Gear Review: Vasque Jule Trail Shoe
A low-cut hiker for all your daily adventures.
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Gear Review: Weekend Packs
Load and go: Our test crew logged 1,689 miles to find the perfect short-haul pack for every type of hiker.
Dirtbag/Gourmet: Stew Recipes
Warm your belly with these hearty dishes.
Backpacking 101: Summer Trail Smarts
Learn to tie a basic, but essential knot, staunch a bleeder, and purify water.
Tough Guy Challenge: Week 5
It's the final push. Complete the final week's challenge and get ready for next week's call to submit your video.
Editor's Note: New National Parks
The prognosis for naming new sanctuaries looks grim. Is our best strategy to vote a few misfits off the island?
Gear Review: Granite Gear Meridian Vapor Pack
Is this the summer you vowed lighten your load? Pick up this sequel to a previous Editors' Choice winner and start the season off right.
Casio Pathfinder
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Prof. Hike: The Backpacker's Reading List
Seven great books and the outdoor places to enjoy them
Local Hikes: Northeast
Head out on one of these trails in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Local Hikes: Midwest
Hike these long trails in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and head south to Texas to see Horned Lizards.
Local Hikes: Southeast
Hike these long trails in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida, and paddle three days in the Everglades backcountry.
Rip & Go: Long Path Loop – Harriman State Park, NY
Enjoy soaring views from open ridges on this easy-access overnight.
Rip & Go: Rockytop Loop – Shenandoah National Park, VA
Escape Skyline Drive to discover secret summits and hidden valleys.
Rip & Go: Twin Valley Trail – Five Rivers MetroParks, OH
Ramble along a wide river to quiet, old-growth hollows.
Summer Trail Smarts: Purify Water
Learn several techniques to purify water in the backcountry.
Summer Trail Smarts: Staunch a Bleeding Wound
Use these first aid techniques to control and treat a bleeding wound.
Summer Trail Smarts: Tie a Figure-8 Loop
Learn to tie a figure-8 loop–one of the most common and useful knots.
Gear School: Headlamps
Improve your night sight with the latest headlamp technology.
Technique: How to Cross a Moraine
Learn how to find a safe route through glacial rubble, crossing a moraine with nothing more than boots and trekking poles.
Rainier's Reigning Champ
George Dunn, co-owner of International Mountain Guides, recalls personal adventures and gives tips about climbing Mount Rainier.
Recipe: Farmer's Mash
For a hearty vegetable stew, make this easy Farmer's Mash recipe in less than 10 minutes.
Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie
This gourmet chicken pot pie is an easy recipe for a warm and filling backcountry dinner.
Gear Review: REI Venturi 45 Backpack
Check out the Venturi 45 for its significant space and plentiful pockets.
Gear Review: Osprey Hornet 46 Backpack
If you're going light, choose the Osprey Hornet 46, which is durable despite its minimal weight.
Gear Review: Mountain Hardwear Kanza 55/Tadita 50 Backpack
Stability is good in relationships and backpacks. It's guaranteed in the Mountain Hardwear's Kanza 55/Tadita 50 with its ability to flex to fit any spine position.
Gear Review: Deuter ACT Zero 50+15/45+15 Backpack
Beefy and adaptable, the Deuter ACT Zero shrinks sizes from week-long adventurer to afternoon excursioner without compromising comfort.
Gear Review: Black Diamond Epic 45 Backpack
The dynamic suspension system of the Black Diamond Epic makes carrying loads up to 45 pounds a walk in the park.
Prof. Hike: Rely on Yourself, Not on Your Phone
Join the effort to make mobile phones safer for the trail.
The Manual: Learn How To Paddle Whitewater
Learn how to ride rapids, and you'll open up a new way to explore the outdoors.
Tough Guy Challenge Week 4
We're down to the last two weeks of our five-week Tough Guy Challenge. Are you still hanging in there?
Adjust Your Pack Straps on the Trail
Maximize your pack's comfort with a few easy, on-trail strap adjustments.
May 2011 Table of Contents
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Gear Review: REI Hobitat 4 Tent
This four-person tent offers room in all directions, sky view ventilation, and a bone dry fly.
Gear Review: Black Diamond Epic 45 Backpack
A perfect weekend pack for mountaineer and ice climbers.
Outdoor Apps for Android Users
Don't let iPhone fanatics fool you: There are tons of great outdoor apps for the other operating system.
National Parks: Best of the Rest (Acadia to Zion)
Your life-list only starts with the top 10 parks. Our favorite hikes from the next 40 will fill it with glacier-edge paddling, desert-oasis exploring, and more.
National Parks: Great Smoky Mountains
For guaranteed solitude in the park's southwest reaches, explore this quiet loop during the off-season.
National Parks: Denali
Denali isnÂ’t just for experts. These guinea pigs will prove it. Probably.
Stuff or Fold/Roll a Tent?
My friend and I have a debate going about how to pack a tent: He says stuffing it is better, but I say folding and rolling is better. Who's right?
Adequate Tent Ventilation
Tents have warnings to "maintain adequate ventilation. Death by suffocation is possible!" My tent has lots of mesh. What's the story here?
Water Treatments Working?
How can I be sure my water treatment equipment is doing it job. Is there a way to test this?
Guns & Backpacking
I am new to backpacking and have only made a few serious trips. Everyone I hike with always carries a gun. Do you carry a firearm when in the United States? Or am I just paranoid?
Going to Extremes
Can you ever really have too much of a good thing? Once you've seen the biggest tree, largest glacier, and deepest canyon, nothing else compares.
Hiking Utah’s Highline Trail and Four Other Ridgeline Hikes
Watch your step on Utah' Highline Trail. The nonstop views and rampant wildlife are distractingly spectacular. Plus: Gaze away on 9 more elevated hikes.
Tough Guy Challenge Week 3
Week three of our five-week challenge will have you navigating obstacles and increasing mileage.
Rip & Go: Alamo to Capulin Canyon – Bandelier National Monument, NM
Climb across mesas and up canyon walls to a cave full of pictographs.
Rip & Go: Rock and Serene Lakes Loop – Mt. Hood National Forest, OR
Discover real wilderness just two hours from Portland.
Local Hikes: Mountain West
Hike these long trails in Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and Colorado, and raft an eight-mile section of the Arkansas River.
Local Hikes: West
Hike these long trails in Washington, Oregon, and California, and climb to a 10,064-foot peak in Angeles National Forest.
National Parks: North Cascades
Come for the sheer, glaciated peaks, but be mesmerized by rain-fed waterfalls that pour down on all sides.
National Parks: Capitol Reef
Discover a private paradise by crossing the parkÂ’s convoluted Waterpocket Fold.
Gear Review: Four Summer Camping Steals
Bonus: They are all lightweight and former Editors' Choice winners.
Gear Review: Empire Canvas Works Wool Blanket Shirt
A retro-looking (albeit heavy) coat that stands up to wintry weather and hard work.
Hiking Hells Canyon, ID
This remote chasm boasts big views, craggy mountains, abundant wildlife, and staggering solitude.
Ask A Bear: Electric Fence As Deterrent?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Gear Review: Arc'teryx Theta SL
Two waterproof/breathable fabrics paired with a stowable hood for durability and solid performance in a lightweight, compressible package.
National Park Slideshows
See scores of stunning images from the Grand Canyon, Denali, Yosemite, and more.
Gear Guide 2011
Check out Katie Herrel's author page.
Gear Guide 2011: Essential Apps
Load up your smartphone or iPad with these backpacker-friendly apps.
Gear Guide 2011: Weeklong Packs
For big hauls these packs deliver.
Ask A Bear: Skunk Spray As Deterrent?
Our resident bruin expert answers all your questions in our weekly feature, 'Ask A Bear.'
Gear Review: High Peak Everest 75+10
Its design is a mash-up of features we like in luggage and a trail-ready backpack.
Gear Review: Mountain Hardwear Molimo 70
The Molimo fit everyone from beanpoles to fireplugs.
Gear Review: The North Face Zealot 70
Rain, mud, rocks, snow, crampons. Some packs need to be coddled when faced with the wet, rough, and sharp. Not the Zealot.
Gear Review: MontBell Super Expedition 90
The payload-to-weight-to-price of this pack is in a class by itself.
Gear Review: Black Diamond Mission 75
Its high-and-slim, alpine-style design easily kept 45 pounds close and stable as a tester scrambled up steep slopes and across tightrope-thin ridges.
Gear Review: GoLite Terrono 70
This load monster's suspension is so dialed, it can induce a pleasant form of trail amnesia.
Gear Review: Mary Janes Farm High Attitude Six Pack (Bulk Dehydrated Food)
Stock your backcountry pantry for a full season of chowing down on delicious, satisfying, organic (and vegetarian) trail food.
Gear Guide 2011: Essentials
Welcome to accessory and apparel heaven: puffy jackets, stoves, windpants, knives, iPad apps, solar panels, GPS, hydration, first aid, socks, camp food, baselayers, and more.
Gear Guide 2011: Winter Sleeping Bags
Camp through the coldest months with these hearty sleeping bags.
Gear Guide 2011: Three-Season Sleeping Bags
This year's roundup of three-season bags features three killer deals and an Editors' Choice Award winner.
Gear Guide 2011: Summer Sleeping Bags
Six summer bags that cover summer's mood swings.
Gear Guide 2011: Sleeping Bags & Pads
Enjoy sweet dreams in nasty conditions with these sacks and pads.
Gear Guide 2011: Big Agnes Jack Rabbit SL2 Tent
A lightweight, freestanding, stable tent with adequate space.
Gear Guide 2011: Three- & Four-Person Tents
Pile in with these three- and four-person tents.
Gear Guide 2011: Tents
Stay warmer and drier thanks to efficient pole structures, geometries that enhance space and stormproofing, durable lightweight materials, and wind-tunnel-proven shapes.
Gear Guide 2011: Two-Person Tents
Whatever your needs–ultralight, inexpensive, all-season, tough–we found the perfect two-person tent.
Gear Guide 2011: One-Person Tents
If you fly solo, these are the tents for you.
Gear Guide 2011: Backpacks
Whether you're loading for a local dayhike, a weekend in the wilderness, or a once-in-a-lifetime thru-hike, this year's class of packs redefines comfort.