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Stories

Spend your life on the trail, and one thing’s for sure: You’ll come away with plenty of hiking stories. From survival stories to personal essays to stories to adventure tales from the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail, this is where you’ll find backpacker’s favorite yarns.

Stories

Ask A Bear: How Fast Can You Run?

BEAR

Beginner Skills

How to Safely Hike, Camp, and Backpack With Your Dog

Angele Sionna & Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan

Skills

The Cure for Your Fear of Heights? More Heights

Amelia Arvesen

Danger

Secret Agent Man: Inside the High-Stakes World of Undercover Wildlife Agents

Bruce Barcott

Latest in Stories

Essays

It’s Fine to Date Someone Who Doesn’t Hike

Your partner doesn't hike. So what?

Kade Krichko

Being Forced to Use Rec.gov Just to Go Camping Is Psychological Warfare

Sierra Shafer

Want to Thru-Hike in Retirement? 3 Senior Trekkers Share Their Wisdom.

Eric J. Wallace

My Dad Made Me a Hiker—and His Generation Changed Hiking Forever

Peter Moore

Your Most Unhinged Hiking Takes Made Even Our Editors Uncomfortable

Adam Roy

Zoe Gates

Meet the Thru-Hiking Brewers Who Started a Beer Business in a Backpack

M. John Fayhee

19 Pick-Up Lines That Only Work on Hikers

Corey Buhay

Meet the Educator Bringing Backpacking to Rural Virginia Students

Eric J. Wallace

How to Experience Polar Bears (and the Arctic) Without Adding to the Problem

Karthika Gupta

Comparing Your Thru-Hike to Other People’s Is a Toxic Trap. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?

Maggie Slepian

Could This 3D-Printed Tool Solve America’s Trail Trash Problem?

Adam Roy

Hurricane Helene Turned the Appalachian Trail Into a Highway Pile-Up. I Hiked it to Survey the Recovery.

Grayson Haver Currin

This After-School Program Is Turning High Schoolers Into Mountaineers

Zoe Gates

Join Backpacker and Help Construct a School Building In Nepal This Fall

Emma Veidt

The 13 Best Thru-Hiking Stories of All Time

Adam Roy

BACKPACKER Editors & Contributors

Hear the Speech That Launched a Generation of Thru-Hikers

Barney Scout Mann

This Viral Trail Snack Hack is Actually Kind of Genius

Emma Veidt

The 45 Best Backpacking Stories of All Time

BACKPACKER Editors & Contributors

Frémont’s Wrong Turn

Steve Howe

The Gilligan Principle

Andy Dappen

Coming of Age on the Appalachian Trail

Jeffrey Cogswell

Want to Create a New Long Trail? The Appalachian Trail Conservancy Is Here to Help.

Maggie Gigandet

10 Questions Thru-Hikers Hate Answering

Grayson Haver Currin

Hiking With Death in Mind? Weirdly, It Works.

Peter Moore

“I’m Afraid People Will Die Because of This”: Rangers Sound the Alarm Over Mass Firings

Adam Roy

What It’s Like to Fall in Love on a Long Hike

Grayson Haver Currin

Shelter Dogs are the Hiking Buddies We All Need Right Now

Tiana Molony

This Wheelchair Hiking Group Models a Future For Trail Accessibility

Amelia Arvesen

17 New Year’s Resolutions Every Backpacker and Thru-Hiker Should Consider

Erica Zazo

The Best Feature Stories Backpacker Published in 2024

BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors

The 8 Biggest Hiking Controversies Backpacker Covered in 2024

Adam Roy

Ask a Thru-Hiker: I Didn’t Finish My Thru-Hike. How Do I Make Peace With That?

Liz "Snorkel" Thomas

Bob Wick Is the Greatest Outdoor Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of

Mikaela Ruland

How Boomers Reshaped Backpacking—and What Happens When We’re Gone

Peter Moore

At 75, Soren West Completed the Thru-Hike He Dreamed of Since Age 12

Eric Wallace

Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in Sandals Was Fun—Until It Wasn’t

Ally Watson

How the Trail Changes Our Relationships

My Favorite Trail Sucks—and I Couldn’t Be Happier

Adam Roy

For Migrants, These Hiking Boots Are a Literal Lifesaver

James Stout

Ray Jardine Revolutionized Two Outdoor Sports. Then He Disappeared.

Grayson Haver Currin

“Meadow Ed” Wasn’t Just a Trail Angel—He Was a Pacific Crest Trail Hero.

Barney Scout Mann

Ma’wa Collective is Getting Muslim Women Outside Together

David Gleisner

How the Appalachian Trail Inspired One of Japan’s Greatest Long Hikes

Maggie Gigandet

At 74, Linda “Nana” Vanderloop Just Hiked the Appalachian Trail—and Into the Record Books

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

Should You Bring a Camp Chair Backpacking? Our Editors Debate.

Adam Roy

Emma Veidt

A Month After Helene, My Appalachian Community Is Looking to the Future

Steven Reinhold

Lyla Harrod’s 3,000-Mile Divide to Crest Route Might Be the Wildest New Thru-Hike in America

David Gleisner

This Mom Thru-Hiked 2,000 Miles With Her 13 Children. It Wasn’t Easy.

Eric J. Wallace

Hikers Are Leaving Used WAG Bags on the Trail. It’s a Shitty Habit.

Emma Veidt

This Was the Darkest Fat Bear Week Yet

Adam Roy

After Police Fatally Shot Her Son, She Searched for Meaning on the Trail

Erin Phillips

How to Convince a First-Timer to Love Backpacking

Stephanie Vermillion

Forget Ultralight. Maximalist Backpacking is Where It’s At.

Zoe Gates

I’ve Moved 8 Times in 12 Years. Here’s How I Learned To Find A Hiking Community.

Alisha McDarris

The Peculiar Appeal of Straight-Line Hiking

Bradley Allf

Mt. Katahdin is a Logistical Nightmare. Is it Time to Move the AT’s Northern Terminus?

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

Ticked Off by Lyme Disease? A Vaccine Could Soon Offer Protection.

Bradley Allf

The Summit Nap Is My Favorite Hiking Tradition. Could It Be Yours, Too?

Emma Veidt

First Look: Columbia Konos TRS OutDry

Columbia

Plus-Size Hikers Find Community and Inclusion at Nakoa Adventure

Kara Richardson Whitely

Heather Anderson Reflects on the World’s Fastest, Longest Unsupported Thru-Hike

Heather Anderson

Does Your Thru-Hike Still Count if You Miss a Few Miles? Two Hikers Debate.

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

Thru-Hiking Changes You—And Not Always For the Best

Corey Buhay

Tim Kaine Hiked, Paddled, and Biked Across Virginia—All During Senate Recesses

Eric J. Wallace

Butter Churn, Terrarium, Makeshift Groover, and 7 More Uses For Your Bear Canister

Corey Buhay

Emma Veidt

What Poop Personality Are You?

Backpacker

You Can Dehydrate Your Favorite Chipotle Dish. This Hiking Foodie Shows Us How.

Amelia Arvesen

What I’ve Learned from Hiking America’s First Wilderness Area

M. John Fayhee

You Can Now Go to College For Trail Building—And It’s About Time

Nathan Pipenberg

AI Has Reached The Trails. Has Big Tech Gone Too Far?

Adam Roy

This 4-Year-Old Just Climbed New Hampshire’s 48 Tallest Peaks

Owen Clarke

Hiking The Camino Helped This Queer Backpacker Be Her Most Confident Self

Lance Garland

Lyla “Sugar” Harrod Wants To See More Trans Hikers. So She Became Their Mentor.

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

Is Singing on the Trail Obnoxious? Hikers Can’t Agree.

Adam Roy

Legendary Long-Distance Hiker Anish Sets a Superhuman Record on the Arizona Trail

Nathan Pipenberg

This Trail Angel Couple Hosted 8,000 Hikers Over 17 Years. They’re Finally Retiring.

Zoe Gates

Is Trail Magic Only for Thru-Hikers?

Zoe Gates

The Mosquitoes Are Coming For Your Favorite High-Altitude Hikes

Morgan Tilton

How Nelson Holland of @FatBlackAndGettinIt Found His Place Outside

David Gleisner

‘Your Sober Pal’ Is Fighting Addiction With Hiking Adventures

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

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