Thru Hikers

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.

What does hiking 800 miles in less than two weeks do to your body? Ultrarunner and FKT holder Joe McConaughy hit the Arizona Trail to find out.

Thomas has thru-hiked more than 20 long trails, including the Pacific Crest, Continental Divide and Appalachian Trails (the Triple Crown). On top of that, she set a fastest known time on the AT for an unsupported woman and has completed dozens of urban thru-hikes as well. Now, she's joining Backpacker as a contributing editor. Here’s some of Thomas’s best advice and insight fed by more than 20,000 trail miles.

Nearly a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us are ready to say goodbye to stay-at-home orders, shoulder our packs, and head out on a multi-month hiking adventure. But with transmission rates still high and vaccination efforts stretching into late summer, should we hold off?

Getting back to "real life" after a long hike can be rough. But if you feel low after coming home, you're not alone.

Has the AT’s party culture gone too far? Bill Donahue joins the trail’s biggest blowout to find out.