Michael Lanza

Dawn at Minaret Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, High Sierra.

41 Gorgeous Backcountry Lakes—A Photo Gallery

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By Michael Lanza

Water makes up about 60 percent of our bodies—and, I suspect, 100 percent of our hearts. We crave it not only physically, for survival, but emotionally, for spiritual rejuvenation. We love playing in it for hours as children and we paddle and swim in it as adults. We’re drawn by the calming effects of sitting beside a stream or lake in a beautiful natural setting, an experience that possesses a certain je ne sais quoi—a quality difficult to describe, but that we can all feel.

And nothing beats taking a swim in a gorgeous backcountry lake.

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A backpacker hiking above Columbine Lake in Sequoia National Park.

5 Tips for Getting Out of Camp Faster When Backpacking

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By Michael Lanza

Years ago, in a visitor center in a popular national park, I overheard a conversation in which one person said to another, “Backpackers? They don’t start hiking until 10 or 11 in the morning.” I laughed to myself because I know how true that is in many cases. But I also found it amusing because I prefer to start hiking early when backpacking—and I know that it’s not just about what time you get up. Some simple and easy habits can help you get out of camp faster and on the trail earlier, bringing numerous benefits that really transform the experience of backpacking for you.

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The Gregory Paragon 60 in the Grand Canyon.

Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58 Backpacks

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Backpack
Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58
$300, 60L/3,661 c.i., 3 lbs. 12 oz./1.7 kg (men’s SM/MD)
Sizes: men’s Paragon S/M and M/L, women’s Maven XS/S and S/M
Paragon 60: backcountry.com
Maven 58: backcountry.com

Since Gregory first introduced the men’s Paragon and women’s Maven packs, I’ve found myself choosing the Paragon repeatedly for a variety of backpacking trips, including pounding out 77 miles in five days (averaging over 15 miles and 8,000 vertical feet per day) on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and a more casual, four-day, 36-mile family hike on the Ruby Crest Trail. With the 2025 update of these packs, I took the Paragon 60 on a four-day, 40-mile walk in the Grand Canyon in late March that included humping up the brutally steep and rugged Boucher Trail—convincing myself that the fully featured Paragon 60 and women’s Maven 58 still offer everything that many backpackers look for in a pack for every kind of trip they take.

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A backpacker hiking to Spider Gap in Washington's Glacier Peak Wilderness.

An Essentials-Only Backpacking Gear Checklist

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By Michael Lanza

What do you need to pack for a three-season backpacking trip? While the specific items depend in part on factors like the time of year, your companions and backpacking style, the trip’s length and the weather forecast, this story provides a core checklist of essential gear to help you organize and efficiently pack—and avoid overpacking—for virtually any backpacking trip.

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A backpacker on the Thunder Creek Trail, North Cascades National Park.

The Fine Art of Stashing a Backpack in the Woods

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By Michael Lanza

Stashing a backpack in the woods is just what it sounds like. If you’re on a multi-day backpacking trip and want to take a side hike of any significant distance, like to a summit, and then return to the same spot to resume your backpacking route, it’s a waste of energy (not to mention entirely pointless) to carry your heavy pack with you. But there are ways to do it wrong, and ways to make sure your pack and everything inside it are still there and not torn apart or gone when you return. Here’s how to do it right.

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