Tour Leader life not Van-life: 6 take aways from a 1st year tour leader/driver

1. Tour leader, not van living?

I kept reading and seeing great images of van life and wanting to bring people to lead adventurous lives. As I was not making any headway with a desk job, I jumped at an opportunity to lead road trips through the US, mostly to musical US cities and national parks with American Adventures. I learned that tour leaders and van life are not at all relaxing and the easy life, which could have been my leading tours on a strictly timed schedule and being in my 1st year. This is more about tour leading, so basically van living with random strangers that may or may not be ideal members of your crew. You really learn that some people are easy to travel with and others take the fun out of everything.

Training group is super fun and your time off is well spent(: 

Traffic jam with passive-aggressive walkers, worth the stare off(;

2. Not sleeping in a tent or much

I found that the best part of leading tours is that I awoke with some of the best views and met some random cool travelers. I did not sleep enough and often gave up my best gear for my pax to stay warm, sleep better, or not sleep with ants, spiders, etc, which is part of being adaptable and giving up your comforts for others. I suspect that better planning on my part would permit me to have more sleep and also proper gear for the cold weather in Utah in September. You learn quickly that pitching tents for others take time, so you end up sleeping in a trailer, which is dusty, damp, dark, and not as scenic with stars, yet dark so sunrise does not always wake you but pax packing does. Thus, the sleeping requires good clean trailers and pax that have good warm gear and sleeping bags, so stop at an REI or Walmart for more than the cheap sleeping bag.

 Sunrise Monument Valley

Copperhead den mating by campsite; uninvited dinner guests!

4. Yup, leading tours is hard work!

I hoped that I would just lead chill people to awesome places. Sadly, the time crunch for sunset or sunrise requires prep work after others sleep, rushed eating, running to grab things and plenty of self-sacrifices to lead to amazing experiences. I am grateful for the ability to J dock van + trailer easily, driving through narrow city streets in huge vans, and learning about the beauty of truck driver support. Sadly, the expressways and hazmat is a nightmare for you driving through NYC and the east coast. Overall, I gained much more confidence with a large vehicle and trailer in much smaller spaces, while also learning how to pass DOT inspections that require on the spot checks of vehicle's mechanics.

Dead Horse sunset in chilly Autumn Winds

Making the sunset almost but not the real deal at Bryce): 

5. The Pax make the trip!

The group makes the trip wonderful, so whoever is on it will make your life easy or very difficult. The most important pax is actually you. So, do not forget self-care and not overpromising or trying too hard to please. There is no foolproof way to provide the ideal trip for partiers and cultured hikers. If you make an effort and can bring each to their ideal place, regardless the effort, they will be happy. So, make sure you do not burn out trying to solve everyone's demands without remembering your happiness on the trip is essential. While your pax's safety is paramount, their feeling supported and not overly protected is necessary. I felt that rainy windy Angel's landing was not ideal for less confident hikers. At the end, I did scare off several to make myself feel more certain I would not have a rescue. However, a tour leader should support more than protect. I now understand parents more, as I prefer safety over fun. Meanwhile, your pax are adults, so can make their own decisions.

Successful Bday celebration despite the monsoon season at GC, great experiences ruin the ordinary(; 

 Yes, anyone can make it up Angel's landing, even the white-haired

rain and wind led to floods and real waterfalls once I crossed the bridge back

Waterfall starts from rain, epic flash floods after down

6. Your road trip knowledge is unsurpassed

You start out unaware of the best parking for x location driving in circles to find free parking or find campsites overbooked and just doing the average trip with the standard itinerary. Then you realize that older leaders have so many ideal locations and the perfect trip they can pull out of their back pocket after 5 beers by the bonfire. They literally know the distance and hiking options adding in two more hikes and including some historical cabin tour, all free, in the great smokey mountains. Then they throw you a waterfall in Tenessee with water shoes and you gain suddenly TripAdvisor without needing your phone. The experience molds you into something of a travel ninja, yet this is mostly learned by doing and also from your fellow leaders. So, accept that you don't know everything, but work extra hard to check for those great stops and talk with fellow leaders. Then you can join the knowledgeable tour leaders.

 Campsite overflowing with elk and calfs plus campers

 camper kids having fun in Smokey mnts

Happy tour guide bouldering btw double arches after free early bird entry(: 

Basically, don't worry everyone struggles. The key to making it is talking with leaders, listening to your needs first, and then trying your hardest to make things happen timely with a personal touch of support but not too overly protective.