A 20-year journey from scattered spreadsheets to a single system for every adventure.
⏱ 6 min read
Why I Built Adventure Outset
For the past 20 years, planning trips into the mountains has been a fact of life for me.
Every trip is different, so for some it was a basic checklist before heading out for the weekend.
For longer and more complex trips, that checklist turned into spreadsheets with multiple tabs: itinerary, food, gear, expenses, logistics.
Over time, those plans ended up everywhere.
Some lived on my desktop.
Some in Google Drive.
Some in my notes app.
My routes were mapped in Gaia GPS.
My packing lists were in different formats depending on the trip.
None of it connected.
And the most frustrating part wasn’t the effort, I actually enjoy planning.
It was the fragmentation.
Example of Trip Spreadsheet
The Moment I Realised Something Was Missing
For years I’ve mapped almost every trail I’ve hiked on Gaia GPS.
I use a simple colour system:
- Red: planning
- Blue: booked/ in progress
- Green: completed
Zooming out and seeing those lines across different parts of the world is incredibly satisfying. It tells the story of a life of adventure in a single view.
But it’s only the map.
It doesn’t show:
- what I carried
- how the food worked out
- the itinerary and logistics
- what I learned
- what I’d do differently next time
The map shows where I went.
It doesn’t capture the experience.
A view of some of my past and future routes in NZ.
Before every trip I send my wife a long message with my plan, route, gear, and key details, just in case something goes wrong. Thankfully it never has, but it always felt like a clunky, manual process.
I wanted one place where:
- I could plan the trip
- track progress during the trip
- send key info to loved ones at home
- come back and reflect afterwards
Not five different tools.
The Seed of the Idea
A few years ago I was training for an Ironman and using TrainingPeaks every day.
It was my central hub to:
- plan
- track
- analyse
- improve
Everything for my training lived in one place.
At the same time I was planning a multi-day backcountry trip using my usual mix of spreadsheets, notes, and maps.
And I remember thinking:
Why doesn’t something like this exist for adventure?
Not just a gear list.
Not just a map.
Not just a to-do list.
A complete system.
View of Training Peaks Dashboard
Around that time I had discovered Notion while looking for a project management tool for work. I started experimenting with it for trip planning, and for the first time, the pieces began to come together.
Trips, gear, food, itineraries, tasks, all connected.
For years it was rough and purely personal. But it worked.
The First Real “Aha” Moment
One of the first moments where it genuinely changed how I operated was simple.
Instead of sending my wife a long message before a trip with the cliff notes of my trip plan, I sent her a link to my trip plan on Notion using the share feature.
One page.
Everything she needed.
Faster for me.
Better for her.
Safer overall.
Another came on a week-long trip this summer.
Each night in my tent I opened my trip dashboard offline:
- checked the next day’s plan
- reviewed and adjusted my itinerary
- wrote in my journal
No switching between apps.
No missing details.
It felt effortless. Practical. Intuitive.
That’s when I realised this wasn’t just a personal project anymore, it was a powerful system and something other people might benefit from.
Built From 20 Years of Trips
Backpacking is at the core of my adventure life.
Over the last two decades I’ve:
- traversed the Sierra Nevada and Wind River Ranges
- explored the deserts of the American Southwest
- covered countless miles in the Appalachians Mountains
- climbed volcanoes across New Zealand
- summited Kilimanjaro
- planned countless weekend missions and week-long expeditions
Alongside that came:
- cycle touring
- fastpacking
- trail running
- family road trips and camping weekends
- international travel for work and leisure
Different pursuits, all with the same planning problem.
Every trip needs:
- a route
- gear
- food
- logistics
- budget
- a way to remember it afterwards
What Existing Tools Get Right, and What They Don’t
There are some excellent tools out there.
I’ve used many of them.
But they each solve one piece of the puzzle:
- gear lists
- maps
- booking logistics
- notes and to-do lists
- journaling
Which means most adventurers still end up back in spreadsheets, or worse, not planning properly at all.
A good system shouldn’t get in the way of thinking about your trip.
It should enhance the experience by:
- reminding you of easily forgotten details
- saving you time with reusable templates
- bring all your details into one place
- help you learn from experience
Adventure Outset Started as Something I Needed
I didn’t set out to build a product. I built the system I wished existed in the world.
For three years I refined it inside my own notion workspace, using it on real trips, changing it when something didn’t work, adding what was missing. Just to help facilitate my own adventures.
Three months ago, while preparing for another big trip, I finally polished it into something I could share.
When I showed a few friends and saw their reaction, I realised this solves a fundamental challenge shared by many.
What It Is Today, and What It Might Become
Version 1 of Adventure Outset is a Notion-based system. A template you can copy to your workspace.
It lets you:
- plan every aspect of a trip
- use it in the field
- reflect afterwards
- share and collaborate with friends
- keep all your adventure history in one place
But it’s also the beginning of something bigger.
The long-term vision is to build a dedicated app where:
- your trips live permanently
- you can share adventures with friends
- the community inspires the next journey
This first version exists to:
- get it into the hands of real users
- gather feedback
- build the next version together
A view of some of my past and future adventures in the Adventure Outset Dashboard
Who It’s For
If you’ve ever:
- built a gear list in a spreadsheet
- struggled to find your old trip notes
- had trip details spread across tools
- wanted to keep a record of your adventures
You’ll probably feel at home here.
Why This Exists
Adventure Outset is the system that lets me:
- plan faster
- stress less
- learn from every trip
- and dream up the next one
Now I’m sharing it with you.
Start Here
If this resonates with you:
Because the next version of this system won’t be built by me alone,
it will be built by a community of people who love adventure as much as I do.
I’d love to hear your feedback to help shape the future of Adventure Outset. Thank You!
Adventure Outset Walkthrough Video