Trips

A backpacker on the Rockwall Trail, Kootenay National Park, Canada.

Backpacking the Canadian Rockies: Kootenay’s Rockwall Trail

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By Michael Lanza

A few hours into our hike’s first day, we round a bend in the trail to a sight that can stop you in your tracks: a pair of skyscraping stone monoliths rising thousands of feet above the treetops. Silhouetted by the sun arcing toward the west, the peaks resemble nothing less than a pair of El Capitans standing shoulder to shoulder. Farther along, one of the tallest waterfalls in the Rocky Mountains comes into view: Helmet Falls, plunging 1,154 feet (352m) over a cliff in two braids that recouple before the column of water crashes into the rocks at its base, spraying a fine cloud of mist into the air.

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A hiker on the Grand Canyon's South Kaibab Trail.

April Fools: Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim

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By Michael Lanza

At 5:30 in the morning in early April, the bone-chilling wind cascading off the Grand Canyon’s South Rim at 7,200 feet slices through my few thin layers of clothing. Four of us are following our headlamp beams in the dark down the South Kaibab Trail. We’re just minutes into a day that will also end by headlamp light late tonight—but only after we’ve hiked farther than any of us has ever ambulated in a single day.

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A backpacker in Washington's Olympic Mountains.

Why I’m Still Planning Trips for ‘After’ the Coronavirus

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By Michael Lanza It feels very weird lately to be posting blog stories about “The 5 Southwest Backpacking Trips You Should Do First” or “The Best Backpacking Trip in Glacier National Park.” It also feels very weird to be making plans for trips this summer—as I am doing—while we all hunker down in our homes in the planet-engulfing shadow of …

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A backpacker in the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park.

Best of Yosemite: Backpacking Remote Northern Yosemite

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By Michael Lanza Under a sky lacking even one tiny cotton ball, and so blue you want to pour it into a cup and drink it, Todd and I walk across Tuolumne Meadows, carrying full but light backpacks and hearts full of anticipation. Across the creek-cut meadows, Cathedral Peak knifes into the stratosphere, and domes of polished granite bubble up …

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Hikers in the Cares Gorge in Spain's Picos de Europa National Park.

The Best 5-Day Hike in Spain’s Picos de Europa Mountains

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By Michael Lanza Minutes into our hike through the jaw-dropping Cares Gorge in northern Spain’s Picos de Europa National Park, we come upon several chamois grazing beside the trail. A deer-like animal about the size of a goat, chamois are the emblematic fauna of the Picos, regularly seen in the alpine areas of these mountains. As my family aims cameras …

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