Trail Stories

When they wake up broke, broken, and far from home, how do thru-hikers find the will to go another mile?

With travel plans cancelled due to COVID, one hiker makes the most of staying close to home.

With races around the country canceled, an unprecedented number of ultrarunners are testing themselves on the trail.

When you’ve stepped onto a long trail, you never really leave it.

As she nears the end of her journey on the Colorado Trail, our writer reflects on some of the people she’s met along the way.

A chance encounter with a group of friends on an annual, women-only backpacking trip leaves our Colorado Trail correspondent reflecting on how her own life changed her attitude towards the trail.

What do hiking the Colorado Trail and childbirth have in common? Sometimes, you just need to trust your body to get you through it.

After a series of mistakes left her dehydrated on the Colorado Trail, our writer learned that making it on a long trail is about more than guts or skill.

A would-be thru-hiker hit the trail to change her life. She knew about the natural hazards. It was the human threat she never saw coming.

When a father-daughter team tackles the Pacific Crest Trail over the course of seven summers, they learn something about long-distance hiking—and each other.

I wasn't ready for an emergency—but my gear was.

For early thru-hikers, steep hills and long distances were only part of the challenge.

From big fish caught to big mountains summited, kids can do the darndest things.

Are hiking dresses, skirts, and kilts more than a novelty? I freed my legs to find out.

When five-year-old Christian Thomas set out with his family to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, some skeptics said he couldn’t—and shouldn’t. But like a lot of kids, he wasn’t listening.

Is hiking with a total stranger a smart way to find a partner—or a train wreck unfolding one step at a time?

Fifty miles a day for 45 days. No crew. Joe McConaughy’s AT thru-hike was one for the record (and history) books.

They say you can learn something by walking in another man’s boots. On the Appalachian Trail last summer, hikers learned what happens when you carry them.