How do you choose a trail, hike or destination when traveling? Are there specific aspects you look for in a trail? Example, I enjoy learning the Geology before i go which helps shape my experience.

A) Perfect weather, crowded campsite B) Rough weather, completely alone Drop A or B + one line.

Hey everyone — I go by Oliver. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm based in California, grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and I've spent most of my adult life either building things or being outside. 35 years in architecture and construction, weekends on trails. My wife and I are RV travelers when we are not at home in The Sierra, We love our pup rucks and I truly enjoy my solo expeditions as local day hike or wherever we travel. So I developed a planning guide based on my interests that gets delivered to me daily and I can produce a simple planning guide from my explorations or yours. 👇 What I do outside of the day job: I run a small project called XploreForge (Explore TheField), where I document trails — the geology, the history, the ecology, the planning details — for people who want to actually understand a place, not just pass through it. It started as a way to make sense of the trails I was already hiking. It turned into something I share. I'm not here to promote anything. I'm here because I like planning routes, I like talking trail, and I like learning from people who've been somewhere I haven't. If you ever want a second set of eyes on a route or someone to geek out about trail conditions and geology with — I'm genuinely that person. Happy to be here. — Oliver

Do you prefer solo adventures or group trips? I feel solo trips teach more but group trips create better memories What’s your experience?