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Le routard décide de faire la randonnée seul.

Le routard décide de faire la randonnée seul.
The backpacker decides to do the hike alone.
From Lesson 275:Same-subject infinitives (de + infinitive)·French

Questions & Answers about Le routard décide de faire la randonnée seul.

Why does this sentence use de faire instead of saying qu'il fait or qu'il fasse?
When the main subject and the person doing the second action are the same, French avoids using a que clause (which can sometimes trigger the subjunctive or needlessly complicate the sentence). Instead, it prefers an infinitive verb. Because the verb décider requires the preposition de before an infinitive, we use décide de faire.
Why is seul masculine when it comes right after the feminine word la randonnée?
The adjective seul (alone) describes the subject, Le routard, which is masculine singular. Even though it sits at the end of the sentence, it agrees with the person who is alone, not the hike. If it were a female backpacker, the sentence would be La routarde décide de faire la randonnée seule.
Could I just say décide faire without the de?
No, you must include de. In French, many conjugated verbs require a specific preposition to connect them to a following infinitive verb. décider is one of those verbs that always needs de when followed by an action.
Is routard a slang word?
It is informal but extremely common in everyday spoken French, so it is safe to use. It comes from the word route (road) and refers to a backpacker or budget traveler.

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