I can't tell you how many times I get asked if I have GPS (GPX, KML, etc.) files for one of the many trips I've posted, or specific coordinates for a cabin or petroglyph site.
I totally understand why - I've been lucky enough to see some really cool stuff. And, when I see cool stuff posted by others, I too often wish I could just wave a magic want and know exactly where to go to see it myself!
And so, since I understand the feeling, I thought it would be worthwhile to talk about why I don't share them, generally. Or rather, I always share them, sort of. There are two key factors in my strategy:
- Planning a route can be a lot of fun, increase safety, and make for a more fulfilling trip.
- I don't really know what will happen to GPS data after I share it.
Let me talk about each of those...and then about solutions.
Planning a Route is When the Trip Starts!
One reason I don't share raw GPS data is because I've come to realize that figuring out the route is actually part of the adventure. Just going to a place can net you a nice photo, but understanding that place - and finding places around it to explore as well - that's what really makes for great memories and an adventure!
So often, as I'm planning a trip, I start with a single place that I want to see, and by the time the trip is over, the highlight turns out to be something else entirely - something I'd have never discovered if I didn't plan the route myself, understanding the roads and landmarks that were in the area. And how big of a bummer would it be to miss the highlight?! A big one.
Planning a trip also means that you'll better understand what you're getting yourself into - at least, more than if you have a GPS coordinate and tell your favorite mapping app to give you directions. Folks get stuck in places they shouldn't be all the time because mapping apps are dumb. But if you plan the route yourself, you know beforehand what you are getting into. Headed over a 10,000' pass on a dirt road? You can make that decision before you end up there in your sedan.
I Don't Really Know What Will Happen
What I mean here is that I don't know how anything I share electronically is going to be used - and by who. The person who asks me for GPS information might seem totally cool in all of our online interactions, and may promise not to share with anyone else. But then, they take a buddy along on the trip, and that buddy posts pics to Instagram and later shares the route to someone else on a forum. Eventually - the route is floating around all over the place in various "trail" sites and Android/iOS mapping apps. A special place is now less so, even though the original person never physically shared it themselves. Ugh.
See - in this day and age of the internet - it's so easy to find information on a location that many, many, many places are becoming overrun with people. Many of these people are folks who haven't grown up learning how to respect the outdoors, and what they find there. People who have never heard of "leave no trace," and so don't even know that they are doing something harmful when they leave a square or two of toilet paper, or a new fire ring, out in the wild. The situation is not unlike the children's book, If Everybody Did.
It's not their fault. No one ever helped them to learn. But it doesn't matter - the damage is still taking place, because with GPS coordinates it's easy to just go, and the endorphin rush of getting that photo for their @Instabook is just so enticing.[1] [2] [3]
I (Almost) Always Share My Routes
As I've thought about it, there are several possible solutions to my sharing dilemma. A couple of early ideas I had were to:
- Charge a one-time fee for the coordinates - a large enough fee might dissuade the casual requestor, or make someone feel that they didn't want to share with others who hadn't paid.
- Setup a subscription - I've seen others make Patreon subscriptions where you pay some amount per month over the course of a 6 month period, and then, if you remain a subscriber, you get to request a couple specific locations over the next 12 months - the idea being that you aren't just in-and-out for a quick bit of data.
But those don't sit right with me either. I don't own these places, they aren't mine to make money from. I needed another solution.
After noodling on it some more, I realized that I could share the routes - right out in the open. But to do that, I'd need to camouflage them a bit - so I wasn't just giving away the keys to the castle. The solution - I realized - was to give anyone the the ability to make their own keys. A set of keys that I use to build my trips as well - the Keys to Route Planning.
The Route Planning Series
So, if you're looking to follow in my footsteps or see just a slice of one of my adventures - you can! Most of the "tracks" are all there in plain sight, described in the trip report. Major/well-known road names, natural and man-made places, relative directions of travel - all of these things are spelled out (with some exceptions*). A trail of breadcrumbs for the eager explorer. Grab your favorite beverage, a chair, and some maps. Read through the trip report carefully, make note of the landmarks, and follow along on your map. Enjoy the process of building a route, the satisfaction of knowing that you've solved a puzzle.
* There are a few places that aren't spelled out and show up in a trip report like this: ████████████████. Or, they might be redacted and "out of order" to keep the location harder to find. And some places that aren't mentioned at all. These are cases where the place in question is extremely sensitive, or where others have asked me not share specific names/locations. In order to show my appreciation and maintain their trust, I've redacted the content.
Because, if you're not willing to spend a bit of time solving a puzzle in order to experience the natural wonders of our world, it's probably better that you don't find them.
May 2026
I want to share a well-written note from a fellow explorer. This person has been exploring much longer than I have, and has historical experience that adds a lot of context to this topic.
My observations over the six decades of visiting historical sites in the Mojave, Death Valley and Nevada is that a lot has disappeared over the decades. Some due to the hand of man, some due to age and weather taking its toll.
As to disappearance due to the hand of man, some of which is attributed to ignorance, some to negligence, some due to nefarious means.
- Much was moved in the years after abandonment of a mine or a town. Buildings, equipment moved to be used elsewhere.
- The 1905 Antiquities Act was one of those little known and seldom enforced laws after a few decades. My grandmother and I used to bounce around the Mojave Desert in her '49 Chevy in search of bottles and other items at old homesteads, though we never vandalized nor stole anything that appeared to still be owned. We just didn't know any better. Traveling to visit family in northern Oklahoma via US66, just about every gas station in obscure locations sold artifacts, antiques, native American relics.
- After WW2 the surge in popularity of metal detecting, rock collecting, bottle collecting, antiques collecting erased smaller items, often leading to a quicker demise of larger things. By then historic sites started to fall under protection of the 1905 Antiquities Act. I've seen in many cases of floors ripped out of standing structures and large holes in search of hidden caches of relics. Antique autos, trucks, appliances and other items shot up. Old signs shot up or stolen. If you browse post WW2 Desert Magazines, there are an abundance of ads for metal detectors and articles on where to find desert relics.
- By the late 1960s America's youth escaping the Vietnam War and structure sought refuge in isolated places and often damaged or destroyed things, by accident or on purpose. By the 1970s off road vehicles became wildly popular and people visited historic places more. Many took a piece of history with them. Some history went into campfires.
- By the late 1990s forums such as the ancestor to this one shared information, even coordinates, of places to see. Some went in to look and enjoy, some to deface or steal. I remember during the 1990s, when I was living in Trona and Ridgecrest that BLM arrested someone who had collected over a considerable time ore carts, tramway buckets, and had his garage and storage units full of antiques stolen from the Saline salt tram, and several Panamint Range mines. There was one individual who bragged and shared photos about his escapades in such activities. Some applauded him, some confronted him online. I shared information with authorities, which caused negative ripple effects for a time afterwards. I once walked the remains of one of Owens Valley's first settlements, which I had done numerous times before, to find a methodical and obvious time consuming excavation of dozens of building sites without taking care not to destroy them. Alerting the director of the nearby museum, he was not aware of any authorized archeological dig. I've helped on one BLM sponsored archeological work in Panamint Valley and have observed the painstaking care taken so as not to disturb the ruins themselves.
- Since COVID I've seen a definite surge in wanton destruction of natural and manmade features. Donuts on The Racetrack, alcohol fueled high speed antics off road, "I can do anything I want to and who are you to stop me!" attitudes. Things like the Osborne and Geologist cabins recent findings. Suspicion, reluctance and confrontation on public lands.
And all the while, these historical sites are slowly dissolving away due to age, neglect, nature and weather. You two have done a marvelous job chronicling what you've found. By the time your great grand children start exploring, your photos may be all that's left.
Ready to Go Somewhere Awesome?
I was always taught to respect the outdoors. I have taught my five-year-old daughter to do the same. I caught myself being lazy when visiting the local Costco. I almost failed to return the cart to the parking lot cart rack. I jumped in my Tacoma and said dang it, I am being lazy. I got out and grabbed my cart and another loose cart and put them in the cart rack.
Thank you for posting this. Part of the adventure is finding things for oneself.
A perfectly reasonable and respectful way to share "routes". Makes a lot of sense to me.
Agree with all except one statement. You mentioned it's not their fault if they don't understand " leave no trace". I disagree. Manners are something we all were brought up with, to one extent or another. And, as adults, we are exposed to manners in society as we live each day. Whether we agree to understand/respect manners or not... is our choice. Whether we agree to respect others.... is our choice. With this in mind, I do blame those who disrespect other people and property that isn't theirs. I'm glad you pointed out the person who carved his message on the mine property. Let's hope someday he sees your post and maybe learns a lesson.
"Leave no trace" is self explanatory. Anyone who doesn't understand those three words.... Is beyond my comprehension....
Thank you for not sharing gps information. I do enjoy your clues and have spent time trying to figure out the routes and places you've gone! It's fun! And yes, it's part of my responsibility in planning if I choose to follow in your steps...
D
Hi David,
I was probably unclear in my "not their fault" statement, and I'll try to clear it up in the post. When I said, "It's not their fault," it was in reference to the last sentence in the previous paragraph:
If they've never been taught about leave no trace - as in, it's never been mentioned to them - then I can't fault them for not knowing how to leave no trace. I can certainly fault the people who didn't teach them, and I can think to myself that "it seems self evident," but I think that there are probably things that are self-evident to people in professions other than mine that I would have to be taught in order to understand.
Anyway, it is a bit of a moot point really. There are enough people who do not follow leave no trace - the majority, I'd say - who do known about it and just choose to ignore it. That's disrespectful and bad mannered, and I don't like it either.
Anyway, I hope that explains what I was trying to say there a bit better.
Cheers, Dan
I figured you shared the same respect for sensitive areas as I do. I have a Youtube Channel and forum threads and often I get, "hey can you give me a GPX for your routes?" ect. I don't tell and usually tell them why.
I, like you, do put easter eggs in the videos for those who want to take the time to figure out where I am. Like you, I figure if they take the time to figure it out then they are probably people who will share the same respect for the areas.
I know the Owyhee area pretty well. Traveled a lot of back county roads on the Idaho and Oregon side all the way down into Nevada. Also, I know quite a bit of history in and around the Owyhees too.
See you on the trails! George.
So glad to see this. All I hear about nowadays are the hordes overrunning, graffiti-tagging precious places, and ruining them - only to move on to the next one for their IG photos. Thanks Dan for the time and thought put into your solution
Thanks Monte. It's probably not a perfect way to go, but I feel like it's a reasonable way to go, and I'm always happy to adapt the methodology if folks have suggestions.
I've been planning my trips from the get go and having those bread crumbs along the way are great for those of us who also enjoy the adventure. In the past 7 years I have really enjoyed the West Coast after retiring from the military. I started following YouTubers and picking up tid bits of info and did the very same thing; constructed my own route. It was so much fun looking at these videos and then switching back and forth with Google Maps/Earth to figure places out. I appreciate your stories and appreciate that some of those places I've been/seen and some I can't believe I was that close and missed the trail! I have also picked up on something else; the YouTubers I started following are much more careful in what they video or what they say when it comes to locations/areas and it follows the same principles that you spoke of. Those that just don't understand the repercussion of their actions. Thank you again for your stories and many of the breadcrumbs you do still leave behind. I respect that.
Thanks for the kind note, and glad to hear that you’ve been able to figure out some cool spots! They really are everywhere, and I’ve found that you don’t even need to look that hard to find them. Of course, some spots get overpopulated because of social media, but there’s nothing inherently better about those spots than the ones we can all find by just exploring roads that lead to somewhere. 👍
Thank you for not disclosing "how to get there" that easy. I have been hiking for a few years and I do my homework when I see a place of interest such as your hike to Panamint City. This year I began exploring more on the Inyo Wilderness side, hiked many miles into the canyons as I do not own a OHV or 4WD but it is quite fun to find your way around and by doing so exploring the different mines I've come across. Thank you again for not being too easy to share your routes. I love to hike in areas where not many souls take the chance to go and it definitely is so amazing to be able to see a bit of centuries ago. Loved your Panamint City content by the way specially the picture of the tower with the starry night...beautiful, will be checking out your content on IG. P City is on my to do very soon list.
Glad you're enjoying the stories! The location thing is always a bit of a struggle for me, and I know my solution isn't everyone's cup of tea (some think I share too much, others, not enough), but I think it's a nice compromise and it allows (usually) those who are willing to put in the work, a shot at getting out and seeing some of the same cool stuff I did.
I agree with you, I give hints but not fully disclose how to specifically get there or the specific details. If they are truly interested they’ll do their homework. Meanwhile I’ll continue to enjoy your content and learn from your sharing a how to get there ☺️
WELL SAID! I try to follow the same approach....I obfuscate and give fake names, but if someone REALLY wants to find a place, and puts in the effort by matching the ridgelines of the mountains etc, I feel that person earned the right to visit that place. Selling coordinates via Patreon etc seems totally gross!
Of course, I still get blasted...but my approach sits ok with my own conscience, so I try to ignore the haters. The irony is, If I WAS the type to name names and give route info, I'd probably be the successful social media behemoth they accuse me of being. As it is, my approach costs me, and I continue to grind it out in semi-obscurity.,
Thanks Sarah! I think in this area it's pretty much impossible to make everyone happy.
And I'd say you're out of the "semi-obscurity" realm, but maybe that's just me, since I always enjoy your adventures. 👍
Wherever you may be, you still make me laugh.
I like your approach because it isn't simply about protecting wild places it is also encouraging people to develop a deeper connection to a place and to advance their own skills.
I understand this completely. What really grinds my gears is a guy like Brent from Cerro Gordo. While his Youtube channel is cool as heck, he is showing literally millions of people these precious sites that would have never heard of them such as Beveridge, Champion mine, etc. While he doesnt give gpx either, he makes it known they exist and with Google its not too hard to find. With his broad audience I bet he has personally contributed to "man hand" more than anyone in the last 10 years.
I've got mixed feelings about Brent as well. The guy is supper passionate about history and mining there in the Inyo. He's willing to put in a LOT more work than just about anyone else in getting to a place, exploring that place, etc. But yeah, he's also not at all shy about sharing where a place is or what it's called. I think for the most part, the places he mentions are already reasonably well known (perhaps not to all of those who watch his videos, but to those who know about the region). He does keep locations of a few things (like when he did the prospecting) "unnamed," likely because they aren't the "already known" placs.
What gets me about Brent is that he uses a drone both in the Inyo Mountain Wilderness as well as inside the DVNP boundaries. I'm sure he knows that this is a no-no, and it sets a bad precedent for others (who may not know, or who may think "Brent did it, so I will doo.")
Full disclosure - I've met Brent once when I arrived at Cerro Gordo on one of my trips. It was a few minutes before 6:00pm and he wandered over as I stepped out of the Tacoma and asked me to leave (lol). He, of course, had no idea who I was (not that I am anybody or that it should make any difference.) And "fuller disclosure" - he has since reached out to me (again, not realizing we'd already "met," but because he apparently has read a few of my stories) and offered to have me come up and hang out for a day.