Essays

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.

Building trails is hard work. Carving them into the side of a mountain is even tougher. Read on for the blood, sweat, and zen of trail work.

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.

In one of America’s least visited national parks, I find my authentic self.

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

Hiking is for everyone—but as Kara Richardson Whitely, a.k.a. Mama Kubwa, discovered, not everyone has gotten the memo.

As a small-town newspaper reporter, I’ve had a front-row seat to what happens when people’s and bears’ paths cross.

Jobs, trips, moves: Every time I tried to hit the trail with my dad, life got in the way. Then something happened that made me realize just how much time I had wasted.

Once you leave the trailhead, your safety is in your own hands.

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.

Look up, be prepared, and don’t forget the snacks.

For almost a decade, I avoided camping alone. Now, I wish I had tried it sooner.

It’s the adventure of a lifetime, but what can it teach you about staying at home? Guide Charlotte Austin shares her hard-won lessons.

I grew up hiking in the White Mountains. But I never fully appreciated them until I moved away.

When it comes to remembering my best trips, smells do something that photos never could.

If you think of these natural treasure troves as the B-list of the national park system, you’re missing out.

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.

Backpackers have a habit of glorifying the big adventures. But the little ones can be just as sweet.

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

Hiking isn’t all gorgeous sunsets and glowing campfires, but you wouldn’t know that from looking at Instagram. And for people just getting into backpacking, that matters.

BACKPACKER is committing to making a better world for all hikers.

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.

Being a new parent is hard, but being able to share your favorite thing with your baby makes it a little easier.

Is natural beauty always in the eye of the beholder?

When companies don't offer plus sizes, that sends a message about who is and isn't welcome in the outdoors.

The Western U.S. is rife with forests and deserts that you can't visit. A new law could fix that—if we're willing to fight for it.

After 18 years of backpacking, boating, and skiing, a mother and son confront letting go.

There are a lot of good reasons to fight racism. Let’s add one more: We can’t protect the climate without ending it.

We can do better for the environment.

Supportive social media posts are a start. But as the country protests yet another Black man’s murder, the outdoor industry has to take a stronger position against structural racism.

From favorite shirt to lifelong companion.

This week, we're paying homage to our favorite backcountry fauna with bear science, safety, and advice. Dive in and get to know the original masters of staying at home.

A globetrotter reflects on a place that stopped him in his tracks.

It’s tough to pick our favorite place in New Zealand, but this stretch of coast is all-time.

Some love affairs aren't meant to last. But that just makes them sweeter.

Sometimes, your search for adventure leads you to your own backyard.

A trekking trip becomes a pilgrimage for one mountain lover.

From childhood trips to sailing voyages, this wave-licked chunk of sandstone has never lost its magic for me.

See the divine written in sand.