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Articles by BACKPACKER Contributors
Eat Like a 'Fat Bear' with These 6 Salmon-Forward Trail Recipes
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. This time of year, the brown bears in Katmai National Park are insatiably hyperphagic. They're storing up the fat that they'll need for hibernation, during which they'll lose up to a third of their body weight. So, we celebrate their rotund physiques during Fat Bear Week and vote on who is best primed to survive comfortably this winter.
Forget Olympic Canoeing. Here are 10 Better Places to Paddle Than Paris.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. As we've been watching the Olympics this week, canoeing has become an item of special fascination among our editorial team. Between the combat-style Kayak Cross event and the two-person kneeling canoe race, it's hard not to be transfixed.
The Best Fall Hikes and Camp Recipes for This Autumn
With the summer temperatures cooling down and the leaves turning, it's high time for an adventure. Make the most of your autumn with recipes, trips, and skills stories for the third season.
Where To Play Outside for Your Most Memorable Summer Yet
Why do we love summer backpacking? The sun sets later and the temperatures are warm. But more than anything else, we love the sense of possibility, the feeling that, with the snow melting and the days lengthening, there's a whole world of adventures opening up for you. We've collected our favorite warm-weather adventures for all kind of hikers, so you can get out and make summer your own.
The Most Peaceful Hikes, According to Our Editors
Enough of Type 2 Fun. These six hikes give you that just-left-the-spa peaceful feeling. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. It’s well-documented that nature is a balm: Being outside (or even just looking at pictures of the natural world) lowers your blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and cortisol levels.
BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors
We tested hundreds of backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, accessories and more to determine the best hiking gear for your summer adventures. Check out BACKPACKER Contributors and Editors's author page. From exclusive interviews to heartwarming adventure tales, here are the most popular features we published this year. Want to eat like the famous bears of Fat Bear Week? Here are six salmon-packed recipes that will have you feeling like a bruin along the Brooks River. Olympic paddling got you stoked?
These Are The Trails Our Editors Can't Wait To Hike This Spring
There are still 6 weeks left until the June solstice, and we're not spending them twiddling our thumbs. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app. Summer trips get all the hype.
The 5 Best Backpacking Knives
For many hikers, backpacking knives are mostly used for slicing cheddar and chopping onions. But like the rest of your emergency gear, from a survival blanket to a gear patch kit, when you need a knife, you really need it. Not a knife aficionado? Fear not. This list covers a range of types, uses, and price points, and will help you pick the best knife for your backpacking style. What to Look For in a Backpacking Knife Fixed or Folding?
10 Oatmeal Recipes That Even Oatmeal-Hating Hikers Will Love
You hate oatmeal? We don't blame you. It may be the easiest trail breakfast, but more often than not, it also ends up as a tasteless, textureless goop that hikers have to choke down. But suffer no more: These 10 trail-tested oat recipes are easy to make (just mix the ingredients in) and will satisfy even the pickiest eater. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Heading out the door?
The Secret to Beating Cold Temperatures? Hot Spices.
From curries to seafood soup, these gourmet meals will warm you to your core. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Unlock this article and more benefits with 25% off. Already have an Outside Account? Sign in Get the one subscription to fuel all your adventures. Map your next adventure with our premium GPS apps: Gaia GPS Premium and Trailforks Pro.
Make Your Own Retro Backpacking Gear With These DIY Projects
If hikers five decades ago could make their own gear, so can you. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ Sign up for Outside+ today.
Spring's Top Gear, as Reviewed by Outside+ Members
A versatile backpack, a lightweight sleeping bag, and an all-purpose jacket ready for spring and summer storms: This is what our members are trying out right now. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites.
How to Hike Acadia National Park's Cadillac Mountain
Receive $50 off an eligible $100 purchase at the Outside Shop, where you'll find gear for all your adventures outdoors. Sign up for Outside+ today. If Acadia is the king of the New England coast, then Cadillac Mountain is its crown. The highest peak on the Atlantic coast from New England to Florida at 1,530 feet, its summit rewards hikers with panoramic views of the park’s forested hills, mountains, and scattered islands, with the ocean stretching endlessly beyond.
The 10 Best Sleeping Pads for Backpackers
Receive $50 off an eligible $100 purchase at the Outside Shop, where you'll find gear for all your adventures outdoors. Sign up for Outside+ today. As one of the two major components to your backpacking sleep system, a pad can make all the difference when it comes to catching Z’s in the wilderness. Between sleep preferences and hiking environment, finding the ideal pad can be a daunting task: Are you a side-sleeper or a back sleeper, a sound sleeper or a restless one?
The Best Hikes in Shenandoah National Park Are Your Gateway to the Appalachians
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. If you’re looking for an escape from city life, Shenandoah National Park is it. Though just 75 miles from the bustling metropolis of Washington, D.C., Shenandoah is 40% designated wilderness, and this hiking haven in the Blue Mountains has a bit of everything—forested valleys, hidden waterfalls, open summit vistas. It’s a great destination year-round, too.
These 5 Spooky Hikes are Way Scarier Than a Haunted House
It’s Halloween season—decorative spiderwebs are sprouting on porches, graves (hopefully only decorative) festoon front yards, and everyone is prepping their costume for the one night of the year when it is socially acceptable to go out in public dressed like Legolas. But just because the weather is changing and the end of October is here doesn’t mean hiking season is over, too. Bring your weekend wilderness excursions into the spirit of the season with the five most haunted hikes in the country.
Rocky Mountain National Park Archives
Hiking Rocky Mountain National Park is the best way to experience this Colorado park’s many faces. To some it is an peak-bagging paradise; to others it is a backpacker’s best friend. With 349 miles of Rocky Mountain trail to explore, you will have more than enough variety to decide for yourself. Stop by the park’s favorite hikes to get a glimpse into our local park. Or make it a stop along the way as you trek along the Continental Divide Trail, which runs across the park.
8 Rocky Mountain National Park Hikes Full of Purple Mountain Majesty
Summit peaks, swim lakes, and cross the Continental Divide on the best hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Join O+ to unlock this story. Already have an Outside Account? Invest in your wellbeing with: World-class journalism from publications like Outside, Ski, Trail Runner, Climbing, and Backpacker.
See Beaches, Summits, and Deserts on San Diego's Best Hikes
Photo: “From Garnet Peak” by rmalouf is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Test the PCT waters on the Noble Canyon-Indian Creek-Pine Mountain Loop Fresh mountain air, shrub-covered backcountry, jagged peaks, and a killer climbing workout aren’t this 12-mile route’s only perks. An hour’s drive from San Diego proper, this dayhike tours pine and oak stands, recovering burn zones, wildflower meadows, and far-stretching canyons in the Laguna Mountains—all in rare solitude.
Get Sand in Your Toes on These 6 Early Summer Beach Hikes
Mosquito Beach, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI For backpackers, the best places often require some effort—like Mosquito Beach, a piece of rugged Michigan shoreline on Lake Superior. It’s accessible via the North Country Trail (near mile 12 from Munising Falls) or the 10-mile Chapel Loop (near mile 3), but no matter how you get there, plan to linger, says photographer Steve Perry.
Impress Your Hiking Partners By ID'ing These 10 Blooms
Photo: Andrey Zharkikh Longleaf aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens) Also known as western aster or intermountain aster, this hardy flower grows in a variety of habitats. Where to find it: Find it in western Canada and the United States, from the California Sierra to the Rockies How to identify it: Thin, oblong purple petals around a central yellow inflorescence, topping a green stem up to 5 feet high.
Five Early-Season Hikes to Escape the Deep Freeze
Member Exclusive Become a member to unlock this story and receive other great benefits. Photo: “Whiteoak Canyon Waterfall hike” by Vironevaeh is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Whiteoak Canyon Trail, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Catch eight different waterfalls on this 7.3-mile loop.
GCI Outdoor MaxRelax Pod Rocker
Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Specs Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
Chaco Chillos Slide
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review If you hike and train hard, your feet deserve some TLC—and this sandal delivers.
GCI Outdoor MaxRelax Pod Rocker
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
TrainingMask 3.0
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review Want to get the maximum benefit from your trail-fitness workouts without adding time, weight, or reps? Wear a training mask.
TrainingMask 3.0
This workout accessory will change the way you train. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Specs Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings.
Leatherman FREE T4
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The Leatherman FREE T4 bridges the gap between ultralight backpacking knives and heavy around-the-house multitools.
Leatherman FREE T4
This problem-solving multitool is small enough to fit in your pocket. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Specs Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings.
Leatherman FREE K2
This knife has a few handy tricks hidden away. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Backpacker Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Specs Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings.
Leatherman FREE K2
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The compact FREE K2 looks more knife than multitool, but it plays both parts well.
Leatherman FREE P4
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review If life is a lock box at times, this multitool is the key.
Leatherman FREE P4
Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review If life is a lock box at times, this multitool is the key.
PAKMULE Sway-Back
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The PAKMULE earns its name.
PAKMULE Sway-Back
Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Specs Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The PAKMULE earns its name.
Firetower Hikes
"Harney Lookout" by subarcticmike is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Historic Harney Lookout Tower Black Elk Wilderness, SD Hikers who stand on the summit of Black Elk Peak enjoy a double dose of accomplishment—this 7,242-foot mountain is South Dakota’s highpoint and the tallest mountain east of the Rockies. And that doesn’t even include the 20-foot boost you’ll score from the stone tower at the top.
LifeStraw Go Stainless Steel
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review On dayhikes, simplicity is key.
Top Hikes for Fall Foliage
"Hiking on Kesugi Ridge. Denali State Park, Alaska" by Paxson Woelber is licensed under CC BY 2.0 K'esugi Ridge Denali State Park, AK Forget the trees of the lower 48: This is the fall foliage to beat. Bright red bearberry and yellow arctic willow run together like watercolor paintstrokes across the hillsides of the Talkeetna Mountains next to Denali, interspersed with a treasure trove of ripe blueberries.
Bask in the Fall Glory on These 7 Perfect Autumn Leaf Hikes
Make the most of your trail time: Read more of Backpacker’s hand-picked hike reports. K’esugi Ridge, Denali State Park, AK Forget the trees of the lower 48: This is the fall foliage to beat. Bright red bearberry and yellow arctic willow run together like watercolor paintstrokes across the hillsides of the Talkeetna Mountains next to Denali, interspersed with a treasure trove of ripe blueberries.
Decathlon Quechua 2 Second Easy Fresh & Black
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review Setting up your tent in couple of minutes is a feat to brag about. But a couple of seconds? That’s even more impressive.
SABRE Frontiersman Bear Spray 9.2 oz. With Practice Spray
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review When it comes to bear safety, distance is everything—always keep at least 100 yards away if you can.
SABRE Runner Pepper Gel with Adjustable Hand Strap
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
SABRE Frontiersman Insider Bear Canister
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review Bear canisters have looked the same for decades, so this model from SABRE caught our attention.
GCI Outdoor Freestyle Rocker
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The breezy comfort of a back-porch rocking chair is now wilderness-ready.
GCI Outdoor Slim-Fold Cook Station
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review There’s a particular, indulgent joy to car camping.
Merrell Rubato
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
Merrell Antora 2
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review The women’s-specific Antora 2 is a versatile, comfortable hiking shoe that is ideal for dayhikes and trail running.
Decathlon Forclaz Trek 100 Down Hiking Jacket
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
Decathlon Forclaz Trek 100 Down Hiking Jacket
Brand: Gear 360 Reviews Model: Product feedback from every angle Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site.
Merrell MTL Long Sky
Gear 360 gives consumers the best available product information all in one place, through independent editorial and reader reviews, and verified consumer ratings. Brands pay a fee to be included in the Gear 360 program but have no influence over the reviews or scores we publish. We may earn a commission on purchases made through our site. BACKPACKER Gear 360 Review For a trail-running shoe that weighs barely more than a pound per pair, the MTL Long Sky provides outsized protection and stability.
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