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As we look back on a year of adventures, some stories have stuck with us. In 2024, Backpacker profiled an outdoor industry legend and a thru-hiking supermom. We researched and compiled the best hiking literature of all time and peered into the year’s greatest long trail breakthroughs. Our writers delivered stories of grit, perseverance, humor, and so much more. These tales inspired us to lace up our boots, shoulder a pack, and hit the trail in search of new experiences. We’ll keep the good reads coming in 2025, but in the meantime, here are our favorite feature stories we published in the past year.
Ray Jardine Revolutionized Two Outdoor Sports. Then He Disappeared.
Ray Jardine is known as the father of the ultralight movement for a reason. In the ’90s, Jardine and his wife Jenny’s revolutionary gear designs changed the backpacking world forever. Before that, he did much the same for rock climbing when he invented Friends, which allowed climbers to more safely and efficiently tackle technical routes. But after a series of failed business deals and controversies, the Jardines stepped away from the industry they shaped. Where did they go? Writer Grayson Haver Currin found out in a rare interview with the Jardines.
This Mom Thru-Hiked 2,000 Miles With Her 13 Children. It Wasn’t Easy.
In the wake of the pandemic, Nikki Bettis and her family needed a change. After shuttering two family businesses and suffering a rocky divorce, Bettis decided to hit the trail in 2023—with her children in tow. Along with 13 of her 15 kids, aged 4 to 19, Bettis embarked on a northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Naturally, the journey was not without challenges. But through it all, the family found healing and grew closer than ever. Writer Eric Wallace spoke to Bettis and her kids to learn how they pulled it off.
After Police Fatally Shot Her Son, She Searched For Meaning on the Trail
In 2019, police killed 25-year-old Ethan Murray in the midst of a mental health crisis. In his memory, his mother, Justine Murray, decided to tackle two of the toughest thru-hikes in America. On the Idaho Centennial Trail and the Pacific Northwest Trail, Murray and her partner, Matt Connery, grieved and reconciled, all while raising tens of thousands of dollars for mental health resources in their community.
The 50 Best Hiking Books of All Time
How I Dealt With an MS Diagnosis: First, Hike 500 Miles
Writer Dan Slater has never shied away from a challenge. As an ultrarunner and avid backpacker, Slater, who lives in Australia, has tackled trails around the world that most of us only dream about. When a life-altering diagnosis in 2019 put his future hiking plans into question, Slater decided not to waste any time. In this story, Slater recounts his 500-mile trek through the Sierra on the PCT while dealing with symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
Lyla Harrod’s Divide to Crest is America’s Wildest New Thru-Hike
Veteran thru-hiker Lyla Harrod wanted to experience the beloved landscapes of the American West in a new way. So, she drew a line on a map. In 2024, that line became a brand-new thru-hike connecting the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail with the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. Harrod dubbed her route the “Divide to Crest,” and she hopes you’ll be the next to hike it.
Inside the Ultralight Cult of Durston
The X-Mid trekking pole tent and other groundbreaking ultralight designs have earned the company Durston an unmatched fanbase, with a 14,000-person Facebook group and inside jokes that have rippled through the backpacking community. In this story, M. John Fayhee dives into lightweight backpacking’s most devoted “cult.”
Heather Anderson Reflects on the World’s Fastest, Longest Unsupported Thru-Hike
In May of 2024, legendary long-distance hiker Heather Anderson set a new record for an unsupported thru-hike of the 800-mile Arizona Trail (AZT). In keeping with unsupported conventions, Anderson carried all of the supplies she’d need from the outset and hiked unaccompanied. Her pack, loaded with more than 88,000 calories worth of food, weighed over 60 pounds at the start of the hike. Anderson completed the astonishing feat in 24 days, and is only the second person to complete the AZT in this style, which is considered the longest unsupported thru-hike to date. In this firsthand account, Anderson reflects on what it took to accomplish it.
You Can Now Go to College for Trail Building. It’s About Time.
Around the country, land managers and recreationalists are clamoring for new trails, but workers to build them are scarce. Writer and former trail builder Nate Pipenberg investigated the challenges plaguing the trail building industry, and the new college programs and initiatives that could help solve the labor crisis.
How the AT Inspired One of Japan’s Greatest Long Hikes
Weaving nearly 70 miles through the Sekida Mountains, the Shinetsu Trail has become a crown jewel of Japanese hiking. But if it hadn’t been for two backpackers’ visit to the Appalachian Trail more than 20 years ago, the Shinetsu Trail might never have come into existence. This story unveils the history of the trail, and a decades-long connection between it and the AT.
From 2024