Are You Hiking With Plastic Bags on Your Feet? Maybe You Should Be.
Vapor barrier layers—whether purpose-made or improvised from plastic bags—sound like a recipe for sweaty dogs. But in cold weather, they can be a lifesaver.
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One of the PCT’s Most Iconic Side Quests Will Be Closed for Months
The Eagle Creek Trail, along with other hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, suffered extreme damage in last month's storms.
National Parks Canceled Free MLK Day Entry. California Just Made 200 State Parks Free Instead.
Over 200 of California's state parks are open for free on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Looking for one to visit? Start with these five.
Tarptent’s New ProTrek Shelter Is Breezy and Affordable
The beloved cottage tentmaker just remodeled one of its most popular one-person trekking pole designs.
This Hiking Trip Didn’t Just Show Me the National Parks. It Taught Me How to Take Care of Them.
A five-day journey through national parks and tribal lands brings spectacular adventures and a new empowering approach to activism.
A Group of Hikers Spent 3 Nights Trapped in a Blizzard. Rescuers Say One Detail Saved Their Lives.
Four hikers are lucky to be alive after spending three nights in an emergency shelter in Golden Ears Provincial Park in British Columbia.
How to Navigate Off-Trail in a Whiteout
Snow, fog, and low visibility can complicate backcountry travel. Here's how to reach your destination safely even when you can't see.
The Best Podcasts for Long-Distance Hikers
When you're hiking for weeks or months at a time, sometimes you need a little audio therapy. These podcasts are just what the doctor ordered.
A Controversial App Saved Two Hikers in Massachusetts
What3Words gives users a three-word code they can pass to emergency services to help locate them, but some SAR teams still discourage its use.
Moab’s Even Better In The Off Season. Here’s Why.
Utah bustles all summer long, but the off-season brings serenity, crystal-clear skies and fewer crowds to one popular outdoorsy town.
Deal of the Week: This Eco-Friendly Winter Bag Is Half-Off Right Now
The white shell on Mountain Hardwear's Lamina AF 15 isn't just an aesthetic, it also saves about 80 liters of water per bag.
Wildlife
The Cocaine Bear Trailer Is Wild. The Real Story Is Weirder and Sadder.
Cocaine Bear's first trailer shows a bloodthirsty, intoxicated bruin rampaging through the forest. But how much of the based-on-a-true-story movie is real?
Fitness
The Best Hiking Workouts for Every Fitness Level
Reality check: Hitting the gym is the quickest way to hike farther, easier, faster, and pain-free. Get into a routine—or take yours to the next level—with these smart workouts for three different levels.
The Best Hikes
The Best Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park
Full of rock scrambles, cactus clusters, and desert views for days, Joshua Tree National Park is the southwest at its finest.
Backpacking Skills
Why You Should Use Trekking Poles
Ending too many hikes with sore, wobbly legs? Trekking poles can help you make it that extra mile.
Gear Round-Ups
The Best Hiking and Backpacking Gear of Winter 2026
From blizzard-ready tents to sleeping bags that can handle the coldest nights, this is the gear you can count on this season.
Trail Guides
The Ultimate Guide to Hiking the Zion Narrows
The Narrows at Zion National Park offers an incredible adventure in America's most amazing slot canyons. Here's how to safely explore them.
Survival Skills
How to Remove and Treat Thorns, Splinters, and Other Prick Wounds
Nature can be brutal. Learn how to to deal with wounds from all kinds of thorns, spines, splinters, shards, quills, needles, and anything else that might get under your skin when you’re on the trail.
Classic Destinations
Hike Mauna Kea: The Expert Guide to Hiking Hawaii’s Highest Point
Ready to hike to the highest point in Hawaii? Ascend Mauna Kea's volcanic slopes to a summit high above the clouds. This challenging day hike is among the most spectacular on the planet.
Backpacking Gear
10 Backpacking Gear Tips We Learned the Hard Way
Get the most out of your backpacking equipment with this sage advice.
Long Trails
100 Years Ago, the Appalachian Trail Was One Man’s Dream. Now, It’s Everyone’s.
Benton MacKaye's original proposal for the Appalachian Trail came out 100 years ago. While the trail may have changed, the appeal hasn't.
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Out Alive
Real people who survived the unsurvivable
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Impossible Odds
Two friends, 8,000 trail miles, one year
Featured Story
She Became the First Woman to Complete This 3,600-Mile Thru-Hike—and Brought Thousands Along for the Journey
This September, Jessica "Stitches" Guo finished thru-hiking the Continental Divide and Great Divide Trails in one five-month push, a deep-backcountry journey that saw her spend weeks without seeing a single other person. But with tens of thousands of people following her daily videos, it was a shared experience.
Jessica “Stitches” Guo began her 30th birthday alone, in the woods, walking north towards the Canadian border.
It was the same way she had spent the last few months of her 20s, during which she hiked from the Mexican border through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana along the Continental Divide Trail. This day, however, was different.
At 1:51 p.m. on August 12, Guo reached a clearing in the trees, where stone monuments marked the U.S.-Canada border and the northern terminus of the CDT. She collapsed into tears alongside some concerned tourists. When they learned what she had just done, they applauded and helped her record a video, which would be viewed by more than half a million people on TikTok and Instagram.
For a few minutes, Guo sat, welcoming in her 30s with birthday cake Oreos and taking it all in. Then, she stood and continued into Canada. Her journey was not over. In many ways, she felt as if it were just beginning.
“Up until that point, I was like, ‘There’s a chance that I might not do this.’ I might get there and be too late or I might be too tired, or I might be too bored,” Guo says. “So for me to get there and still be feeling great, I was like, ‘All right, yeah, we can actually start the real hike now.’”
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