Backpacker Magazine: Pacific Crest Trail: Backpacking and Camping Trips, Hikes, Adventures, Topo Maps, Aerial Photos.

Pacific Crest Trail: Best Month - High Sierra, CA

Submitted by: Backpacker Magazine
Every hiker's life list should include the 270 miles between Mt. Whitney and Sonora Pass. It may take a month, but it's a trivial sacrifice to make for the most unrelenting wilderness eye-candy you'll ever feast on.

Pacific Crest Trail: Best Week - Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA

Submitted by: Backpacker Magazine
Want mountain views? Gaze at horizon-hoggers like Rainier and Glacier Peak. Flora and fauna? Spot mountain goats amid the plentiful columbines. Lakeside camping? With 700 lakes, there's no end to superb tent sites on this 58.7-mile trek.

San Diego, CA: Noble Canyon-Indian Creek-Pine Mountain Loop

Submitted by: Backpacker Magazine
No time for Pacific Crest thru-hiking? This 12-miler samples a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, passing mile-high peaks and desert vistas.

Pacific Crest Trail: CA Section 19

BACKPACKER Review
WALKER PASS to KENNEDY MEADOWS: Go 48.5 miles on the Kern Plateau, a slanted wilderness that connects foxtail pine country to the crumbling granite obelisks of the Sierra foothills.

North Cascades National Park: Agnes Gorge

BACKPACKER Review
This 7.9-mile out-and-back in North Cascades National Park links massive old-growth cedars, a photogenic gorge, and waterfall overlooks.

Pacific Crest Trail: Most Diverse - San Jacinto Mountains, CA

BACKPACKER Review
This 49.8-mile traverse passes through all six California life zones, from scrubby deserts of chaparral and shaggy Mojave yucca to the frosty spine of the San Jacinto Range.

San Diego, CA: Laguna Hills via PCT

This weekend trip strings together cool ravines, desert canyons, and sunset views over the Pacific Ocean.

Pacific Crest Trail: CA Section 22

SONORA PASS to EBBETTS PASS: Curve between sharp ice-hewn boulders on this 27.2-mile stretch surrounded by red volcanic peaks.

Morris Peak

Readers' Choice 2012: Top 3 - West Hikes

BACKPACKER Review
The region's best picks from our top field correspondent, who's notched more than 1,800 trail miles throughout the West and mapped 116 trips.

The High Life: Hiking Utah's Highline Trail

BACKPACKER Review
Watch your step on Utah' Highline Trail. The nonstop views and rampant wildlife are distractingly spectacular. Plus: Gaze away on 9 more elevated hikes.

Hike America's Long Trails

BACKPACKER Review
We know. You've always wanted to hike a long trail. Lucky for you, we've got the comprehensive guides to make your dreams a reality. Check out the best sections and dayhikes along the AT, PCT and CDT. PLUS: See how four hikers beat the recession...by hiking through it.

Readers' Choice Awards 2009

BACKPACKER Review
Discover the best hike in every state, as voted by BACKPACKER readers. Plus: your essential gear, most desirable tentmate, worst-ever adventure movie, and our picks for the best reader-submitted photos.

Half the Weight, Twice the Fun: Hike the John Muir Trail

BACKPACKER Review
Find out what happens when four people hike the 221-mile John Muir Trail in just a week. Then learn how to bag the classic in more sensible lightweight fashion.

The Menu: Be an Ultralight Gourmet

BACKPACKER Review
No, it's not an oxymoron. You, too, can say buh-bye to endless energy bars and instant rice glop--and eat like royalty for less than two pounds a day.

Share your tales of travel & adventure with our step-by-step guide. Upload trail descriptions, photos, video, and more.

Photos + Videos

Packing for a Backcountry Ski Day Kristin Hostetter shows you the essential gear, and how to pack it, for a day of backcountry skiing.	Adjust Your Pack Straps on the Trail Maximize your pack's comfort with a few easy, on-trail strap adjustments.

Life's Short, Hike More!

What makes a backpacker a backpacker? It's not the garage full of gear or piles of guidebooks--it's the experiences, from thru-hiking a long trail to pushing your personal envelope to inspiring a child's love of wilderness. Here we present BACKPACKER's new Life List: 10 experiences to add to your tick-listnow--and the key skills you need to nail them.