and his fiance to be ready to hike on short notice.

Uncle Joe
04-09-2018, 16:26
Other than day hikes, the only friends I've hiked with I met on the trail of that particular hike.

Puddlefish
04-09-2018, 16:47
The only meetup hike I signed up for... cancelled entirely because of light rain. This was after the leader grilled me for five minutes on if I'd be able to keep up with the group. I hiked Mt. Moriah without them. Uphill, both ways...Punks.

devoidapop
04-09-2018, 17:35
What experiences have people had with meetups from whiteblaze? Is the no show rate about the same?

lonehiker
04-09-2018, 17:38
I have no friends so your experience is completely foreign to me...

saltysack
04-09-2018, 19:25
This thread sure drives it home why I prefer to hike solo....


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skater
04-09-2018, 19:29
I have no friends so your experience is completely foreign to me...
Now, THIS is someone I could hike with! If only we were friends...

perrymk
04-09-2018, 19:50
Are you talking about Dayhiking treks or backpacking treks??

day hikes for me

Malto
04-09-2018, 19:56
This thread sure drives it home why I prefer to hike solo....


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Yup, I sometimes will roughly plan on hiking with someone but always plan to go solo regardless of the attendance. On the flip side, I have done some longer hikes with very experienced hikers. They tend to be 100% in showing up.

Pringles
04-09-2018, 19:58
I was once a member of a hiking group, and they were great. There would rarely be a cancellation.

Otherwise, I have invited lots of friends, and they do that cancel as the time gets closer thing. I know that as I am just about ready to put foot on the trail and I see a big mountain loom in front of me, I have second thoughts, but then I do it. Maybe they need encouragement near the end.

Right now, I have three people that I've Invited for a trip into Yellowstone's Bechler region. They're dragging their feet to give me a yes or no. I am finding it hard to believe--it's a coveted area to get reservations for, the longest day is 7.7 miles, no day has more than 1000 feet of elevation gain, we'll be within .5 mile of Mr. Bubbles (a creek next to a hot spring, where you can soak) for two days, and 1.5 miles on another of those days. I have other trips to share, too--one night, two nights--on a lake, by a stream, near a thermal area. I've offered to bring the food. (Maybe they know I can't cook and think I'm out to kill them. I don't even cook that well--they'd just end up sick.). Some are even backpackers--we've backpacked together before--I'm the slowest and least strong of them. I have the same issue with asking if people would like to join me on a canoe trip in the Tetons. They're beautiful sites at the base of giant, glorious peaks. Unbelievable.

Maybe I have cooties.

JPritch
04-09-2018, 20:10
I never had a problem with no-shows, but the ones that do show up, then you have to worry about them keeping up and slowing your own pace down considerably to be a good friend and even cutting your trip short. I now prefer to go alone. I am planning a trip this summer with a couple guys, but it's gonna be more camping and less hiking.

somers515
04-09-2018, 20:30
I've gone on some great backpacking trips with my brother-in-law but a couple of times he's had to cancel. It's disappointing but I go anyway and I've enjoyed the solo time as well. But easy for me as I've been hiking mostly in the east. I suppose having all your hiking partners cancel when you are heading into grizzly country would be more troubling.

Highland Goat
04-09-2018, 20:44
It depends on whether or not you break people.

Miner
04-09-2018, 20:47
There is a reason I do almost all my backpacking and day hikes solo. If I didn't, I'd rarely go. I do invite people, but I make it clear I'm going no matter what. I usually only invite people I know won't require me to change my trip plans (they can do similar daily miles) unless I have no particular destination in mind and don't mind changing. Now occasionally, I do scale back my plans and invite people to do what I consider is an easier hike in order to entice them to come along. If they don't, then I fall back on my more aggressive plan B. Still only helps a little.

I have found that most people will back out once they find something else they rather do. Which often occurs at the last minute when they actually have to decide which they prefer. Meaning, while they sounded interested, it was their backup plan until something they enjoy more came along. Some people are fortunate to find hiking partners that have a similar commitment to the outdoors. Such people should be cherished.

WTX2WY
04-10-2018, 02:14
I lost my hiking buddy in 2013 after we finished our CDT thru-hike. He was killed in a car accident in California. In 2014, I thru-hiked the PCT for the second time with his former fiance so we could scatter his ashes at Forester Pass. I could always count on Steve and his fiance to be ready to hike on short notice.

What a bittersweet post.

Sorry you lost your friend, but glad you were able to make lifelong memories on that journey with him before the accident, and then his fiance after.

Loyalty and friendship, two of the most valued things in this life.

Thanks for the post.

Leo L.
04-10-2018, 05:28
For me it is a different type of hike, alone or with others. In reverse, the type of hike I'm intending to do defines whether I will do it alone or with others.

When doing the hike with others, we're doing everything to make it possible for everybody who is in the group, especially setting the pace and the rest points in a way that the slowest can follow.
This can be a big task and take lots of patience for the stronger ones among the group, but we try to never split up unplanned, but end the hike together the way it was planned from the beginning.
This is mostly dayhikes.
I have yet to find mates to do longer multiday hikes the way and style you're doing in the US, here in Austria. In lack of such, I do these alone, and am happy with this.

peakbagger
04-10-2018, 07:25
I have set up multiday trips to Baxter State Park for Meetup events several times. These are usually a prime group site on a prime weekend (like labor day) If I don't link the sign up to an early payment for a site, the early drop out rate is more than 50%. Even with requiring an up front payment its still around 50% but sometimes I can fill the slots.

This has always been an issue but more so when done electronically. Meetup had a "No Show" tag that could be attached to folks who didn't show up for an event but it disappeared for awhile but apparently has been restored. Unfortunately some folks still play games and cancel just before the start time so they don't get tagged. Several meetup group leaders in my group automatically dump anyone with multiple no-shows.

BuckeyeBill
04-10-2018, 07:49
What a bittersweet post.

Sorry you lost your friend, but glad you were able to make lifelong memories on that journey with him before the accident, and then his fiance after.

Loyalty and friendship, two of the most valued things in this life.

Thanks for the post.

Thanks. It was nice to have friends to count on who shared your love of the outdoors. We had planned to do the AT in 2014. So many people today are fair weather friends. If the weather looks to be cool or cold, rainy or snowy they back out in a hurry. I just like getting away, screw the weather. Dress and pack for it and you will really find out how great nature can be.

LittleRock
04-10-2018, 08:11
I try to include my friends when I hike. Some get really excited and want to go but it seems that most back out at the last moment. This has been very educational to me.
So, how many here experience the same? Ever have someone all excited to go but for some reason they just can't make it?

For day hikes, I sometimes still invite friends. Not much planning involved, if people don't show I just do the hike solo. No harm, no foul.

For multi-day hikes, all solo. Planning a solo backpacking trip is enough work already. The only way I'd consider going with friends is if they already had their own gear and were at least into it enough to do their fair share of the planning.

For anything longer than a weekend trip, I also consider personality types to be important. I prefer to be in my own head space while walking, rather than having someone 10 ft behind me jabbering the whole time. Some people understand, some don't.

devoidapop
04-10-2018, 11:24
It is nice to have a hiking partner that you can split the cost and carried weight of a trip with. But then, as somebody stated with shuttles, you gotta know that person isn't going to bail 2 days into a week long trip.

ldsailor
04-10-2018, 11:40
How about hiking partners? Does that count? Seems I lose them quite quickly. When I started the AT, I lost three within the first 40 miles (two dropped out and not sure about the third). Then I lost another (that's four), when she decided she didn't want to go through the Smokies. I'm afraid to hook up with any more partners since I'm getting a real complex about it. :D

saltysack
04-10-2018, 15:06
Yup, I sometimes will roughly plan on hiking with someone but always plan to go solo regardless of the attendance. On the flip side, I have done some longer hikes with very experienced hikers. They tend to be 100% in showing up.

The only reliable hiking partner I’ve found is my dog....[emoji3]


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SWODaddy
04-10-2018, 20:14
I have no friends so your experience is completely foreign to me...

Appropriate user name is appropriate.

Gambit McCrae
04-11-2018, 08:04
How about hiking partners? Does that count? Seems I lose them quite quickly. When I started the AT, I lost three within the first 40 miles (two dropped out and not sure about the third). Then I lost another (that's four), when she decided she didn't want to go through the Smokies. I'm afraid to hook up with any more partners since I'm getting a real complex about it. :D

Not sure if by hiking partner you mean someone you have met on the trail, or someone that comes to the trail with you for a hike. I have hiked with people I meet on the trail for a good distance, several days to a week, but I don't change my plans once I meet them. I will change things like deciding to stay at a hostel etc but if it falls too far out of my plan that is okay, and I will keep it movin

BuckeyeBill
04-11-2018, 16:43
Not sure if by hiking partner you mean someone you have met on the trail, or someone that comes to the trail with you for a hike. I have hiked with people I meet on the trail for a good distance, several days to a week, but I don't change my plans once I meet them. I will change things like deciding to stay at a hostel etc but if it falls too far out of my plan that is okay, and I will keep it movin

I consider a hiking buddy as someone you have known for awhile and can call up a few weeks ahead of time and is ready to get away for a few days or weeks. Hiking partners are those that you meet up with on the trail and hang with for awhile. You may not be with them all the time, but you meet up at the end of the day at a predetermined spot. If you don't meet up it's no big deal.