Opinion

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

In the 1970s, crews finished carving a tribute to the Confederacy into Stone Mountain. Fifty years later, it's time to scrape it off.

Every woman who hikes has been the target of mansplaining—and Backpacker editors are no exception.

There are more hikers on the trail than ever—and that means more wear and tear. It's up to all of us to help fix it.

A recent court decision struck down permit requirements for commercial filming and photography in the national parks. One land manager considers just how bad it could get.

It’s time to extend the same respect we have for the land to all the people who use it.

Why do we still run our public lands like it’s 1920?

The results of this fall’s election could change the outdoors for a long time. Make a plan and make your voice heard.

Is natural beauty always in the eye of the beholder?