Stories

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.

Need a break from the world? Sit back and catch the aurora borealis live from Churchill, Manitoba.

“The world and how it interacts with me changed the day I came out as trans”

What happens when you feed 2,000 actual hikers' trail names into a neural network? We'll let you see for yourself.

This volcano hike was supposed to be once-in-a-lifetime. But the struggle almost outweighed the reward.

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.

A hiker starts experiencing coughing fits and chest pain on the trail. Is it just the aftereffects of a long day, or something more serious?

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

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

Will a shock from a taser stop a bear from attacking you? Unsurprisingly, someone has tried it.

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. 

Goats are the perfect pack animals: agile, compliant, and low-impact beasts of burden. Right?

A nighttime fly fishing adventure goes awry.

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.

The John Muir Trail was my dream hike—until a bout of food poisoning turned it into a nightmare.

From blueberry picking in New York and New Hampshire to pure solitude in New Hampshire and Maine, moose sitings in Vermont, and peaks in New York, these the hikes feature the best of the Northeast.

Our top stories of the year covered how much hiking has changed—and how much it hasn't.

Benton MacKaye's original proposal for the Appalachian Trail came out 100 years ago. While the trail may have changed, the appeal hasn't.

Five-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey dishes on staying warm, well-fueled, and sane in extreme climates.

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.

I tallied the waste I created for a month of my thru-hike. It was embarrassing. Now I know how to begin fixing it.

Animals can't talk. But Ed Newcomer can. As an elite U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detective, he goes undercover to protect threatened raptors, bears, even butterflies—and bring poachers and smugglers to court. Inside the agency's latest covert operation.

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

After becoming the oldest person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail at age 83, M.J. “Nimblewill Nomad” Eberhart reflects on the trip that got him there.

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.

Thanks to the warming world, Lyme infections are on the rise in the Northeast—and hiking there might never be the same again.

“I love skiing because for me it’s turned into this equalizer,” Sojitra says in the film.

You only think you know Leave No Trace's guidelines. See the ones that didn't make the cut.

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”!

The natural world has a lot to say, if we’re willing to listen.

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.

Get a picturesque lake in Glacier National Park all to yourself.

Two-thirds of the way through a monumental hiking challenge, there's still so much left to learn.

Two-thirds of the way through a monumental hiking challenge, there's still so much left to learn.

A father confronts his grief in the Adirondacks.

Environmental activists are pursuing legal steps that would allow natural entities to sue in their own defense through a human spokesperson. But maybe it’s the conversation, and not the law, that matters most.

When a normal trip turned strange, one hiker found himself transfixed by the paranormal.

Environmental activists are pursuing legal steps that would allow natural entities to sue in their own defense through a human spokesperson. But maybe it’s the conversation, and not the law, that matters most.

With Biden’s oil and gas moratorium derailed, Bears Ears is back on the chopping block. Here’s the latest.

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

The hiking community has long praised Earl Shaffer for being the first person to complete the iconic trail in a single push. But one man wants us to take a closer look at Shaffer’s claims.

The hiking community has long praised Earl Shaffer for being the first person to complete the iconic trail in a single push. But one man wants us to take a closer look at Shaffer’s claims.

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.

Humans have unmatched power to alter natural landscapes. Let’s use it for good

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

Electronics can make our hikes easier and more safe. But we may have gone too far.

Hunters and anglers say other outdoor users need to step up as the costs of conservation skyrocket

In 2015, while crewing for her husband, Scott’s, successful Appalachian Trail speed record, Jenny Jurek began healing from the grief of two traumatic miscarriages. In 2021, she returned to the trail with their two young children in tow.

Tear down the walls: Sleeping without a tent gives a true backcountry experience.

Liz and Collin Blunk already checked off the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. Now they're on-route to complete their Triple Crown with this summer's hike of the Continental Divide. They share the wisdom they've won over nearly 8,000 miles together.

Plot out a long hike too much, and it starts to feel like work. But there’s a better way.

One hiker finds his limits in Mexico's Tararecua Canyon.

Without a healthy world, there's no backpacking. These 11 backpackers and advocates are fighting for a better Earth.

When Edgar McGregor decided to clean up Eaton Canyon, he started a quest that spanned 2 years and thousands of pounds of trash.

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

The new era of wildland firefighting is a war with no end in sight.

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

Just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, a fire ecologist reckons with damage and recovery after last year’s calamitous wildfires.

Patricia Cameron set out to hike the 486-mile Colorado Trail to raise awareness for her nonprofit. She ended up finding out even more about her personal strengths.

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.

For a professional forager, the woods offer peace and sustenance.

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

Some hikers prepare for years to thru-hike the AT. Others do it on a whim.