Hike Solo (and Keep Your Sanity)
Prepare your mind and body ready to fend for yourself in the backcountry.
Prepare your mind and body ready to fend for yourself in the backcountry.
Backpacking by yourself unlocks a powerful wilderness experience. If you’re scared to solo, you’re on the right track.
Kayak to pocket beaches and Gulf islands in south Florida.
Goats are the perfect pack animals: agile, compliant, and low-impact beasts of burden. Right?
Build your fitness foundation with this essential physiological info, tips on eating right and exercises for staying in prime hiking shape.
Get trail-fit fast! This 4-week program was designed specifically for hikers by trainers Melissa Racouillat of San Francisco's Stone Clinic and Darren Flagg of Boulder's Animal Strength Human Performance Lab.
Use these proven exercises to get in the best hiking shape of your life.
Hike your way through your golden years with these specially-crafted fitness tips.
Get ready for the long fitness haul with these skills, workouts, and essential info.
Winter camping is super rewarding, but convincing others to join you isn't always easy. It's best to have a few tricks.
No, your way is gross.
Humans have unmatched power to alter natural landscapes. Let’s use it for good
In the 1970s, crews finished carving a tribute to the Confederacy into Stone Mountain. Fifty years later, it's time to scrape it off.
Join on us March 5, at 3:30 p.m. MT for a conversation with Heather "Anish" Anderson about endurance, thru-hiking, and her new book "Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail."
Why do we still run our public lands like it’s 1920?
The Western U.S. is rife with forests and deserts that you can't visit. A new law could fix that—if we're willing to fight for it.
We can do better for the environment.
A group of scientists wants your help to make the outdoors welcoming and safe for Black people.
See the divine written in sand.
Dominion Energy suffers another setback in its quest to run a natural gas pipeline under the AT
Here's a members-only sneak peak at what we've got cooking in this new year.
Can our writer get in the best hiking shape of his life—without doing a single hike over 10 miles?
The deadline to speak up for the Roadless Rule in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is December 17, 2019.
How much do you know about camping, cooking, and surviving in the cold? Let's find out.
Step inside a medieval cave dwelling and step back into history.
James L. Jordan will be transferred to a psychiatric facility.
You have questions about National Summit Day on August 1, 2020. We have answers.
A new report from a UN committee says that one million species worldwide are threatened with extinction by humans. What does that mean for the wilderness experience?
This do-anything layer is durable enough to handle years of abuse.
Go light for less with this affordable solo tent.
This efficient stove has been one of our favorites for more than a decade.
This lightweight hauler just keeps getting better.
Do you really need a better stake? When it's this featherweight beauty, you do.
Triple the mileage with next to nothing on your back? A longtime hiker tries two-wheel camping to figure out the catch.
Editors' choice for the backcountry cure-all from the 2018 Fall/Winter Gear Guide.
Editors' choice for snacking from the 2018 Fall/Winter Gear Guide.
Editors' choice for toughest gaiter from the 2018 Fall/Winter Gear Guide.
This climber’s peak should be on every hiker’s life list.
Can you have too much of a good thing? Let’s pressure our pols to designate new parks.
Photographer Bart Smith, 58, has hiked nearly every mile of every National Scenic and National Historic Trail designated under the National Trails System Act. We caught up with him before his latest outing—a 3,700-mile trip on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail—to talk about the hiker mind, trail magic, and seeing the elephant.
Not since the days of the Wild West has the public land picture seemed so unsettled.
After decades of conflict, it’s finally the right time to backpack in the Colombian Andes.
Terminal cancer. What would you do if your doctor delivered the scariest two words in the English language? Andy Lyon went for a hike.
BACKPACKER's Deputy Editor Casey Lyons explains best practices for packing your backpack.
In the right hands, this little square of cloth is so much more.
Before you can figure out how layers work, you need to know why they work—and what your body needs from them. Human thermoregulation is a complex process, and the better you understand it, the better you can harness its power.
Fight the sedentary lifestyle and get a move on with these exercises and essential skill.
Take good care of your sleeping bag, and you could use it for years to come.
A little TLC will keep your hiking boots in shape for years to come.
It takes most thru-hikers around five months to finish the Appalachian Trail. It's taken Casey Lyons sixteen years—and counting.
Sign up for an UNCLAIMED section for AT in a Day (Aug. 20) and be entered to win some sweet gear.
Is ice-bikepacking the cutting edge of adventure? Probably not. But being first is always worth the effort.
Register for our 24-hour thru-hike AT in a Day on August 20, 2016 and be part of something huge.
For long-haul hikers, time has a way of putting things into perspective.
Answers to your AT in a Day FAQs
Like your favorite neighborhood watering hole, you can count on New York City's best local hikes to deliver exactly what you need, where you need it.
The early season wilds might be cold, but getting out there is always worth it.
Learn these three knots to improve the pace and ease of setup on your hammock camping trips.
This screw-top bottle will keep you hydrated and on-course.
These multitasking boot laces conceal an emergency firestarter.
The beauty of gravity filters is that, well, gravity does all the work. We’ve tried them all, and this one is the best.
Deep in British Columbia's backcountry, our crew put the season's best gear to the test.
The coolest camping gadgets and accessories hitting the market later this year.
A first look at what's new in winter tents for this coming fall.
Being the mouthpiece for a gear brand isn't all social media and sweet trips, but it mostly is.
We couldn't have made up these strange-but-true peak names if we tried.
On expeditions, the scent of fresh-baked bread is an unimaginable luxury. Here’s how to whip up a loaf.
Check out Casey Lyons's author page.
This gourmet entree is high-end eatery good, but easy to make over a campfire.
This easy-prep appetizer is frontcountry fine, but easy enough to make at your campsite.
Roomy, strong, and sturdy—it’s everything we want in a foul-weather home away from home.
It shaves pounds (!) off your heavy winter kit.
Get a summer tent and a winter tent for the price of just one.
Get legit winter protection for a trio of campers at a three-season price.
It handles all but the worst of winter without weight or price penalties.
Can our guy construct a winter shelter that’s strong, roomy, and warm? (Hint: No.)
Gregg Hein, 33, of Fresno, California, survived six days on remote Mt. Goddard in Kings Canyon National Park in July 2014.
A handful of our favorite hikes brought to you by the Wilderness Act.
Pack your paddle for a watery tour through the wild heart of cajun country