You should always wear good, sturdy shoes. Sneakers will generally be fine, however, on some trails, we may recommend boots. You should not be wearing sandals unless you know what you're doing. For clothes, it really depends on the weather. Most trails have a good amount of poison oak along the side, so long pants is never a bad idea. You should also consider wearing clothing that will dry quickly and that is fairly lightweight.

It's also a good idea to bring sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses. Finally, make sure you read the hike description for any special suggestions.

This depends on the length of the hike, the temperature, the location of the hike, and yourself. Everyone needs a different amount of water, but it's always better to overestimate than underestimate. It's never a good idea to be dehydrated.

If the weather is particularly hot, it is a good idea to bring more water than usual. We'll try to mention if a particular trail has water available, but this should never be relied on. With regards to food, most of our hikes will be short, so only snacks need to be brought. For longer trips, we'll specifically mention this.

Besides the proper clothes, food, and water, we suggest bringing a camera. If you have a walking stick or poles, these may be helpful sometimes. If you have a small GPS unit, this is always fun, but don't spend your time playing with it. Sunscreen is always a good idea. The leader should normally have some first-aid supplies, so this is not necessary.

On the hikes we'll be doing there should be much danger. The most common nuissance is poison oak (a relative of poison ivy for East coasters). The best defense against this is wearing long pants. There aren't many insects. We shouldn't encounter any snow or ice, so that shouldn't be a problem. It is always possible that we'll encounter mountain lions, but these are fairly rare and don't attack humans except in extraordinary circumstances.

Since not everyone has cars, the goal is to carpool. This is why we ask people to let us know if they plan to go on a hike.

The speed of the hike will be up to the leader, but anything besides a fairly moderate pace will be mentioned in the description. We will try to make good progress (1-2 miles/hour depending on the terrain) and take frequent breaks as needed. This will depend primarily on the terrain. Very steep sections will likely require more breaks.

If you join us for a hike, you must stay with the group. While we are not responsible for you, this is essential for everyone's safety. If you need to take a break, do not be afraid to ask for one.

Caltech, the society's leadership, the hike leaders, and any car drivers are not liable for anything related to a hike. You assume all responsibility for any injuries.

The following are an approximate list of rules:

1. Wear sturdy shoes, appropriate clothing, and read the hike description and the FAQs.
2. Bring water and snacks.
3. Stay with the group. If you must stop, let the leader know.
4. Pack all trash out. We practice "Leave no trace".
5. Do not disturb any wildlife, stay on the trail, and do not damage vegetation.

The times given are estimates. While the hike should take roughly that long, it's impossible to predict how fast everyone will be hiking and to plan for any unforeseen problems. If we estimate we'll be getting back at 2 PM and you have a meeting at 2, there's a good chance you'll be late for it. But, if you need to be somewhere at 6 PM, we should be back in plenty of time for that.

The limit will depend on the hike. For most hikes, there shouldn't be any problems with a larger group. Ideally, not more than 20 people, but for wide trails having that many shouldn't be a problem. For certain hikes we may limit the number of people for various reasons.

We may also have limited space due to car availability. Because we'll be carpooling, the numbers will be limited by the number of drivers. If we hit this limit, people who signed up first will be given priority.

Difficulties for hikes are hard to determine. Several factors have to go into the decision, specifically:

• Distance of the hike
• Elevation Gain
• Condition of the trail
• Altitude
• Steepness (gain/distance)
• Potential other factors

Typically, the difficulty number (1-10) will correspond to the beginner/intermediate/advanced designations. In general, beginner hikes will be 1-4, intermediate will be 5-8, and advanced will be 9-10. However, trail conditions will impact the designations more so than the numbers. For example, something like Strawberry Peak via Colby Canyon would only get a 5 or 6 as a difficulty number, but would get an advanced designation because we'd be going off-trail and rock scrambling is involved.

The best thing to do to determine whether you'll be able to survive a hike is to read the description - both the one we provide and any linked trail guides. Our description should include any potential problems that we may encounter. If you still have questions, e-mail the leader.

Finally, remember that trail conditions can change. Most guides are not up to the minute and storms can easily make a trail harder. Sometimes we'll be able to get trail conditions from other sources, but often trails aren't popular enough that many people will post details of recent hikes.

The Caltech Hiking Group is group of people who enjoy hiking and like to do so frequently. We try to go out every week for, in general, a medium-length hike.

Sign up for the mailing list to learn about hikes. They'll also be posted on this website, along with hike followups.

The Caltech Y does have hikes, but their hikes are generally much more organized, much rarer, and longer. Thus there's less variety. Our goal is to have more hikes that are fairly short and have less of the bureaucrasy that is inherent in the Y's procedures but necessary for the longer trips that the Y is great for. Thus we believe our efforts are complementary to theirs.