Wilderness Survival Stories | Learn from Real Backcountry Survival Stories - Backpacker - Backpacker

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

Stories

The Best Long Reads Backpacker Published in 2025

Discover the stories our readers loved most this year.

Zoe Gates

For the First Time Ever, Three Hikers Will Log 10,000 Miles in a Single Year

Grayson Haver Currin

Why Trail Angels and Local Businesses Are Clashing on the Appalachian Trail

Eric J. Wallace

Reintegrating Wolves Into Yellowstone Was Like “Landing On The Moon.” This New Doc Shows Why.

Mary Andino

Llamas, Yes Llamas, Help Hikers With Parkinson’s Get Outside. Here’s How.

Barney Scout Mann

He’s 90 Years Old—and He’s on a Mission to Hike the Appalachian Trail

Mary Beth “Mouse” Skylis

Are AI Exoskeletons the Future of Hiking? To Find Out, I Became Robohiker.

M. John Fayhee

Death to the Out-and-Back Hike

Adam Roy

Nearly a Century Ago, American Chestnut Trees Died Off. Now, Hikers Can Walk Among Them Again.

Eric J. Wallace

11 Halloween Costumes Hikers Will Actually Find Scary

Adam Roy

Meet the Thru-Hiker Intent on Building Mexico’s First Long Trail

Julie Schwietert Collazo

She Became the First Woman to Complete This 3,600-Mile Thru-Hike—and Brought Thousands Along for the Journey

David Gleisner

What It’s Like to Hike the Length of the Grand Canyon with Your Dad

Frederick Dreier

10 Things Your Hiking Partner Hates About You

Corey Buhay

I Used To Avoid Group Hikes. Here’s Why I Joined A Hiking Club Anyway.

M. John Fayhee

‘It’s a Return to Where I Started’: Lyla Harrod on Becoming the First Trans Woman to Hold an Appalachian Trail FKT

David Gleisner

Bugs are the Best Part of the Trail

Adam Roy

These Retirees Turned Their Tennessee Town Into a Hiking Paradise

Eric J. Wallace

Waking Up in a Hot Sleeping Bag is Peak Anxiety

Jay Bouchard

A Wet Wipe Is Not a Shower, but It’s Not Not a Shower

Jay Bouchard

Justice for the Backpackers Who Love to Sleep In

Emma Veidt

This “Luxury” Item Is a Non-Negotiable in My Ultralight Kit

Adam Roy

When Did Ultralight Becoming About Buying More, Not Packing Less?

Alisha McDarris

Hiking Enables My Caffeine Addiction. Is That A Problem?

Adam Roy

Chili Mac is Undefeated

Jay Bouchard

Yes, You Can Backpack in Walmart Gear

Kade Krichko

International Thru-Hikers Are Being Denied Entry to the U.S.: Here’s What Backpackers Should Know

Alexandra Gillespie

If You Hike With Your Dog, You Need to Be Able to Rescue Them Yourself

Adam Roy

Jay Bouchard

This Is the One Piece of Hiking Gear I Will Never Cheap Out On

Adam Roy

A Hiking Retreat Will Help You Reinvent Yourself—If You Can Afford It

Grayson Haver Currin

My Hike With the Man Who Transformed SoCal Mountain Safety

Emma Veidt

I’m Tired of Talking About Mileage

Jay Bouchard

Summer’s Here. Backpack Stoveless.

Jay Bouchard

Let’s Bring Back the Hiking Boot

Jay Bouchard

Celebrate ‘Outdoor Independence Day’ on July 6. Here’s Why.

Jay Bouchard

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

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

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