Outdoor Wilderness Skills | Backpacking Safety Skills - Backpacker - Backpacker

Skills

Add to your outdoor wilderness skills arsenal with expert advice and survival tips from Backpacker Magazine. We cover it all: how to get in shape for hiking, pre-trip planning, backpacker-friendly recipes, how to raise backpacking kids and more!

Navigation

Learn How to Use a Compass and Never Get Lost Again

Leah Qiu

Beginner Skills

How to Pack a Backpack for a Hiking Trip

Backpacker Editors

Daniel Nelson

Skills

The Cure for Your Fear of Heights? More Heights

Amelia Arvesen

Water Sports

How to Canoe Camp

Eugene Buchanan

Latest in Skills

Skills

This Lightning-Fast Morning Routine Helps You Hike More Miles

Dawdle less, hike more with these tips.

Zoe Gates

5 Exercises to Bulletproof Your Knees for Spring Hiking

Adam Roy

Planning a Winter Hike or Snowshoe? Take This Free Avalanche Course First.

Zoe Gates

How Fit Do You Actually Have to Be to Start a Thru-Hike?

Maggie Slepian

Does Hiking Make Your Hips Hurt? This Could Be Why.

Jenessa Connor

Don’t Poop in the Snow and 4 More Leave No Trace Tips for Winter Hikers

Amelia Arvesen

Get the Best Sleep of Your Camping Life With These 5 Tips

Adam Roy

This Is Why Your Dreams Go Bonkers at High Altitude

Maggie Slepian

How to Navigate Off-Trail in a Whiteout

Zoe Gates

5 Weird Things Hiking Does to Your Body (and What to Do About Them)

Adam Roy

Why Do I Need to Pee So Much on Cold Hikes?

Amelia Arvesen

Foot Pain While Hiking? This Tiny Bone Could Be the Culprit.

Zoe Gates

Become a Stronger Hiker in 2026 With These 5 Tiny Adjustments

Adam Roy

This Hated Holiday Food Is the Ultimate Hiking Snack

Adam Roy

Your Hiking Pain Might Not Be an Injury. Here’s What It Is Instead.

Corey Buhay

The 10 Best Hiking Skills We Learned in 2025

Adam Roy

Save Your Mental Health This Winter With These Four Treadmill “Hikes”

Emma Veidt

5 Cheap Pieces of Gear Guaranteed to Level Up Your Winter Camping Experience

Adam Roy

Thru-Hiking One of These 7 Trails? This Is What Alumni Want You to Know.

Backpacker

Do Hikers Need More Calories in Winter? Here’s What the Experts Say.

Amelia Arvesen

Save Your Hiking Fitness This Winter With These 62 Smart Exercises

Adam Roy

How to Share a Tent With Your Dog (Without Ruining Your Gear)

Zoe Gates

This is the Most Common Overuse Injury That Derails Thru-Hikes—And How to Deal With It

Corey Buhay

6 Easy Ways to Destroy Your Hiking Gear This Winter

Adam Roy

6 Things a Physical Therapist Wishes Every Hiker Would Do

Zoe Gates

Don’t Replace Your Fleece Because Of One Small Hole. Here’s How To Fix It.

Alisha McDarris

Here’s What Happened When I Tried to DIY My Favorite Backpacking Meal

Zoe Gates

How to Start Hiking After 50 Even If You’ve Never Peed in the Woods Before

Corey Buhay

It’s Dark at 4 p.m. and We’re All Spiraling. Our Winter Hiking Bingo Card Can Help.

Zoe Gates

Stop Gasping for Air: 3 Breathwork Exercises to Crush High-Altitude Hikes

Amelia Arvesen

This Hiker Brought Only Gourmet Home-Cooked Food on His First Thru-Hike

Zoe Gates

Stop Shivering in Your Tent This Winter With These 5 Cozy Tips

Emma Veidt

75 Years On, No One Has Invented a Better Water Bottle Than the Nalgene

Alisha McDarris

We Made a Baja Blast Pie Recipe for Backpackers Because God Is Dead and There’s No One Left to Punish Us

Adam Roy

25 Camp Dessert Recipes So Good They’ll Rewire Your Brain

Adam Roy

18 Brilliant Camp Meals That Cost Less Than a Cup of Coffee

Adam Roy

Why So Many Thru-Hikes End in a Breakup (and How to Avoid the Same Fate)

Corey Buhay

5 Ways to Cut Pack Weight for Winter Backpacking—and the One Thing You Should Never Skimp On

Amelia Arvesen

5 Simple Ways to Build a Better Backcountry Sense of Direction

Amelia Arvesen

How to Find the Perfect Backcountry Campsite

Amelia Arvesen

Should You Quit Your Job for a Thru-Hike? Here’s How to Decide, According to Experts.

Corey Buhay

Ditch the Instant Ramen: Here’s How to Make Dehydrated Trail-Ready Spaghetti

Adam Roy

Prone to Falling on Trail? These Exercises Will Help Prevent Injury.

Jenessa Connor

This One Maintenance Tip Will Keep Your Water Filter Lasting For Years

Adam Roy

From Chafing to Itches, How to Solve Backpacking’s Most Uncomfortable Problems

Zoe Gates

Will Your Half-Full Fuel Canister Last the Rest of Your Trip? Here’s How to Tell.

Emma Veidt

Save Money and Make Your Hiking Gear Last Forever With These 6 Tips

Zoe Gates

How to Hike With Someone Who’s Faster (or Slower) Without Hating Each Other

Adam Roy

That Nagging Back Pain After a Hike? Here Are 3 Simple Ways to Fix It for Good.

Adam Roy

Your 13 Worst Hiking Habits, According to Guides

Corey Buhay

Why You Always Get Constipated on Backpacking Trips (and How to Fix It)

Corey Buhay

Would You Eat These Bugs? 8 Edible Species Hikers Should Try

Amelia Arvesen

Thru-Hiking Probably Won’t Help You Lose Weight—and That’s a Good Thing

Corey Buhay

Is There Enough Sugar in Your Electrolyte Mix? Here’s How to Find Out.

Alisha McDarris

New, Gigantic Spiders Are Moving Onto the Appalachian Trail. Here’s What an Expert Wants You to Know.

Adam Roy

The Viral “Pie in a Can” Camp Cooking Hack Is a Great Way to Eat Charcoal

Corey Buhay

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to a Mountain Town

Adam Roy

Your “Biodegradable” Soap Isn’t As Eco-Friendly As You Think

Zoe Gates

The Tiny $10 Item That Will Save Your Trip When Your Most Expensive Gear Fails

Adam Roy

5 Trail Hacks That Turn Your Gear Into a First-Aid Kit (and One You Should Never Use)

Amelia Arvesen

5 Things I Do Backpacking in My 30s That I Didn’t Do in My 20s

Maggie Slepian

A Lot Can Make a Hiker Lose Appetite. Here’s How To Stay Fueled When You’re Not Hungry.

Maggie Slepian

How Many Carbs Do Backpackers Need and What’s the Best Way to Get Them?

Corey Buhay

Most Hikers Don’t Carry Enough Food. Here’s How to Ration Right.

Corey Buhay

Are TikTok’s Viral Dubai Chocolate S’mores Any Good? We Tried Them.

Adam Roy

Your Backpack Is Too Heavy. These 6 Items Are Probably Why.

Maggie Slepian

10 Ways to Make Using a Bear Canister Suck Less

Zoe Gates

S’mores in a Cup Is Your New Favorite Backpacking Dessert

Adam Roy

Your Hiking Gear Stinks—Literally. Here’s What to Do About It

Adam Roy

5 Gourmet Backpacking Recipes You Can Make With Gas Station Ingredients

Corey Buhay

‘Can You Bring Trekking Poles on a Plane?’ and Answers to Other Common Air Travel Questions

Eric J. Wallace

5 Tiny Hiking Hacks That Make a Shockingly Big Difference

Maggie Slepian

7 Things Every Hiker Needs to Do Before Summer Ends

Adam Roy

Why a Self-Professed Health Nut Packs Butter on Every Hike

Peter Moore

These 11 Cheap Camp Meals Cost Pennies—and Taste Fantastic

Backpacker

Freeze-Drying Your Own Backpacking Meals Is Easier Than You Think

Amelia Arvesen

4 Edible Berries Every Hiker Should Know

Amelia Arvesen

The Gear that Helps Me Hike More Isn’t Even Hiking Gear

Zoe Gates

These Indoor Workouts Will Save Your Fitness This Hot, Hot Summer

Emma Veidt

When Is It Too Hot To Hike? Here’s How to Decide.

Adam Roy

1
2
3
4
…
29
30
31
32

Next