Frequently Asked Questions
What will be provided?
Bottled water is available before and after the hike, for you to help yourself. Bug Repellant, Sunscreen, and hand sanitizer are usually available in case you forget your own.
What to bring/pack?
Good hiking/trail running shoes or sneakers with aggressive/sticking soles are ideal footware for a walk in the woods, regardless of distance. Boots are not necessary for most Sun UP hikes. A day pack if you have one. 2 Liters of water for a full day hike is ideal, but shorter hikes are individual hiker-gauged according to your abilities and knowledge of your own health. Your guide will offer bottled water at the beginning and end of the hike, and also carries electrolyte tabs and gel as part of the First Aid kit. Snacks if you want. Layers of clothing appropriate to the forecast (wicking materials and a rain jacket/poncho). Your guide will carry some emergency supplies such as fire-starting material, tarp, twine, emergency blanket, compass, signal mirror, first aid kit, and headlamp, but feel free to pack as many hiking essentials as you are comfortable with carrying. **Pack your own personal medications, especially epi-pens, inhalers, glucagon or any emergency meds.**
Some Events will call for special items like a campfire song, geocache item, pet rock, a smile, a joke, a donation, an open mind, donuts….we’ll let you know in the event description.
Insect repellant-Almost always needed in the Upper Peninsula, except in January, it is advisable to bring your own, as people’s “taste” in chemicals for the body is widely varying. There will be a DEET-free option available at the trailhead and carried by your Guide. Except in January.
What should I know about hiking etiquette? A few things…..
Generally, the slowest person “leads”. Good news for the slowest, is that, this way they don’t get “left behind”. Bad news is that they get to be the first to break any spiderwebs crossing the trail! The idea is to keep the group together, for the sake of safety. Your guide is responsible for every member on the hike and it is unsafe if members of the group are out of sight because they are spread too far apart.
If you're descending the trail, step aside and give space to the people climbing up. Bicyclists yield to hikers and horses or other pack stock. Come to a full stop and step to the side to give the right of way. Be mindful of the plants or animals that are near the trail if you must step off the trail.
Leave No Trace
Leave animals alone. This includes fellow hikers. Don’t poke them with sticks either.
Hike quietly. That is, blaring music on your phone or Bluetooth speaker while hiking is frowned upon by most hikers and most nature-lovers in general. Conversation is allowed of course, and encouraged really, but know that some people just don’t care to talk on the trail.
What about my dietary restrictions?
Some tours/hikes will offer a midday meal/snack/gorp. Let your guide know at the time of booking, via email, about any dietary restrictions, if you wish to partake. We have a wealth of options for trail food and your restriction(s) can most likely be accommodated. Don’t be put off if your guide does not partake with you, as she has a lot of dietary restrictions herself!
Do I tip my guide?
While your guide is happy to enjoy the trail as much as the guests, a tip is customary, similar to tipping your waitstaff at a restaurant. Your guide does not expect a tip, however they do a great job in planning your hike to be as enjoyable as possible, and if they’ve succeeded in providing an exceptional experience for you, a gratuity is much appreciated. Industry standard for gratuity for a guided hiking trip is 15-20% of the trip cost.
Can we bring our pet?
Those trails designated as dog friendly are friendly if your furry companion is on a leash. Not only might your dog get so excited about exploring the north woods that they decide to make their own trail to place we can’t find them, some hikes are along high rocky cliffs that may prove injurious to an over-zealous Fido. It can be impossible to safely retrieve a pet who has gotten themselves into a situation they can’t quite claw their way out of. There’s also the chance of encountering various wildlife from baby fawns to baby bears, neither of which we want Fido to bother, for the safety of the critters and hikers! We also will ensure that we clean up after our critters by bringing doggy waste bags. Even if they pack it in, we’ll pack it out!
What about inclement weather?
Granted it’s not always sunny, but we are happy to share the beauty of the great north woods in all its glory, including rain or snow. Some days can start out sunny and surprise us with a downburst of torrential rain which disappears as quickly as it arrives. If your guide deems weather conditions to be unsafe for the scheduled hike, there will be option to cancel the hike altogether, change plans to accommodate a safer route, or reschedule your hike. Mother nature is beautiful and moody, especially in the UP, so we just work around her by being flexible. If the hike is cancelled, pre-paid client choice tours will be refunded, minus the deposit. Event hikes are usually paid at the trailhead, so Event cancellation automatically negates need for refund.
What if I gotta go....you know?
Most hiking trails will NOT have restrooms available. If nature calls while we are in the wilderness, most of us will make use of a nearby log or tree, using methods recommended by Leave No Trace principles, making a scat hole with a trowel and burying or packing out any refuse. Your guide will have items available for your use, and will discretely guide you in the right direction.
What are Leave No Trace principles?
In general, the idea of Leave No Trace is to sustain the environment for generations to come. We can do this by being aware of how we're interacting with the environment and making conscious decisions that serve to lessen our impact on nature. Essentially, it means that we endeavor to have as little impact on the environment as possible. At the trailhead, prior to our hike, our guide will give specific information about Sun UP principles as they relate to this philosophy.
How will I be notified of a cancellation?
When you RSVP and provide your email to Sun UP, this becomes our primary medium for contacting you. We will only notify you of a cancellation, not a go-ahead. Please feel free to text or call, if you are not sure about whether we have a go/no-go situation. Be warned, there are a lot of areas in the UP that do not have cell reception or internet capability. Your guide will endeavor to inform you, in a timely manner before the hike, of any change in plans. PLEASE NOTE-Hike departure times are promptly at the time noted, so please be ON TIME!
What is Sun UP's Cancellation Policy?
We will plan to hike in most weather, but if your guide determines it will be too dangerous to hike safely, we will cancel our hike. Think lightning and unstable footing.
For Events scheduled by your Guide, payment is most often due just prior to the hike at the trailhead, therefore cancellation negates any payment.
For Client initiated tours/hikes, if circumstances warrant you cancelling your hike, you will receive a 25% refund if it is more than 24hrs prior to your hike, and 50% refund if within 1 week and full refund if over 1 week in advance. If the guide cancels the hike, you will be issued a full refund of any payments made.
What does “easy”, “moderate”, and “difficult/strenuous” really mean in the hiking world?
Easy-Suitable for every member of the family.
Moderate-Suitable for all physically fit people.
Moderately Strenuous-Long length, substantial elevation gain, and/or difficult terrain.
Strenuous-Full day's hike over a long and often difficult route.
How fast?
If you’ve spent a fair amount of time on a treadmill or have one you can try out, you probably have, or can get, a pretty good idea about walking speeds. Average hiking speed for someone carrying a 30-40lb pack over a moderate trail is about 2mph if you are eager to get to your next campsite. Everyone walks at a different pace, but Sun UP Event hikes will be advertised to take the amount of time calculated for about a 1mph pace. This will seem slow to some and just right for others. Mind you, we take plenty of breaks, photo ops, opportunities to wonder at things we see, and just catch our breath. Client choice hikes are gauged more to the client’s pace and logistics of the hike.
Who is my guide, and does she have any idea what she’s doing?
Nicole is a lifelong resident of Marquette County, growing up in Ishpeming and Marquette Michigan. Spending a good amount of time as a child growing up around west Marquette, she spent countless hours wandering the woods with her family dog near what is now Barrel and Beam Brewery, running the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior at Shot Point near Sand River, and learning the land that makes up the central Upper Peninsula. Hunter, forager, hiker, trail adopter, map reader, backpacker, camper, and lover of mother earth, she has developed a deep connection to the forest that she wants to share with others in a safe, fun and environmentally friendly way. Nicole will be carrying a pack with some normal trail essentials for long day hikes (compass, tarp, fire-starter, knife, small energy packets like peanut butter and GU) and as a Wilderness First Responder, has a medical kit with basic first aid and some OTC medications and fruit snacks for low blood sugars.
What is the meaning of life?
We're looking for that answer, in the woods. Join us in the search!
Please feel free to send any questions via email to nicole@sunuphiking.com