Backpacker Magazine – Online Exclusive

Welcome to the New Backpacker.com!

With more features, a new look, and the most informative content this side of the trail, the new Backpacker.com is amped up with the best in adventure, gear, travel, skills, and survival on the web.

by: The Backpacker.com Editors

Tags:
• Adventures
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• Destinations
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• Skills
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• Nature
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• Gear
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In the magazine biz, you don't often get to strip a website down to its bones and rebuild it completely. But we've done just that: taken the heart and soul of BACKPACKER and come up with content only available by mouse--blogs, videos, user-generated trips, and the best hiking maps in cyberspace. In fact, we've packed in so much new stuff that we're betting our crampons you're going to have a hell of a time logging off. Here, take a behind- the- scenes walk-through. We'll show you what's new, how to use our stellar setup, and how to get the most out of the new site. We'll be rolling out new features as time goes by, and perfecting what's currently on the site so stay tuned for more.

MORE TRIPS AND HIKES THAN EVER BEFORE
With more than 1,200 hikes in 20 national parks and all 50 states, we’ve assembled the best free trip database in the country—and we’ll be adding 50 more each month. Use our interactive map on the Backpacker.com Homepage and our Destinations channel page to navigate by city, state, national park, or long trail. You’ll find the perfect trail near you in no time.

BLOGS
The Daily Dirt
Our editors dish on the latest news, trends, and happenings in the outdoor world from the environment to expeditions. Plus, we’ll share our own adventures both on and off the trail, report live from sporting events and festivals, review the latest gear, books, and music, and more.

Peak Fitness
Our fitness pro Grant Davis is just “trying to live the life and stay active, achieve something special every once and awhile, and not lose my mind.” Check in weekly as he reports on the latest in the fitness world, weighs in on the challenges and joys of staying in shape, and riffs about how he’s trying to balance it all, both on and off the trail.

Survival: The Pulse
In his weekly blog, Backpacker Rocky Mount Editor Steve Howe covers outdoor preparedness and logistics, navigation and routefinding, differing strategies for varied environments, and more. Plus, he’ll pull the curtain and give you a behind the scenes look at his story assignments and expeditions, and share some of the more interesting tales from his 40 years of wilderness misadventure.

VIDEOS
Backcountry skills instruction, trail tips, on-the-scene reports from the mother of all gear shows—Outdoor Retailer—the Backpacker Smackdown (where we see if a Camelbak can take being rum over by a Tacoma) and more.

ASK THE EXPERTS
Don’t worry, our resident pros are still here: Buck Tilton and Kristin Hostetter are back in action with even more advice on how to make the best of your outdoor experience.

Gear Chick: Kristin Hostetter
Pose a question or dive into the archives and Backpacker’s Gear Editor will drop some knowledge on how to fix, mend, improve, and more.

Medicine Man: Buck Tilton
Having authored 24 books and more than 1,000 articles on outdoor health, Tilton is the ultimate outdoor guru. Ask your own wilderness survival question and Tilton will have you ready to tackle the trail in no time.

MORE ARTICLES THAN EVER
On the left- hand side of every article page on Backpacker.com, you’ll see a section called “Related Topics.” Here’s the deal with that: Click on one of those topics and you’ll go to a page where EVERY article we’ve ever written on that topic will show up. Some of those sections will have a ton of stories—some will only have a few— but every time we add one though, we’ll file it under this every-expanding list.

GEAR FINDER—BACK IN ACTION
Looking for the perfect backpack, sleeping bag, bivy sack, boot, or tent? We’ve culled all of our Backpacker stats in one spot. Sort by price, weight, capacity, fabric, and more to find your ideal piece of gear. Plus, read related gear reviews of those pieces.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Become a part of the Backpacker Community by creating your own profile. Then, once you’re registered, you’ll be able to post post a trip or gear review, join the discussion in the our forums, and more:.
 
•    Create a Profile: Save articles to read later on, write, and save your trips and gear reviews.

•    Post a Trip: Just finished a killer trip and want to share (read: brag about) it? With our custom post-a-trip feature you can type in hike details, post photos, even add GPS waypoints.

•    Post a Gear Review: Got a favorite or hated piece of gear you want to share with the world? Upload Write it up it here.

•    Comment in Our Forums: With thousands of threads on topics ranging from storytelling to cooking to politics, the Backpacker Forums are the ultimate cyberspace roundtable. Share your opinions, advice, and more.


BOOKMARK IT
On every page of Backpacker.com you’ll see a bunch of nifty little icons. If you’ve never encountered them before, they’re links to social bookmarking sites. You can post a Backpacker story to Digg.com, Del.ic.ious, Facebook, MySpace, Reddit, and more.

RSS FEEDS
Use your own RSS feed capturer, like Live Bookmarks or My Yahoo, to get the latest from Backpacker.com. Just click on "RSS Feed" at the bottom of any article to get going. To start, we have a general feed so you’ll can get a link to every new article or new video sent right to you as we upload. We’ll be rolling out more specific RSS feeds ones as time goes by.

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