Headquarted in Utah
The Trek Planner is a small adventure website. I share adventures from hiking, exploring abandoned mines, petroglyphs, ATV trips, and more!
From Kaysville Utah but Jeff has spent many years working in Alaska near Denali National Park. Jeff has always enjoyed exploring new places and sometimes he will pick a random place on a map that he’s never been to and just go drive there.
Jeff started The Trek Planner back in 2013 after being tired of seeing other outdoor websites skimping on the details and pictures. He looked up hikes on certain websites and found that the information was lacking or misleading and he knew that he could do better. So Jeff started an outdoor blog style website which was originally named Trek Trax for a few weeks before changing the name to what it is now.
Jeff@thetrekplanner.com
Hello Jeff, My name is Raymond Macon and I live in Centennial, Colorado. I’ve been watching your short videos and have been enjoying them very much. Today (8 April 2023) I discovered your website and can’t wait to explore more of it. As someone with a degree in geography, I am keenly interested in the places you’ve explored and the discoveries you are sharing with the rest of us via YouTube and the Web. Keep up the good work! I have one suggestion for the short videos I’ve watched on my cellphone: You should tell your viewers the location of… Read more »
Hi Raymond! Thank you for your kind words! I would love to be able to share locations freely with like-minded people. I used to do this in the past. Right now, I am mixed on what to do about sharing locations due to increased vandalism and harm to the sites. I would love to create a space for people like us to be able to talk about this type of thing more open without people going out and digging through these special sites or taking artifacts and things. I know I’m not the first person to visit many of these… Read more »
Hey Jeff!
I love your articles!
I’ve been able to find some great information on your blogs to places I’ve visited, where my own research has failed!
Do you ever have people join you or are you looking to expand your team?
Hi Jessica! Thank you for your kind words! I’m still coming up with some ideas on what to do with my website, which may include expanding! I’ll reach out to you if I am!
Please do!!
Hello the website won’t let me register/ sign up plz fix
Jeff, love your videos and your logo! Any t shirts available?
Do you have guest hikers go with you or do you do guided hikes? I live in Salt Lake City on I have a very special friend that loves hiking and the outdoors. Her 50th birthday is next September and I’m trying to plan something super special for her. Anyway, if you have any suggestions I’d live to hear them.
Hey Jeff, I have a ranch in northern Arizona. It is situated on ancient anasazi land. I have a shamans cave, ….. 500 foot cliffs with ancient stairwells leading to sacred petroglyphs, meteorite craters with ancient ceremonial sites, and even a little known public site with 5,000 anasazi petroglyphs. All within 10 mile radius of us…and more We have an organic farm on our ranch and make over 100 ancient native remedies. I might have a few adventures for you if your interested, I am a retired film and TV executive and not interested in the media side of it…..just… Read more »
Hi David! Thank you for your comment. I am very interested especially with the ancient stairwells and other sites you mentioned. Is this something I could come explore?
Jeff –
I’m heading to Nine Mile Canyon (again) in a couple of weeks. I’ve seen some of your photos/videos and I’m trying to locate a couple of the sites that you’ve highlighted – but am not having any luck. Could you please contact me so that I might learn more?
Thank you,
Tim
Hi Jeff. A comment on your trek to the cliff dwellings in the video “Uncovering my absolute favorite discovery on google”.
The cave painting depicting the 6 triangular red shapes reminded me the 6 pyramids on the Giza plateau. There’s been a lot of talk about the Egypt/desert southwest connection especially in the Grand Canyon. So perhaps the artist(s) of those triangles was inspired by said Egyptians and or southwest visitations.
Wouldn’t that be another cool bit of evidence to corroborate that theory!
Thanks for sharing your adventures. Keep on treckkin’!
Hi Jeff,
I started watching your YouTube videos in May 2023. I grew up in SLC (1965-1987). My friends and I had many adventures all over the state long before GPS and internet existed. I mostly appreciate how you respect the places you visit. It’s important to lead by example and you’re doing a great job of bringing all these wonders to people who otherwise would never see them.
If you ever make tshirts or hats, I’ll buy ’em.
I dig your youtube videos. Keep up the good work. I’ll be watching.
I absolutely love your channel:). I would love to become a member and just wanted some more information:). Thank you for your time:).
Hello Jeff, My wife and I really enjoy all your posts on YouTube, we appreciate your excitement and your integrity. I have a question though, what kind of camera do you use or recommend and what kind of drone do you use? The picture quality is outstanding. Thank you for any info and keep up the great installments.
Hi Jeff,
I was watching your “I found this land symbol on google earth” video where you mentioned upgrading your vehicle. I’m currently leasing a 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that I would be willing to sell you for the remaining cost if you are still looking to upgrade your vehicle. Just contact me if you would like more details. 🙂 I do live in Florida…
Hi Jeff, I recently viewed some of your adventures and loved every one. I want to tell you how much I appreciate your respect for the places you explore. I agree with you about not foreclosing some of the locations. Stay safe.
Hi, Jeff. We are seniors who love your YouTube feed. How can we buy one of your t-shirts? From Warrenton, OR USA
Hi Jeff. I am trying to gain membership but your enrollment form asks for an invitation code. I don’t have one, I haven’t gotten one in the mail. Where do I locate this code?
Hey Alan! THANK YOU for bringing this to my attention. I probably wouldn’t have known otherwise, so thank you! I got it fixed!
Hi Jeff, Just ‘discovered’ your website after watching your videos for over a year…. Duh! Thank you so much for all your adventures and the work you do! thank you also for being respectful of the sites! I have always wondered how much of what you find has been unknown to science! I imagine some Profs in AZ,NM,UT, and four corners following you intently? About you most recent site… The two fragments of black pottery seem special to me and look very ancient… Wonder what materials were used, why the black color? …An academic might recognize the pottery type, dates… Read more »
Hello Jeff my name is Tobin and I enjoy watching your videos. I have driven across the Utah desert several times. I have often wondered what is out there and you have answered my question. I am concerned about your safety. You reported that you have GPS, sate phone, extra water. You normally make wise decisions on your solo treks, but I saw you climb down cliffs without any climbing gear. You have people in your life that matter to you and I want you to return to them. No video is worth you life. I only hope that you… Read more »
Watching a couple of your episodes on youtube, Got kicked off so I text here… you posted a couple of episodes with round towers… one had small balls grouped together about a short tower standing on hard rock… I watch a lot of U tube and have seen these pearls in caverns as cave explorers went through caverns… Those natural rock towers were deposited over many years by water weeping or dripping down into caverns… creating the pools that you see as towers. The caverns have weathered away to the level you find the two towers ( two episodes)… It… Read more »
Been watching your videos for a while. Born and raised in Cortez Colorado and know some of the areas you have in your videos. There is an unpopular thread of oral history about the area that could answer some of your questions. Kick me an email if you want to get into it.
I live in Los Angeles. My treks are to the grocery store because at 86, I’m just not foolish enough to start hiking in the glorious outback. Personally, I think you’ve got a screw loose to take these dangerous treks with no visible support team. Now, having been in the movie business I realize that you probably have a full team behind the camera. Light, sound, catering, stage hands.
I would love to support you as I enjoy your videos’, but you don’t make it easy, so, how do I support you without climbing cliffs?
Hi jeff, I recently discovered your youtube channel and heard you say you have marked over 7000 locations, is there a google drive doc you could share so i could poke around and see what youve marked? Also could you make a video about HOW you go about finding these locations on google earth, i dont seem to be very good at it.
I used your old site quite a bit, and you had so much content for up here in northern Utah. Tons in Logan. Found a ton of good trails because of you. Now the site looks different and all those routes are gone. I was wondering if it’s behind a paywall now, but signing up doesn’t work. Is all that old content still being converted forward to your new site template, or is it lost? Sad I can’t find it anymore.
I can’t get to the membership page to register. Help!
Hi Jeff, I really enjoy watching your videos and being a landscape photographer I see some intriguing opportunities to capture some of your finds. I don’t think those watching your videos are the type that would mess with the ruins or actually go to the trouble to see them in person. Also I wouldn’t think your discoveries are the instagram type of locations so that crowd wouldn’t be interested. But for those of us that love the SW and would really enjoy seeing them in person there must be a way for you to help us out. Maybe just a… Read more »
I might know where the red paint comes from that they used to make the handprints and so forth. There is a parasite that lives on the bluish grayish pickly pear cactus. The Aztec would pick off the parasite dry them, then crush them add water. They would get a red paint or a red dye for material. You can see this on the History channel in Lost Gold of the Aztecs, Episode 1-3 And 1-4
Hey Jeff,
I never knew how interesting visiting ancient Indian sites could be until I started watching you on YouTube. Your’s is by far my most favorite channel. I live in Florida so nothing here stays preserved very long. So watching you find 1,000 year old sites in such amazing condition is awesome. Please keep up the wonderful work. On a technical note, when I click on the “membership” icon it sends me to a “404 page does not exist”. I would love to become a member. Please let me know if there is something I’m doing wrong. Thanks
On the 23rd of January story where you found the rectangular structures and then found the cave like structure. When you were standing, I think above it before you went down to look at it, I noticed a half moon shaped area that looked like it might be out in front of where the cave might be. It looks like it might a rock structure that someone may have built. Take a look at the video and see what you think.
Hi Jeff – I live in the South of England, UK, and although we have some majestic coastline, watching your videos, it is amazing to see the History and Geology of your part of the world. Thank you for all your effort, and to your attention to detail.
(May I ask please – what software/App do you use for your 3D scans & models)
Hi Jeff,
My husband and I both love your hiking videos. We appreciate your respect for the ancients. Thank you for sharing such interesting finds. Please delve into the works of Wayne Hershel to see more, especially about the “snakes/serpents”. https://thehiddenrecords.com/
Also, Navajo Traditional Teachings has many enlightening videos to check out, especially about the anasazi. https://www.youtube.com/@NavajoTraditionalTeachings
Hey Jeff…fo u have a brother named Kevin?
Hello, Jeff – I have very-much enjoyed your desert videos and fascinating things discovered via your visits to these Google Earth anomalies. I have decided to subscribe to The Trek Planner, which is to-date, the only Internet channel to which I subscribe. The reason for this is your personal hosting style of the TTP videos, mainly you don’t appear to yourself as a show host or on-camera “personality”. I have subscribed because you appear to be “just Jeff”, and that makes your videos very watchable. Your philosophy of “let it alone” is highly commendable. Particularly impressive is the recent video… Read more »
Hey there Jeff. What equipment do you use to notify your family of your location in remote areas?
Hello Jeff–
Discovered your site last week.So delighted. I grew up in the Denver area and traveled through New Mexico on the way to Phoenix..Have always enjoyed the beauty of the landscape and learning about the Native cultures. I am finding the rock art fascinating..
the cave art in France is easy to interpret but the images found in the southwest are incredible design wise but seem to be a profound mystery.
thank you for sharing too much..
Hi Jeff, I have so enjoyed going along on your adventures. My husband and I are 70 years old and we have searched and looked at Indian ruins and writings since we got married. We love the southwest. We have a pioneer sideXside that we use for our adventures. We would love to meet up with you sometime and go on an adventure. We want to visit ruin park in the near future. Keep treking!
Jeff: At 80 yrs. old, I am not as mobile as I used to be. So, thanks for your video outings in the four corners area which allow this vicarious archaeologist to visit SW US archaeological sites. In college, I majored in the archaeology of the bronze age in ancient Greece, so your videos show another, parallel cultural evolution, albeit later than the Greek bronze age. There is a lot to learn from your visits to the ancestral pueblan ruins. But of great importance to me is the respect that I have for the mirrored (probably polarized) sun glasses that… Read more »
Hi Jeff,
I am a new subscriber and enjoy your channel very much.
Have you read any of Craig Child’s books regarding ancient civilizations in the American SW? I have just finished: House of Rain :Tracking A Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest and Soul of Nowhere: Traversing Grace in A Rugged Land These books were well-written and highly informative. He has written many more and I plan to check them out. I think you would find them to be of interest as well.
Hello Jeff. My name is Marcel and I’m from SF CA. I started watching yours and others videos on the southwest only recently because that area has always fascinated me.I drove through Southern Utah once and it blew my mind. Then to find guys like you who actually go out there to middle of nowhere did likewise. How do you protect yourself from mountain lions and large hungry predators or do you never have to camp out? Always wanted to ask that. That and snakes. Yesterday I watched your vid on this place you called a “watchtower”. A circular ruin… Read more »
I love your vids keep on going your awesome and my favorite youtuber
hi dad love you so so much
Hey Jeff, love your channel….kudos! is there a site to buy a “Trek Planner” tshirt or hat….would be awesome….be safe out there my friend!!!!
I am almost 80. I live in NM and thought I would volunteer at mesa versa but alas am healthy nut not enough for trekking. I will live vicariously thru you. I do have one suggestion… While the big flood was receding the caves were at river level. They didn’t build them way up. The Bible is real as you. 😊
Well that was so wrong…mesa verda and am not healthy enough to trek but can still get around
I will make this very short, the broken pottery that you find is the same as finding gravestones. They used them to mark the spots where their loved ones may still lie or unfortunately have probably all been dug up and the remains removed. The different colors and types of pottery that you find show the standing of the individuals such as chiefs, warriors and so forth. I like your show very much and I am astounded by your climbing abilities.
Awesome Channel. Really enjoy every episode and the fact that you teach respect for these sites. Do you sell any merch
Jeff – what kind of drone do you recommend. Yours seems to do a nice job.
He’s got a DJI Mini 4 Pro…
How can I purchase your merch?
I’ve been watching some of your videos & have run across your page a few times. I can’t see how to sign up so I can access more info, particularly the locations.