Whether you're headed to the Pacific Crest or the Florida Trail, long trail alumni have something to teach you. Here, backpacker writers share their best thru-hiking wisdom from a collective 11,000 miles of walking.
A serial thru-hiker shares lessons learned from countless trips up and down the JMT.
On a winter thru-hike of the Ozark Highlands Trail, Jeff Garmire contended with snowstorms, swam a river, and bushwhacked paths overgrown with bramble—and discovered the rugged heart of one of America’s lesser-known long trails.
Check out Jeff Garmire's author page.
A half-hour ramble to a local campsite may not be your idea of an epic backpacking adventure. But it might just give you a new perspective on what’s important in a hike.
Thru-hiker Carl "Professor" Stanfield had a big goal: Break the record for most miles ever walked in a single year. Here's what he packed.
Record-setting thru-hiker Jeff Garmire suffered for years before discovering he had exercise-induced asthma—but the struggle taught him a thing or two about sticking with it.
Don't let your own ambitions put you in danger: Knowing when to take a risk and when to run away is an essential skill for every hiker.
Competitor Ashly Winchester packed an ultralight sleeping bag, multiple lights, and KT tape to keep herself going.
With trail use booming, burying your toilet paper just doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s time to get over the ick and start carrying it out, says our writer—or ditch it altogether.
Bro, I'm straight up not having a good time.
Pocket-laden shorts, an old Timex watch, and a half of a Gatorade bottle were his keys to success.
A tarp, sun hoodie, and pee rag are her secret weapons.
For his 3-day, fastest known time-setting hike of the JMT, Jeff Garmire had one rule: bring as little as he could carry and still make it to the finish.
Three days: That's how long it took endurance athlete Jeff Garmire to finish the John Muir Trail. But from health scares to falling asleep while hiking, it was anything but a casual stroll.
Two thru-hikers find unexpected trail magic on one of America's lesser-known thru-hikes.