| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
First Night Out
We've gathered top skills for new backpackers and a dozen unforgettable—yet beginner-friendly—trails. What they say is true: You'll never forget your first time.
First Night Out: Essays
Three authors write about the moments that changed their impressions of the backcountry forever.
Make an Alcohol Stove
Learn how to create a lightweight, functional backcountry stove for less than a few dollars.
Winter Skills: Tips for Packing Camp Food
Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter on packing the right foods for winter camping
Water (Treatment) Wars
Is an ultraviolet light, like a SteriPen, better for treating filtered water than iodine tablets?
Sipping on Snow
If you melt snow for drinking water in the winter, do you need to boil it for purification?
Tugging at ticks
What’s the best way to remove and treat a tick bite? My recent attempt severed the head, which required a hospital visit to remove.
THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE
Food & Nutrition
Backpacker-Friendly Noodles
Noodles are easy-prep crowd pleasers. Learn about the trail-worthiest types and cooking methods.
Master Class: Cook Like a Pro
Use these tips to advance your cooking skills and improve your camp grub's taste and nutritional value.Health & First Aid
First Night Out: Treat Water
Learn how to treat water in the backcountry.
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.Survival
Instant Upgrades
Revive waterproof jackets, salvage a wet map, get better backcountry sleep, and organize your gear. By Sarah Maurer
Multisport Maniac Skills
Learn these skills for trips that involve more than just hiking.Fitness
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Master Class: The Gym Free Fitness Plan
Use this no-cost, do-anywhere training program to enhance hiking strength and speed this spring.Navigation
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Navigating in the desert
Tips from our experts and readers about traveling in deserts and canyon countryGeneral Skills
First Night Out
We've gathered top skills for new backpackers and a dozen unforgettable—yet beginner-friendly—trails. What they say is true: You'll never forget your first time.
First Night Out: Top 10 Rookie Mistakes
Dodge these common errors with our prevention primer.
Backpacker-Friendly Noodles
Noodles are easy-prep crowd pleasers. Learn about the trail-worthiest types and cooking methods.
Master Class: Cook Like a Pro
Use these tips to advance your cooking skills and improve your camp grub's taste and nutritional value.
Raising the Bar: Best Energy Bars for Backpackers
We tested 40 new energy bars flavors and culled these five top picks.
Backpacker-Friendly Chocolate
Cocoa packs high energy and healthy antioxidants, and our testing revealed the best-tasting, most-meltproof varieties for the trail.
Master Class: The Gym Free Fitness Plan
Use this no-cost, do-anywhere training program to enhance hiking strength and speed this spring.
Easy-as-Pie Backcountry Chocolate
Need some inspiration for killing a serious backcountry chocolate craving? Look no farther, you've clicked into a chocoholic's dream.
Events Worth Training For
Want to set a big goal to give your training more focus and direction? Sign up for one of these mettle-testing trail events.
Test Kitchen: Cooking Trail Eggs
We cracked dozens of eggs to find the perfect camping prep. Here's how to pack them efficiently, use them in trail-worthy recipes, and clean up quickly.
Cooking Backcountry Eggs
Don't be afraid of cooking this superfood in the backcountry.
Test Kitchen: Cheese
From Gouda to good old string cheese, we tested 20 types to find the trail-worthiest.
First Night Out: Treat Water
Learn how to treat water in the backcountry.
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Instant Upgrades
Revive waterproof jackets, salvage a wet map, get better backcountry sleep, and organize your gear. By Sarah Maurer
Peakbagger Skills
Tips for overcoming jetlag, gathering beta, and getting your summit gear to foreign peaks in one piece.
Build Trail-worthy Ankle Strength
Four moves that'll help you make an injury-free transition to lightweight hiking shoes.
Expert Panel: 11 Pro Tips
Pro Tips: Boost Performance, Planning, Safety, and More
Blister Wars
Don't get sidelined by these common and painful foes. Fight back with these tips and tricks for preventing and treating any kind of hot spot problem.
Backpacker Bible: Never Get a Blister
Your body is a temple? Then your feet are the altar. Treat them right, and enjoy every hike from the first mile to the last.
Ski Strong: Beat Blisters
Outsmart stiff boots and constant heel lifting with these anti-friction tips.
The Manual: Stay Healthy at Altitude
Play it safe against altitude sickness.
Instant Upgrades
Revive waterproof jackets, salvage a wet map, get better backcountry sleep, and organize your gear. By Sarah Maurer
Multisport Maniac Skills
Learn these skills for trips that involve more than just hiking.
Winter Survival Guide: Camp
Humans weren't built to sleep on snow. Defy nature and sleep soundly with these winter camping tips.
Winter Survival Guide: Cook
In and out of the wilderness, food is important for survival. Don't screw it up with these winter cooking tips.
Winter Survival Guide: Travel
Hiking through the snow is beautiful, but not exactly easy. Use these tips to make your winter traverse all the more pleasant.
Winter Survival Guide: Prepare
The best defense is a good offense. Employ these tips before you ever leave home.
Winter Survival Guide
Our five-part plan to staying warm and well-fed in cold weather.
Bear Grylls: Master of Disaster
Q&A with Guest Editor Bear Grylls
Insect Indicators
What bugs can tell you about finding your way.
Camp Friendly Cheese
Jimmy Kennedy of Cabot Cheese shares four scrumptious camp-friendly, cheese-centric delicacies that will surely satisfy. Plus: Watch our how-to video about making a cheese wax candle.
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Master Class: The Gym Free Fitness Plan
Use this no-cost, do-anywhere training program to enhance hiking strength and speed this spring.
Events Worth Training For
Want to set a big goal to give your training more focus and direction? Sign up for one of these mettle-testing trail events.
Fitness Excuse Busters
Mountain guide and author of Fit by Nature John D. Colver offers up these hints for staying motivated and fit no matter what your excuse.
Mileage Master Skills
Going the distance? Use these tips to ease big-mile trips.
Limit Pusher Skills
Always looking for a way to go farther and faster? Get ready with these tips to take your hiking to the next level.
Build Trail-worthy Ankle Strength
Four moves that'll help you make an injury-free transition to lightweight hiking shoes.
Backpacking Fitness
Boost performance and be a better backpacker with these fitness- and strength-building moves from our experts.
Build Backpacking Muscles
Strengthen three key areas - shoulders, ankles, and core - this winter so you can tackle tougher trails next spring.
Yoga for Backpackers
Ease post-hike pain and prep muscles for the next day.
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Navigating in the desert
Tips from our experts and readers about traveling in deserts and canyon country
Master Class: Read the Wilderness
Use nature's signs to orient yourself, pick your path through varied terrain, and predict the weather.
Winter Survival Guide: Travel
Hiking through the snow is beautiful, but not exactly easy. Use these tips to make your winter traverse all the more pleasant.
Winter Survival Guide
Our five-part plan to staying warm and well-fed in cold weather.
Master Class: Find Yourself on a Map
The best way to avoid getting lost? Always know your location. Study up on these key techniques for identifying terrain features, translating GPS data to a map, and triangulating your position.
Make a custom map for your next adventure
We've partnered with myTopo to bring you the best in maps for your backcountry pursuits.
Manually Adjust Declination
Change declination to navigate more accurately over long distances.
Apps and Maps
From GPS data to navigation apps and printed maps, we have you covered and can get you ready for your next adventure.
Adventure Upgrade: Navigate Off Trail
Open up a new door to adventure–by leaving the well-trod route behind.
First Night Out
We've gathered top skills for new backpackers and a dozen unforgettable—yet beginner-friendly—trails. What they say is true: You'll never forget your first time.
First Night Out: Top 10 Rookie Mistakes
Dodge these common errors with our prevention primer.
First Night Out: In Camp
How to choose a campsite, set up camp. and sleep comfortably.
First Night Out: The Ten Essentials
Outdoor experts have refined the list of key safety and survival tools into these 10 categories. Don't leave home without them.
First Night Out: Packing and Planning
Tips on packing and planning for your first night under the stars.
Instant Upgrades
Improve your balance on uneven terrain, figure out if your water filter is still working, and determine the crossability of a questionable river or stream during spring and early-summer.
Fix It: Easy Backpacking Gear Repairs
Master these easy repairs to save on shop costs and replacement gear.
Backpacking Gear Maintenance Tips
Extend the life of your pack, sleeping bag, and tent with these tips.
Create Tyvek Treasures
Stay warm and fight the rain with three simple projects using this waterproof/breathable material.
Build It: Make an Efficient Alcohol Stove
Use extreme-distance hiker Andrew Skurka's plan to construct an ultralight, ultracheap cooking system.
Tools & Experts
Ask A Bear
Our resident bruin expert answers all your burning ursine questions in this weekly feature.
Ask Him a Question
Survival 101
From essential bear safety to how-to slideshows on creating a survival bracelet, get all the worst-case-scenario info you
need.
Learn to Survive
Professor Hike
Get a degree in outdoorology as the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking answers all your
essential questions.
Head to Class
Backcountry Bartender
Looking for the perfect spirit to sip fireside? Look no further than these picks from our resident.
Shake it Up
Recipe Center
Become a culinary expert with our comprehensive guide to cooking up a backcountry feast.
Get Cooking
Gear Pro
Pose your burning gear question to Kristin Hostetter and she'll drop some knowledge on how to fix, mend, improve, and more.
Read the Latest
Medicine Man
Our wilderness medicine guru talks first-aid, health, and emergency management.
Get Schooled
Gear Checklists
Make sure you remember everything for your next outdoor adventure by use the same checklists that Backpacker editors have used for years.
Get Packing
Ultimate Fix-It Guide
Learn how to make your gear last forever with our guide to the 55 most common repairs and maintenance musts.
Do it Yourself
MASTER YOUR OUTDOOR EXPERTISE WITH OUR TIPS
Make an Alcohol Stove
Learn how to create a lightweight, functional backcountry stove for less than a few dollars.
Winter Skills: Yurt Living 101
Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter gives the scoop on winter yurt living
Winter Skills: Tips for Packing Camp Food
Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter on packing the right foods for winter camping
TIP 55: Air Dry Only
Never dry wet boots next to a campfire, stove, or space heater, or use a hair dryer. High heat will crack and shrink the leather.
Editors' Choice 2013
412 trail-tested products
Boost Your Apps
Add powerful tools and exclusive maps to your BACKPACKER apps through our partnership with Trimble Outdoors.
Carry the Best Maps
With BACKPACKER PRO Maps, get life-list destinations and local trips on adventure-ready waterproof myTopo paper.
FREE Rocky Mountain Trip Planner
Sign up for a free Rocky Mountain National Park trip planning kit from our sister site MyRockyMountainPark.com.
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