Meet the Mapper
Feat. onX Trail Guide Brett Siegel
You’ve seen the trails highlighted in blue on your onX Offroad map–those are our Featured Trails, and they’re exceptionally cool because each one was diligently mapped by one of our Trail Guides. Tapping on one opens an expertly-crafted guide full of descriptions, photos, and ratings, kudos of our intrepid mappers. The Trail Guides help elevate our experience in the App, and they collect a ton of epic stories along the way. Our Meet the Mapper series explores who the people behind the trails are, what they drive, and what it’s like chasing off-road adventures.
Author: Brett Siegel + onX Offroad
You’ve seen the trails highlighted in blue on your onX Offroad map–those are our Featured Trails, and they’re exceptionally cool because each one was diligently mapped by one of our Trail Guides. Tapping on one opens an expertly-crafted guide full of descriptions, photos, and ratings, kudos of our intrepid mappers. The Trail Guides help elevate our experience in the App, and they collect a ton of epic stories along the way. Our Meet the Mapper series explores who the people behind the trails are, what they drive, and what it’s like chasing off-road adventures.
Author: Brett Siegel + onX Offroad
Brett and Lizzy Siegel
Brett and his wife Lizzy call the open road home. They’ve explored endless miles and mapped dozens of trails during their Trail Guide tenure. Our maps wouldn’t be what they are without Trail Guides like the Siegels, and that’s worth celebrating. We chatted with Brett and here’s what he shared.
Tell us a bit about yourself and why you off-road?
I’ve been off-roading since I was a kid.
One thing led to the next, I started going every weekend, bought more and more rigs, and then got into overlanding so I could add more camping into the adventure. Lizzy and I had a 5 year plan to get out of debt to take to the road full time. We made sacrifices, worked hard, and hit the road in 2019 in our “house van”, a 2012 Ford E-350, built out with all of life’s essentials, including a trailer for the dirtbikes. We’re always on the move, diving deep into an area to really understand what it has to offer. That connection is important to us, and one reason why the onX Trail Guide program is so appealing.
Slate Creek To Robinsons Bar
Despite being difficult–if not impossible–to determine, Brett and Lizzie agreed this is one of their favorite trails that they mapped for onX Offroad.
How’d you pick this one as your favorite trail?
While we try to hit the must-run off Road trails, we really love the hidden gems most.
We seek the ones that take a little more planning and commitment to get there. This trail winds along the Salmon River outside of Stanley, Idaho, up into the hills and back down to its banks. It’s not very well-traveled and we’ve had to stop to move rockfall off the trail before. We love finding those perfect campsites and this trail doesn’t disappoint.
If you were given enough money and time to go off-roading anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Iceland – it’s so epic! We’d go for the off-roading AND the hot springs.
One thing I love about onX is that it helps us navigate to endless amounts of cool places. Some are right there on the map, and some take a sharp willingness for exploration to sleuth out. We love the thrill of researching and finding new hot springs well beyond the crowds.
What’s your favorite thing to cook on the trail?
We call it “adult mac and cheese.”
We have a stovetop oven in our van, which is the best. We make mac n cheese, add broccoli and mushrooms, natural beef sausages, and Hatch chilis. How’s that for dirt-road top-notch?
We’re grateful for Trail Guides like Brett and Lizzy, and we love hearing the stories, tips, and tricks they’ve earned on the road. Follow their adventures on Instagram at @ouroverlandlife.
Stay tuned to meet more of our mappers
Learn about the onX Offroad Trail Guide program or apply to join.