Michael Lanza of The Big Outside hiking Besseggen Ridge above Lake Gjende in Norway's Jotunheimen National Park.

Video: How to Pack a Backpack

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By Michael Lanza

Wonder why I’m smiling in the above photo? Well, sure, two friends and I were hiking the incredibly scenic Besseggen Ridge in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park; that had something to do with it. But the other big factor was that I was comfortable—and how well my pack carried had a lot to do with that. And how I loaded it greatly affected how well it carried on my back. In this four-minute video, I’ll show you how to properly load a backpack to make your backpacking trips much more enjoyable.

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A backpacker hiking the Beamer Trail above the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Years Later: As Hard—And Amazing—As Ever

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By Nate Lanza

The relentless midday sun of this harsh desert seems to bake the parched earth and all the animals upon it—with its greatest cruelty reserved, it seems, for me—as I pound down the biggest descent on the Beamer Trail, one of the most remote paths in the Grand Canyon. I’m racing the pain in my joints and the building heat in my head, as well as the steadily rising heat of the day, toward my salvation: a sandy beach on the shore of a refreshingly frigid and uncharacteristically clear Colorado River. 

Reaching it, I escape my pack and shoes as though they’re on fire and flop into the crystalline waters of a shallow eddy, where the river and I rest together for a few blissful seconds, until I rise in a spell of cold-induced euphoria to dash gleefully around my new sanctuary. Unfortunately, my reverie proves short-lived: Eight miles remain to our next camp, and it’s already noon.

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A backpacker in The Narrows in Zion National Park.

The Best Guide to Backpacking the Zion Narrows

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By Michael Lanza

The sound of rushing water increased in volume and the canyon walls pressed in close and reached toward the sliver of sky overhead as we walked downstream in the calf-deep North Fork of the Virgin River in The Narrows of Zion National Park. Turning a bend in the canyon, we came upon one of the most incongruous sights in the desert: a waterfall pouring from cracks in the canyon’s sandstone wall. Known as Big Spring, this oasis of cascading water and a hanging garden clinging to a redrock cliff is just one of the many wonders awaiting backpackers in Zion’s Narrows.

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A backpacker descending the trail off Maze Overlook in the Maze District, Canyonlands National Park.

Why and When to Spend More on Hiking and Backpacking Gear

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By Michael Lanza

You need a new backpack, backpacking tent, rain jacket, boots, or a sleeping bag. You’ve read reviews. You’ve winnowed your short list to a handful of possible choices—with a significant difference in prices. That’s when you struggle with the question that pushes the frugality button in all of us: Why should I spend more?

This story will explain why some gear is more expensive and give you specific advice on buying five big-ticket items: packs, tents, rain jackets, shoes and boots, and sleeping bags.

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A backpacker in the Bailey Range, Olympic National Park.

10 Tips For Spending Less on Hiking and Backpacking Gear

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By Michael Lanza

My first tent cost about 75 bucks. It was a bit heavy and bulky for backpacking. I called it the Wind Sock because it snapped loudly in the slightest breeze, and its poles bowed disturbingly in moderate gusts. (I learned to choose protected campsites.) But at a time when I could not afford good gear and was developing a passion for hiking, backpacking, and climbing, it sheltered me for about 150 nights in the backcountry and in campgrounds. It ultimately cost me about 50 cents a night.

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