What We Are All About
Hey there and welcome to Meander Explorers! Here, we are focused on the outdoors by teaching others how to build gear or enjoy their public land. We welcome people of any skill level and background who want to get more into the outdoors. All in all, we want to show how you can optimize your life for adventure. We are two engineers that love wild places, live in a van, and seek out new experiences everyday. Our deepest passion is project caving, surveying and mapping unexplored cave passages, but we also just enjoy getting outside. We are currently living in a van and traveling around North America. Join us!
About Us
Sara Fleetwood
I started designing and building my own outdoor’s gear freshman year of college, when I had more time than money and was dissatisfied with the gear available. This expanded into modifying and repairing gear that I already owned, repairing and making gear for others, as well as, working in the outdoor gear industry as a Product Development Engineer for Sterling Rope. I am happiest in the outdoors, learning and experiencing new things, which has lead to a deep passion for project caving (surveying and mapping unexplored cave passages). But, I also enjoy backpacking, fly-fishing, any water-related sport, and dabble in a number of other hobbies.
Philip Schuchardt
I’m a software engineer for a small aerospace company, but also have never ending passion for the outdoor. If I’m not coding something cool for work, I’m producing outdoor related apps. I wrote the profile generator that produces profiles for the Pacific Crest Trail halfmile maps. I am the founder of CaveWhere, a 3D map generator and visualizer for underground caves. When I’m not on my computer, I peruse through geologic maps looking for caves, backpacking, or climbing. I have spent a significant amount of time in the Sierra, having been a former back country wilderness ranger for four seasons and backpacked the PCT in 2009.
Some additional things we’ve done together. . .
Together, we’ve backpacked the Sierra (+ Southern Sierra) High Route, gone on caving expeditions in both the US and countries around the world, and are currently living in a van traveling North America. Our second passion after caving is backpacking. Additionally, we enjoy rock-climbing, surfing, biking, canyoning, and any sort of multi-sport type adventure. Over the years, we have built, modified, and repaired a lot of our own outdoors gear, ranging from soft goods such as cave packs and suits to converting a cargo van to a camper. One of our favorite ways of getting from one trail head to the next is biking. Our favorite place is the place we haven’t been yet.