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Posted by Bill S on June 26, 2008 at 8:29:45 pm EDT
In reply to National Forest Hiking Tour posted by Shras23 on June 24, 2008 at 5:47:32 pm EDT

It's more than the guides taking the guesswork out of the trip. Admittedly, I have had little experience with professional guides, except where required by law (Tanzania) or where the logistics were unknown to me or too complex (Antarctica, some restricted areas in Alaskan National Parks), or going with a couple friends who are professional guides on private trips. On the few I went on, I had mixed experiences, mostly having to do with others assigned to the same trip.

I have observed a large number of guided trips, though, both simple backpacks and more adventurous trips. Too many guides seem to have a strict schedule and seem to me to be far too controlling. Some are pretty good about having their clients learn the skills, but too many take all the decision-making away from the clients. Those make the trip more like the "bus tour", with all spontaneity and and adventure taken out of it.

With the right guides, though, you get the spontaneity and adventure. In Tanzania, Barb and I were on essentially private trips - just the required minimum of hired personnel and us. There we got to have a lot of say in our objectives and pace for the day. We got to take the advantage of "we want photos of a black rhino" and he got us there without a big crowd of other Land Cruisers around, or "we want this set of birds" and we got to sit for a couple hours with the cameras on tripods, clicking literally hundreds of photos. On Kili, while the route and campsites were specified (again by Tanzanian regulations), I went at my own pace, stopping for photos when I wanted to.

In Antarctica, our group were all very experienced climbers (half the group had done the first ascent of the peak, after all). So the guides sent along with us just handled the logistics and made sure we had current information. We made a number of side trips both solo and in pairs or groups during rest days and while waiting for the weather to allow the plane to get in for the return trip.

Some guides are very happy to make use of the clients' skills and experience, and/or to help you build your personal skills. Some guide services are structured as training schools, in fact. They will make sure you have the right gear and know the right procedures.

Unfortunately, others want to control everything (talk to your guide ahead of time, or better, see if you can get a personal recommendation). As I said, these remind me of the "tour bus driver" - lecture at the clients (I intentionally said "lecture AT") - "Now we go here ... shoot 3 photos ... hurry along, we must make the next place in 15 minutes ... now eat your lunch ..."

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