Leading A Trek or Choosing a Trek Leader

Many RV, OHV, and camping adventures need someone to lead the way.   Leading a caravan to the campground requires someone who knows the roads and landmarks.  You want to make sure your leader is well qualified and knows what he/she is doing -- especially if it is YOU!  Often the places we go for camping and OHV riding aren't well marked by road signs so you need someone who can recognize the natural landmarks and get you there without unnecessary detours and delays.  It has been said there are two ways of becoming a leader:  1) do something special and get people to follow you or 2) find a group that is going somewhere and get out in front of them.  Leading a group on or off road requires a lot more than just being out in front.   A leader needs to choose a route that is safe and appropriate for the skills and equipment of those following him.  A leader also needs to keep track of everyone in his/her group.  One of the best practices for this is for each person in the group to take responsibility for the person behind them.  Each time you make a turn, make sure the person behind you makes the same turn before you continue out of sight.  These principles apply to caravaning on the highway, horseback rides, OHV rides, boating, and hiking.

Choose your leaders carefully and be careful about volunteering to lead.  An inexperienced leader can get a group into a lot of trouble.  You don't want to follow someone who doesn't know where they're going and for sure you don't want to be the one who leads people astray!   One of our pleasant rides in the Mojave Desert turned into a bit more of a challenge than we had planned when we allowed one of our supposedly senior riders to assume the lead on our way back to camp.  Instead of returning via the same route we had taken on the way out, he decided it would be fun to see some different scenery.  Eventually he became disoriented and had to rely on his map to continue. Unfortunately, either the map was out of date or inaccurate or he wasn't reading it right.   What he thought was an ATV trail over a small hill on the map turned out to be little more than a wild goat trail.  We nearly seized at least one bike trying to get enough traction to reach the top of the hill. The back side wasn't any better and, instead of finding a well-defined ATV trail we expected to take us to the dirt road back to camp we found another goat trail that dropped us into a canyon and a dry creek bed with boulders the size of Volkswagens -- and NO trail.  By this time were were committed.  There was no way we could make it back up the goat trail we had come down so we had to find another way out.  Fortunately, some of the riders had a pretty good sense of direction and we were able to pick our way down the creek bed until we finally did hook up with the road to our camp a couple of hours later.   An honest review of our afternoon adventure determined we had misread the map.   What our "leader" had thought was an ATV trail was really just an animal trail a few miles before turn off to the ATV trail, one that led us into uncharted wilderness.  I learned later that the fellow who got us into this precarious situation had a reputation for getting lost, so we should have known better than to follow him in the first place.   He insisted he knew where he was and where he was going this time and with no one in the group with enough experience in that particular riding area to challenge or dispute him, we allowed him to lead us no where!   Another lesson to be learned from this story, is to turn back BEFORE it is too late.  In this case, our 20-20 hindsight tells us we should have turned back when we reached the top of that first hill (if not before) and saw there was no real trail on the back side.  We could have slipped and slided our way back down to the main road and found another, more appropriate route, maybe even the trail we were looking for.   By the time we got to the bottom of the back side of the hill, it was too late to turn back.  It would have been nearly impossible to get the bikes back up the back side of that hill.

Leading an RV caravan or other vehicle convoy on the highway is usually pretty straight forward and not much of a problem as long as the leader knows where he or she is going and everyone can keep up.  Modern GPS navigation systems take most of the guesswork out of traveling -- at least on established roads.  However, there are some things that the leader needs to take into consideration. The size of all the vehicles in the group will create some limitations.  Large vehicles may exceed the height, weight, and length restrictions on some parts of the route, such as bridges, tunnels, and twisty, narrow roads.   Some tunnels prohibit vehicles equipped with propane tanks so you'll have to find another way around for RVs.  Bridges on many country and forest service roads have height and weight limits.  Some roads and many campgrounds have length restrictions.   You also need to be aware of fuel requirements.  You may have both gasoline and diesel powered rigs in your convoy. Large motorhomes pulling boats or trailers will probably need to fuel up at truck stops where they can maneuver while smaller vehicles may be able to take advantage of just about any gas station. Find out the fuel capacities and range of each vehicle so you can plan appropriate fuel stops.  Just because YOU might have a 400 mile range doesn't mean everyone does.  Are any vehicles overloaded or under powered to the point where climbing grades will be a problem?  You may need to alter your route to avoid steep grades or allow extra time for slow vehicles.  You also need to plan rest stops based on the physical and/or medical needs of people in your group.   Families with very young children or elderly travelers may need more frequent stops than a bunch of college students or yuppies.  Will anyone in the group require specialized ADA access to facilities?

Leading an off-road adventure puts a lot more responsibility on the man/woman up front. When leading a group hiking, horseback riding, or OHV riding, you need to know the experience, strength, and endurance level of each individual in the group and the capabilities of any equipment they use.  When hiking, you'll be primarily concerned with the experience, strength, end endurance of each individual.  When leading an equestrian ride you'll need to have some idea of the strength, endurance, and capabilities of the horses as well.  You'll need to know if any of the steeds have special needs or any phobias that might limit the terrain they can successfully negotiate.  When leading an OHV ride, you need to know the types and capabilities of the vehicles, the fuel capacity and range, and the skill and experience of the riders.  In any case, you will need to select a route that is within the capabilities of your group.   If your preferred route has particularly technical or difficult sections you may need to select an alternate route based on the participants skill level -- or plan for alternate paths around the difficult sections.   Taking the experts over a difficult hill climb and sending the novices around to meet you on the other side is a common practice to ensure everyone has a good time and is able to reach your destination safely. You would do well to always have an potential leader in mind to lead the alternate course.  On any outing, you'll be better off adjusting your route and pace to the group.   In the long run it will be a lot faster and more fun for everyone than having to carry someone back to camp if they are injured.   You'll want to include enough technical trails to keep it interesting, but not overwhelm the less experienced participants. Sometimes you can turn a ride or a hike into a "skill builder", carefully stretching the limits of your followers.  Take care NOT to draw them into activities that are way beyond their capabilities and be prepared to give them the support they need to learn new skills.  Want to teach them hill climbs?  Do some easy ones first and see how they do before tackling a serious slope.

The routes a leader chooses will depend on the type of machines in the group and the age, experience, and skill of the riders.   Single track trails are a lot of fun for dirt bikers but are often not negotiable by 3- and 4-wheeled ATVs.  Roads that are suitable for ATVs and UTVs may be boring for dirt bikers.  Technical trails, with steep hill climbs, water crossings, and tight switchbacks are fun for experienced riders but could spell disaster for novices.  Young riders on small vehicles require special consideration.   Regardless of the rider's skill, the size of the wheels and the available power may seriously limit where they can go.

Exploring new trails is always fun.   However, traversing unfamiliar routes brings added risks. Learn as much as you can from maps and from other users before you start out.   If the going gets too rough for any part of your group, you may have to be prepared to turn around and go back or find a way around difficult sections.   Make sure any maps you use are up to date and that you know how to read them correctly.  As a participant, be careful who you follow and try to keep up with the group -- or let them know if you aren't comfortable with the pace or the route.

Riding sweep refers to the last person in a convoy or group.  The sweep is almost as important as the ride leader.  The person riding sweep should have nearly as much experience in the area as the leader. This person picks up stragglers and may be required to assist with medical or mechanical problems to help them get back on the road or trail.  In some cases, they may need to guide lost or disabled participants back to camp.  The sweep rider and ride leader should coordinate at the beginning of each trek and at each intermediate rest stop.   Being in radio contact during the journey is also very helpful.  CBs and FRS walkie-talkies are usually adequate in most terrain..  The sweep rider can help the leader adjust the pace or the route to better suit the riders in the group.  Having to alter a planned route because of unskilled participants is annoying, but not nearly as annoying and troublesome as having to rescue them when they get in trouble!   Being the last one in a group of OHV riders is not a good place for novices. Riding sweep for an RV caravan or a convoy of tent campers is not quite as demanding, but you still need someone at the rear to take care of stragglers.  Ideally, the sweep will have 2-way communication with the leader.  If not, the leader must make regular stops and wait for the sweep to catch up to make sure no one gets lost or left behind.   When I first started riding with my Desert Rat group I fell in as sweep so I could keep an eye on my kids.  It wasn't until several years later that I learned how flattering it was to have been allowed to ride sweep.  I thought I was just keeping out of everyone's way.  Fortunately, my mechanical and medical skills plus an innate sense of direction let me handle the job adequately.

Communications on the road or on the trail can be very important.  At one time travelers were limited to line-of-sight visual signals or horns and whistles to contact each other. Indians used smoke signals and cavalry sometimes used gun shots.   Ships at sea used semaphores.  Today's two-way radios give us the ability to talk to each other on the road or trail or to contact our base camp if we need assistance.  Most two-way radios require line-of-sight pathways for the signal.  Mountains or even large buildings can interfere with signals.  As a minimum, it is good for the leader and the sweep to be able to communicate with each other.  That way, the group can be alerted to wait for someone who has become ill or injured or experienced equipment problems.  Family Radio Service (FRS) and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS), and Citizens Band (CB) radios are fairly economical and easy to use.   FRS and CB don't requite a license.  GMRS radios do, at least on certain frequencies and power levels.  GMRS radios share some channels with FRS and can be used on FRS frequencies at the low power setting without a license.  Amateur (Ham) radios are more powerful, more expensive and require an FCC license.  The use of headphones, push to talk (PTT) microphones, and voice operated transmission (VOX) options may make the use of two-way radios more convenient, especially when operating a vehicle.  A popular and convenient two-way radio for rider to rider communications is the helmet-mounted "Sidewinder", which operates in the FRS band. It is surprising how well VOX systems work, given the high ambient noise level of dirt bikes and other OHVs.  However, VOX systems may be accidentally activated with embarassing results when riders verbally express their dislike for situations or other riders they encounter.  FRS and GMRS radios typically have a range of about 2 miles.  CBs may reach 4-5 miles.   HAM radios sometimes bounce signals off high altitude atmospheric conditions and, with sufficient power, can transmit for thousands of miles.  HAM radio operators sometimes compete to see who can reach the most distant contacts, thousands of miles away using something called "skip".  This is not a particularly useful feature for communicating with people in your group or even in reaching your base camp.  For that you still need line-of-sight contact.   FRS, GMRS, and CB radios are usually the better choice and are far less expensive.   And, unless you use the high power channels and option on GMRS systems, you don't need an FCC license.

Lead on!