Know Thyself!

I originally intended this to be a longer post with more information, but writers block has been whipping my butt and I have finally relented.

Know THYSELF

A typical question I get asked is: "Where should I go?"  The answers can be, much like the time you have to wait before doing a painful dental procedure, infinite.  "You can go to: the moon, the store, the park" or my personal favorite "go away".  "Oh wait," I would catch myself at this point "you want ideas on where to go and explore nature.  Ok, what do you want to see?"  And here we are, at the topic at hand: Know Thyself!

Before you set off on a trek it's important to know your own abilities.  Questions you may want to ask yourself: 'How difficult is this particular trail?' , 'What is the weather going to be like?', 'What is the makeup of the group that I am going to be traveling with?', etc.  Personally I recommend advanced planning, looking up the trail online and checking weather conditions.

The question I ask (see above...I'm not reposting it...lazy) people looking for trail recommendations actually has a lot to bear on locations I will recommend for them. Do you want to see Waterfalls, Streams, Wildflowers, Avian Life, Sweeping Vistas of the San Gabriel Valley, Geological Formations?  A combination of some?  All?  Do you want to be doing a hike on an incline?  In the shade?  Along a well established path?  Boldly, where no man has gone before?  All should be taken into account before setting out.

Lastly you want to consider the group make up and the gear that you may want to carry.  Remember you want to carry the least amount of poundage with the most amount of gear possible.  How much water will you or your group need?  How big of a first aid kit (not if, how big, you ALWAYS should have one)? etc.

So looking back now, knowing yourself or your group and what you want really does help in choosing the right trail for you.