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How to Get a John Muir Trail Wilderness Permit in 2025
By Michael Lanza Sometimes it can seem like everyone who’s ever carried a backpack through mountains somewhere wants to thru-hike the John Muir Trail—especially when it comes time to reserve a JMT wilderness permit. And why not? “America’s Most Beautiful Trail” earns its nickname and ranks... -
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Thru-Hiking the John Muir Trail: What You Need to Know
By Michael Lanza For many serious backpackers, a thru-hike of the John Muir Trail looms as a sort of holy grail. But every JMT aspirant inevitably faces the question: How do you plan a 221-mile hike of “America’s Most Beautiful Trail?” Besides preparing physically for it, a JMT thru-hike poses... -
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Backpacking the John Muir and Ansel Adams Wildernesses
By Michael Lanza Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon national parks loom large on the radar screens of most backpackers. But savvy Sierra aficionados know that the two major wilderness areas that sprawl over nearly 900,000 acres along more than 100 miles of the High Sierra between those parks... -
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5 Expert Tips For Buying the Right Backpacking Pack
By Michael Lanza If you’re super fit and strong, hike with a pack of any weight 50 or more days a year, and have never known any sort of injury or ache in your body, then don’t bother reading this article. But for everyone else, knowing how to find the right pack for backpacking and other... -
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The 10 Best Hikes in Zion National Park
By Michael Lanza At a bit over 148,000 acres, Zion comes nowhere near America’s largest national parks in sheer immensity. Zion could fit inside Yosemite National Park five times, inside the Everglades 10 times, inside Yellowstone 15 times, and inside our largest park, Alaska’s Wrangell-St... -
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My Most Scenic Days of Hiking Ever
By Michael Lanza We can all remember specific places that we consider the best days of hiking we’ve ever had. I’ve been exceptionally fortunate: I have hiked many trails in America and around the world that would probably make anyone’s list of most-scenic hikes. From numerous trips in iconic... -
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Where to Backpack First Time in Yosemite
By Michael Lanza Ready for your first backpacking trip in one of America’s greatest national parks for backpackers? Having backpacked several times all over Yosemite, my advice for a first-time backpacker who wants to hit highlights like Yosemite Valley, the Mist Trail, and Half Dome is nearly... -
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How to Get a Yosemite or High Sierra Wilderness Permit
By Michael Lanza Ah, the High Sierra. Yosemite. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The John Muir Wilderness and Ansel Adams Wilderness, Mount Whitney, and countless other, less famous but equally beautiful spots. Every backpacker who has ever walked for days through any of these wildlands... -
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The 10 Best Backpacking Trips in Yosemite
By Michael Lanza After more than three decades of exploring all over Yosemite on numerous backpacking trips, I’ve learned two big lessons about it: First of all, few places inspire the same powerful combination of both awe and adventure. And Yosemite’s backcountry harbors such an abundance of... -
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Review: Himali Men’s Endeavor Fleece Hoodie
Hooded Fleece Jacket Himali Men’s Endeavor Fleece Hoodie $180, 15.5 oz./439.4g (men’s medium) Sizes: men’s S-XL himali.com On January days of backcountry skiing in Idaho’s Boise Mountains and Galena Summit area, moving constantly between cold shade and warm sunshine, with temps ranging from... -
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5 Reasons You Must Backpack Mount Rainier’s Wonderland Trail
By Michael Lanza There are many good reasons the 93-mile Wonderland Trail encircling Washington’s Mount Rainier ranks among the most popular backpacking trips in the country. And yet, backpackers who’ve never attempted this loop around the third-highest peak in the Lower 48 may have questions... -
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The 10 Best National Park Backpacking Trips
By Michael Lanza Olympic, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Glacier, Zion, Grand Teton, Mount Rainier, Canyonlands, Sequoia, Great Smoky Mountains. To backpackers, these names read like a list of America’s greatest cathedrals in nature—and no surprise, because these parks harbor some of the most scenic... -
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Get Custom Backpacking Trip Planning from an Expert
By Michael Lanza You’re trying to plan a backpacking trip to a classic national park like Yosemite, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Grand Canyon, or some other park or wilderness area—but you’re not quite sure how to do it or where to go. Or the permit process and planning feel overwhelming. Or you... -
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10 Perfect National Park Backpacking Trips for Beginners
By Michael Lanza So you’re a novice backpacker, or you’re planning your first backpacking trip in a big, Western national park, or you have kids you want to take on a relatively easy backpacking trip—and you want to sample the best scenery, trails, and backcountry campsites that experienced... -
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10 Outdoor Adventures to Put on Your Bucket List Now
By Michael Lanza Are you looking for great trip ideas for your bucket list? Well, you’ve clicked to the right place. This freshly updated story spotlights some of the most iconic wildlands in the U.S., including Glacier (photo above), Yosemite, North Cascades, and Sequoia national parks... -
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Thru-Hiking the John Muir Trail—A Photo Gallery
By Michael Lanza It’s known as “America’s Most Beautiful Trail” for good reason: There may be no long backpacking trip that’s more spectacular, step for step, than a thru-hike of the John Muir Trail through California’s High Sierra. From Yosemite Valley to the 14,505-foot summit of Mount... -
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The 25 Best National Park Dayhikes
By Michael Lanza America’s most stunning landscapes are protected within our 63 national parks, and some of the very finest scenery within our national heritage can be reached on dayhikes. Some of these hikes you may not have done yet or heard of. Others are famous, but there’s a reason for... -
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5 Expert Tips For Buying a Backpacking Tent
By Michael Lanza The choices in tents for backpacking seem to get better every year, with lightweight models continually getting lighter and other advances that make tents sturdier and more livable without adding weight. But with all the options out there, how do you choose? The answer is... -
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How to Get a Permit to Backpack in Glacier National Park
By Michael Lanza There are two immutable truths about backpacking in Glacier National Park. First, from its stirring landscape, where glaciers hang off muscular mountains and sheer cliffs soar above deeply green valleys dappled with lakes and waterfalls, to almost certain sightings of wildlife... -
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10 Backpacking Trips for Solitude in Glacier National Park
By Michael Lanza Is it possible to find solitude backpacking in a national park as popular as Glacier? The answer is an unequivocal yes—even in Glacier’s relatively short peak season of mid-July through mid-September. And the strategies for doing so are remarkably simple and will not compromise...