On Saturday morning, about 35 hikers and at least three dogs joined Times and Zócalo Public Square staffers for a history lesson and trek through Placerita Canyon State Park near Santa Clarita.

We gathered on a beautiful winter day outside the Placerita Canyon Nature Center, starting our adventure with gentle stretches led by Times wellness writer Deborah Vankin, who has written extensively on how to stay limber long into adulthood. We were soon greeted by Jack Levenberg, a docent and naturalist, with Sierra, a great horned owl, perched on his gloved hand. The raptor serves as an animal ambassador at the center.

We started our hike by heading to the Oak of the Golden Dream, where gold was first discovered by colonizers in 1842.

Tataviam Land Conservancy board member and Cultural Bearer Kevin Nuñez led a historical discussion, explaining that his people of the village Japchibit are the original Indigenous people of the San Gabriel Mountains, and his family has a traceable lineage with Japchibit traceable through 1765.

“In the 1770s, the Spanish-made presence made land and began to build missions in the Los Angeles County area,” said Nuñez, the captain of Japchibit. “My family was impacted heavily because Japchibit was the political center of the Vanyume or Serrano people of the Antelope Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains.”

Tataviam Land Conservancy board member Kevin Nuñez shares about how Spanish colonizers discovering gold harmed Indigenous people in the L.A. County area. He also spoke about the broader harm and violence that came to Indigenous people with colonization and the construction of missions.

(Brittany Levine Beckman / Los Angeles Times)

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Afterward, our group headed to the Canyon Trail, a 3.6-mile out-and-back hike through a lush oak woodland alongside Placerita Creek.

We paused to smell the zesty aroma of California sagebrush, which grows all along the Canyon Trail. We also passed dense stands of thick-leaved yerba santa, California buckwheat, sugar bush and chilicothe vines and we were treated to the squawks of California scrub jays and a red-tail hawk flying overhead. A variety of hawks call Placerita Canyon their home.

Our group deftly made it over multiple water crossings and shared trekking poles and shoulders to ensure we all could make it safely through the creek. None of us left the canyon with dry feet, but we did end up with new friends.

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About 1½ miles in, we started to smell a sulfur-like aroma and knew we were close to one of the most interesting features of this hike. We trekked up a steep incline to quickly discover signs for white oil bubbling out of the ground.

“This very rare geologic feature of translucent petroleum has been filtered by nature,” the sign read. “This special resource originates from deep within the earth in the Placerita Schist basement complex of rocks.”

Soon after, we gathered under the shade of old oak trees at a large clearing with several picnic tables.

Just under two miles in, we rested at a large picnic area under the shade of old tall oak trees. A stone fireplace and concrete foundation were nearby, the last remains of a house that Frank Walker started to build but never finished. The Walker family lived on the land starting in the 1920s. We sat together for about 20 minutes, sharing our favorite local hikes, including the Gabrielino Trail that runs through the San Gabriel Mountains.

The hike was part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years.

Please keep an eye out for the next Times subscriber hike, which will be sometime in the spring. In the meantime, want to learn more about the L.A. outdoors? Subscribe to The Wild, our (free!) weekly outdoors newsletter, where I provide you with the best places to hike around L.A. County. See you out there!

In 2024, I planned to travel by myself to Slovenia — a country I had fallen in love with during my first visit 20 years prior.

It was going to be the first time I’d left my two young children for a week, and I was nervous. What if something bad happened to them while I was gone? How long would it take me to rebook three flights and get home?

But as soon as I began wandering Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana alone, I was flooded with relief — and excitement. I couldn’t wait to explore the Julian Alps and spend time in the toplice, or thermal spas, without having to break for nap time or search for kid-friendly snacks.

Traveling alone can be one of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself, says journalist Marquita Harris, who spent 2021 traveling the world solo through Airbnb’s Live Anywhere program. It can be empowering to learn that you are capable and resilient — and that you can trust yourself.

But it can also be a little scary, she adds. “When you don’t have to cater to your partner or a friend or your kids, you’re arriving at a destination where the only person you have to rely on is yourself.”

If you’re curious about traveling solo, here’s how to plan a trip — and what to expect.

Author Amelia Edelman traveled solo to Slovenia in 2024. She shares the view from her climb to Ljubljana Castle, situated high above the country’s capital.

Amelia Edelman

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Amelia Edelman

Start small 

To get a sense of how you plan, manage and meander when it’s all on you, go on a mini solo trip close to home, Harris says. “See if you can just have a beach day by yourself somewhere local.”

This can allow you to test the waters of solo travel and work up to bigger trips in the future.

Choose a destination that’s right for you

Ready for something more ambitious? Don’t just pick a destination that looks dreamy on Instagram. Choose a place that aligns with your unique trip goals.

Ask yourself: Why do I want to go on this trip? What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? How fast or slow do I want to move?

Use your answers to these questions to help you determine what type of solo trip — and destination — are right for you.

For example, if you’re reeling after a breakup or coping with burnout, you may want to book a chill mountainside cabin or stay somewhere with a spa. If you’re feeling energetic and psyched about meeting new people, head to your dream city across the planet and start exploring on foot.

Consider your comfort level 

Aim for a place that’s navigable, welcoming and suited to how you want to travel.

Start with a destination where you speak the language, Harris says. That can make it easier to get around, read signs and menus, and start conversations with locals.

Equally important is understanding how a place might feel for you. A destination that feels safe and joyful for one traveler may not for another.

Harris’ family, for example, advised her against traveling solo to Rio de Janeiro. But the city ended up being deeply affirming for Harris.

“I’ve never been to a place where so many people looked like me,” she says. “I will sing its praises, especially for Black travelers.”

Edelman likes to keep things simple while solo traveling. She prefers sticking to just one course when dining, so it’s less of a production — but she won’t say no to tasting two wines.

Amelia Edelman

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Amelia Edelman

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Beware the single supplement

While planning your trip, keep an eye out for the single supplement. It’s a premium that’s often charged to solo travelers by tours and cruise lines that could otherwise book two people into a room for a greater profit.

The add-on can range widely, from a $50-per-day single supplement on a 10-day Rick Steves tour to a full 200% of the stateroom cost on a Royal Caribbean cruise. (This is based on a double-occupancy stateroom; Royal Caribbean does have limited single-occupancy staterooms available.)

To determine whether there’s a single supplement on your tour or cruise, compare the cost of a double-occupancy room for two people versus a room for one, or inquire with the company if it’s not clear when booking on the site.

Joy Fox, a 90-year-old solo traveler who has been exploring the world on her own for nearly 70 years, recommends networks like Women Welcome Women World Wide and Solos. These organizations don’t charge the supplement and even provide additional resources and support that cater just to solo travelers.

Expect “traveler’s melancholy”

Even on the best solo trips, loneliness or sadness can rear their heads, especially if you find yourself alongside travelers who seem to all be paired up with friends, family or partners.

“They call it ‘traveler’s melancholy,’” Harris says. Eventually in her solo-travel year, “I got tired of myself. I needed to hear another voice besides my own.”

The author on a nighttime hike with new friends from her solo travels in Solčava, Slovenia, near the border with Austria.

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Araceli Viqueira

To cope with these feelings, Fox says to find small ways to make connections with others while traveling. “Smile. Give someone a compliment. Suddenly you’re not really on your own.”

And remember: Traveling by yourself does not mean you’re alone. “You’re gonna befriend the person who helps you up the mountain,” Harris says. “There’s always a friend somewhere.”

As for my “Solo-venia” trip, as I called it, of course there were moments when I missed my kids or surveyed a romantic sunset over the mountains and wished my partner were beside me.

But mostly, I traipsed through the forest on night hikes, met new friends from a dozen different countries and tried countless kinds of Slovenian wine — all without any tiny hands tugging at my clothes or little voices admitting, “Mama, I peed.” And that was worth every minute of my unwarranted pre-trip jitters.

Amelia Edelman is a writer, editor and content strategist who has worked with outlets such as the BBC, Lonely Planet and Travel + Leisure. She has traveled to 38 countries, often with her kids.

The story was edited by Malaka Gharib. Beck Harlan is the visual editor. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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