Backpacking

Rock Slide Lake in Idaho's southern Sawtooth Mountains.

Photo Gallery: 30 Gorgeous Backcountry Lakes

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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 …

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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 …

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A backpacker hiking to Burro Pass above Matterhorn Canyon, Yosemite National Park.

The 5 Best Backpacking Trips in Yosemite

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By Michael Lanza After years of exploring all over Yosemite on numerous backpacking trips, I’ve learned two lessons about it: Few places inspire the same powerful sense of adventure. And Yosemite’s backcountry harbors such an abundance of soaring granite peaks, waterfalls, and shimmering alpine lakes—plus, over 700,000 acres of designated wilderness and 750 miles of trails—that you can take many …

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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 trail miles much more enjoyable.

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A mother and young daughter backpacking the High Sierra Trail above Hamilton Lakes, Sequoia National Park.

15 Great Backpacking Trips You Can Still Take in 2021

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By Michael Lanza So you didn’t plan months in advance to reserve a permit for backpacking this summer in Glacier, Yosemite, on the Teton Crest Trail, Wonderland Trail, or John Muir Trail or in another popular national park? Or you applied for a permit but got rejected? Now what? Where can you still go this year? You’re in luck. This story describes …

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