Emma Veidt

Just 13.6 percent of hikers are using bear canister while nearly a third sleep with their food, The Trek's annual Appalachian Trail survey found.

From 10,000-mile hikes to the battle over public lands, here are the highlights we'll be thinking about long after the year turns over.

Layers, tents, meals: We asked our editors to pick their personal favorite backpacking gear of December and the year as a whole.

The fatality occurred in the notorious Devil's Backbone area of Mt. Baldy. The recovery mission is still underway.

A fire lookout with a heavenly view, a a reunion with the desert landscape that changed us, and more.

From refusing to use inflatable sleeping pads to packing enough just-in-case gear for our whole group, here are the things Backpacker's editors don't plan to change in 2026 even if we should.

It's been one of the most unpredictable starts to a spring that the Backpacker staff can recall. This gear was with us for all of it.

Half Dome is one of our editor's favorite hikes. Here's what she learned on her 2023 trek, plus some recommendations if you get the chance to climb the famous cables.

A group of hikers is lucky to be alive after floodwaters carried several away in Little Wild Horse Canyon, prompting a multi-agency rescue.

Bushcraft skills like building a shelter out of sticks or identifying edible plants are fun to practice—but they're not likely to help you in a real emergency.