Essays

Gear companies are constantly upgrading their products and pulling old ones off the market. But there are some advantages to being a few seasons behind.

A half-hour ramble to a local campsite may not be your idea of an epic backpacking adventure. But it might just give you a new perspective on what’s important in a hike.

It's been 50 years since we published the first issue of Backpacker. What will the backcountry look like in another half-century? Our editor speculates.

Personal air conditioning, new trails, a dozen new Leave No Trace principles: For Backpacker's 50th anniversary, we asked Triple Crowner and columnist Liz "Snorkel" Thomas to speculate about what thru-hiking could look like a half-century from now.

Backpackers carry ultralight tents, backpacks, and quilts. Is it really so weird to hike with an ultralight dog?

Americans live in one of the most individualistic nations on Earth—and it can be one of the most isolating, too. Could hiking be a way for us to find our way back to community?

Hikers love to share their opinions. That doesn’t mean it’s always useful.

No one likes having to jump through a bunch of hoops just to hike a popular trail or visit a national park. But with more and more areas reaching their carrying capacity, it’s time to consider our options.

Why even bag it if you’re not going to carry it out?

New Hampshire is one of the only states in the nation that regularly makes hikers it deems negligent pay for their own rescue. Now, legislators are considering suspending their driver's licenses if they don't pay. It's a dangerous policy, our editor says.

Faced with risk and loss in the mountains, our writer grapples with what it means to lead a life well-lived.

Bro, I'm straight up not having a good time.

Regular hiking trips are the key to contentment, as one outdoor journalist discovers on a trip in his backyard.

After fatal accidents on the trail, there are always a handful of hikers ready to tear apart the victims' choices—or even suggest they deserved their fate. What would it take to get us to choose compassion?

Long-distance hikers love to reach towns and binge. I temporarily gave up the cycle, and maybe it changed my life.

Take a walk in another hiker’s boots in these insightful pieces.

The trail is for everyone, even—especially—those of us who always got picked last in gym class.

Burnout can affect participants of any sport—including hiking. Here’s how to identify, prevent, and cure hiking burnout.

After a decade in Seattle, I grew tired of the Cascades. After gaining a new perspective, I love them more than ever now.

Backpacking’s changed a lot over the years. Is its heyday behind us, or is it yet to come?

Contrary to popular belief, wilderness is a made-up concept. Here’s why it could be harming our planet.

They offer rides, places to stay, food, and more, and never ask anything in return. But thru-hikers still owe a debt of gratitude to trail angels. Here are some ideas on how to repay it.

After a group of campers left one of the Appalachian Trail's most beautiful sites covered in trash, the Forest Service banned camping there. But did it go too far? One local argues for a course correction.

How hiking with my canine companion gave me a new perspective on adventures.

Can the East's small but rugged mountains unseat the Rockies' biggest peaks?

Our soft-drink warriors both believe this sugary, caffeine-packed soda is the perfect refreshment after exercise or adventure. (Hmm. OK.) They disagree about flavors, and be warned: it might get loud.

Is a hiking resume complete without a long-distance thru-hike?

People keep falling into outdoor latrines while rescuing lost phones. Our editors list the belongings they would fish out of an outdoor crapper—and which ones they’d leave behind.

Backpacking by yourself unlocks a powerful wilderness experience. If you’re scared to solo, you’re on the right track.

Feel like you couldn’t possibly bare skin in the shape you’re in? All the more reason to try.

Some backpackers are just dedicated soloists. But as our writer discovered on her first big group trip, sometimes there's magic to hitting the trail with some new friends.

As someone who’s confronting his own age, I appreciate seeing an older guy hold it down. That’s why I’m cheering for 480 Otis this Fat Bear Week.

Your thru-hike is supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. So why is your mind wandering to literally anywhere else?

Last week my house burned to the ground, and if that’s not bad enough, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder

When a massive flood wrecked the Yellowstone area—and derailed her backpacking plans—Maggie Slepian had to contend with the ways the changing climate is already affecting hiking's most storied spaces.

It's nice to have friends on the trail. But in the end, everyone there is chasing their own dream.

From the Wonderland Trail to the Wave, many of the most spectacular places in the United States are only available to people willing to go through a permit lottery. For Maggie Slepian, it’s just not worth the hassle.

On a hike in New Mexico, an outdoor writer gets a new perspective on a trail and the legacy of the people who made it.

Takeaways from a thoughtful life spent outdoors.

Backpackers often turn their noses up at the Havasu Falls and Horseshoe Bends of the world. But that’s elitist, and it ignores one important fact besides: these places are gorgeous.

Most people who start a long trail won’t finish it. But when you’ve built your identity around perseverance, what does it mean to throw in the towel?

When the memories of combat refused to fade, a former army medic found healing in thru-hiking.

Hiking a long trail is a challenge no matter who you are. But not everyone is equally able to make the compromises it requires.

At a crossroads in her personal life, writer Maggie Slepian decided to go on a thru-hike. But as it turns out, your problems will follow you no matter how many hundreds of miles you go.

After Covid's long-term side effects left her unable to chase the physical adventures she had treasured before, Dani Mortell found herself negotiating a new outdoor experience.

Like many other subcultures, long-distance hiking has its own language.

Hikers need to stop trampling trailside flora in pursuit of “the shot.”

A fatal avalanche near Hoosier Pass, Colorado is a reminder that dangerous slides can occur on gentle terrain

Like a seed pushing through the hard spring soil in search of the sun, so too must you push through adversity to the glorious ultralight of backpacking. 

Sure, snowshoes make hiking in snow easy. But are you the kind of person who takes the easy way out? Yeah, that's what we thought.

Overcrowding is destroying our parks. Timed entry systems can save them.

Through bad weather, injuries, and access issues, I've climbed the same mountain every month for a decade and a half. I hope to do it for as long as I can.

Through two breakups, career changes, and more, the Beaten Path has been a welcome constant—and a yardstick for just how much everything else has shifted.

Take a long hike, and you’ll find yourself falling in with people decades older and younger than you. There’s good reason for that.

A writer with a few FKTs under her belt ponders whether or not speed enhances or detracts from the experience.

Finishing a 2,000-mile hike is tough. But for many thru-hikers, coming back to the “real world” afterward is even tougher.

The Ten Essentials could save your life on a hike. Craig calls coffee his “lifesaver,” and honestly, it was funnier the first time.

In the wilderness, it isn't cheap, paracord-wrapped hatchets and trenching tools that we need to survive. It's each other.

In the wilderness, it isn't cheap, paracord-wrapped hatchets and trenching tools that we need to survive. It's each other.

Join us on a trek in Nepal, and let’s show how hiking and helping go hand in hand.

Cairns—navigational aids made out of piled or stacked rocks—get a lot of hate nowadays. That's not justified.

Check out James Dziezynski's author page.

If you're thinking of bringing a firearm on a long trail, there are a few things you need to be aware of first.

Surviving in the wilderness is easier than you think. How easy is it? I made up these survival strategies off the top of my head. Take that, “experts”!

Campfires used to be a ubiquitous part of the outdoors; thanks to wildfire risk, they’re getting rarer and rarer. Could we see the day where they’re a thing of the past?

From unleashed dogs to unsecured food, it's time to change the culture around bear conservation.

With tents getting lighter and lighter, do tarps still have a place in hikers’ packs? We say: sure, maybe? Whatever.

For one hiker, nature is the best place to confront her past and consider her future.

It doesn’t matter how beautiful the scenery is, or how lucky you are to be out there: Hike for long enough, and you’ll have bad days. And guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that.

After a two decade deadlock, now is the time to take a stand around plane and helicopter tourism.

There's nothing wrong with a leisurely hike. But when hikers sneer at people who choose to go fast, they prove that they don't get it.

Is your motivation running dry? Try one of these strategies to recharge it.

Our writer sought meditation on Africa’s tallest peak. What she found was something even more meaningful: fun.

Long-distance hikers face a short window to finish their treks. Climate change could close it even further.

Hiking is about living in the moment, not speed.

Featherweight gear takes a lot of the pain out of carrying a load. But when it breaks in the middle of a long hike, it puts that pain right back in again.

I quit hiking when I was a teenager. Years later, an unfinished pact with my dad brought me back.

Foul-weather backcountry days have an allure all their own.

With information about “secret” trails and campsites all over the internet, finding a balance between conserving the wilderness and welcoming people to it has never been more important—or more challenging.