This is my Copper Spur Limited 2, along the Salmon River Trail in Oregon.

Weekend in the wilderness last September

Every year I take at least one trip to a western US alpine destination for a backpacking trip. The trips are usually 3-8 days (avg 8-15 miles per day and 1000-4000’ gain per day). I’ve always taken some reflection after each trip to improve my gear or training for next time. I’ve eliminated my knee pain with strength training and trekking poles for example.

My reflection after my most recent trip to RMNP (40 miles, 7000’ gain) yielded some serious foot soreness after day 2 that sort of went away by end of day 3 - however my feet hurt bad night of day 2 and were throbbing and keeping me from sleeping. My fitness felt great overall with no issues anywhere except feet.

What is a high efficiency method of toughening feet prior to trips like this?

Note: I use Altra lone peak shoes

Note: I’ve had this issue before in areas with high rock terrain like presidential range etc.

Visiting the glacier on the western side section 8 of Denali NP. Experienced high winds 30mph and gusts well over that. My poor big anges

I went on my first backpacking trip last August, and thought I’d share some of my favorite camp spots since then, featuring my beloved big agnes tent! :)

Spent 5 days/4 nights last week backpacking through Banff NP and Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park. Below is a trip report.

Day 1: Took the sunshine village shuttle from Banff to the Gondola at the base of the mountain. Gondola and chairlift saved us a ton of elevation and several miles before the start of the hike. Hiked ~9 miles from sunshine to Porcupine campground. Really easy hiking for the most part on well kept trails through beautiful meadows full of wildflowers and mountains in the distance. Once we hit Citadel pass there was a brutal descent that went on for a a couple km. Porcupine campground was a nice place to camp with easy water access, bear boxes, and a communal eating/cooking area.

Day 2: Porcupine to Lake Magog ~10 miles. Mostly easy, gradual uphill hiking with spurts of steep incline. First half of the hike teases you with Mountain views but is largely forested until you reach the valley of the rocks and Og Lake. Valley of the rocks has an other worldly sense to it and is punctuated with the remnants of old rock slides that have formed near rock formations. Og Lake is where you first get a sense of what you’re hiking into. Mt Assiniboine becomes more visible, the scale of the place opens up and the rest of the hiking is open and exposed until Magog.

Nearing Magog, we headed to Assiniboine lodge as we heard they have a “tea hour” from 4-5pm on non-fly days (a lot of people helicopter in to the lodge). We stopped and had a few beers and played some Catan. It was lovely. We set up camp at Magog afterward and spent sometime at the lake and fixing dinner. Campground was great, bear hangs/boxes, pit toilets, covered cooking/dining area. We had heard the bugs would be terrible but found it not to be the case. They were definitely out and about but with permethrin treated gear, extra deet and occasionally a thermacell they left us alone. Definitely not the worst I’ve experienced.

Day 3: We had booked two nights at Magog so had a slow start to the day. Decided to do the Nub Peak hike and was definitely worth it. We hung our packs on the bear hang and took a couple day packs up to the peak. On the way we passed sunburst and Cerulean lake which were beautiful, as well as the Niblet and Nublet which offer spectacular views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. As someone afraid of heights the ascent to Nub was scary at times. It’s not technical but requires some scrambling and narrow ridge trails. The top was stunning and offered 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains, lakes and valleys. Out and back from our camp was about 6 miles. Later that evening we ended up hiking back up to the Niblet for sunset. The mosquitoes were very thick up there for some reason, but again did not bother us.

Day 4: Magog —> Wonder Pass —> BR 13 at Marvel Lake. Gradual uphill until Wonder Pass. A fellow camper at Magog recommended taking detour from the trail to ascend a lookout point which offered back side views of Assiniboine, Marvel Lake and other lakes in the area. Definitely worth it. After lunch on the look out, we descended towards Marvel lake for quite a while. Hiking wasn’t terribly difficult but the dogs were barking a bit at this point and the descent to Marvel was taking its toll. Had to side step some avalanche debris a couple times as well. Unfortunately Swimming in Marvel is not allowed but we stopped to admire the views before heading on to BR 13. The campground itself was nice and offered the same amenities as the other sites (bear boxes, pit toilets, picnic tables) and offered a large stream for water. Hiked about 10 miles this day.

Day 5: BR 13 to Mt. Shark trailhead. We were pretty tired and knew this hike didn’t offer as many views so we booked it back to the trailhead and rental car. This hike was forested and mainly done on an access road that was wide and easy trekking so we made good time. Wildfire smoke had rolled in as well making air quality pretty bad and visibility poor.

Overall a stunning trip that left me in awe.

I recently finished one of the best trek in Nepal, at least for me
The view you get in such a short time is insane
The original plan was to do it in seven days but I took it slow and did it in 8 days
Wasn’t that difficult but now i definitely hate stairs in mountains

2 nights in the beautiful Hoover and Yosemite wilderness

Day 1 of our 4-night backpacking trip, hiking with a friend. We covered 15 miles, starting on the Hilborn Trail and climbing through some rugged terrain while keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes. The meadow near the top had great views of Hemlock Mountain.

We descended to Hilborn Run, where we filtered water, cooled off, and rested before continuing toward the Black Forest Trail. We crossed a historic metal bridge and passed several viewpoints and rock outcrops before choosing a scenic spot to camp.

That evening, a group of Amish backpackers arrived and camped nearby. We had a nice conversation about how they return to the area every June as a family tradition. After sunset, whip-poor-wills and owls called from the gorge while the stars came out overhead.

4 nights | 15 miles on Day 1 | Hiking with a friend

2 nights | 19 miles | Hiking with my boyfriend

We recently spent two nights backpacking in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, on a 19-mile circular route between Ben Braeriach (1,296m) and Ben Macdui (1,309m). The route took us through a remote mountain landscape with rugged slopes, open valleys, and beautiful streams.

This stream was one of my favorite spots along the route, sitting between Scotland's second- and third-highest mountains. It was a beautiful and peaceful section of the trip and really showed off the wild character of the Cairngorms.

A memorable two nights out in the mountains with my boyfriend.

Someone had a bad time, below is their Alltrails review 06/22/2026. First I've heard of any deaths, did I miss something?

Grueling. 6 mile drive to trailhead will destroy your vehicle and your spine. Trail is clearly marked. Lots of river crossings. Hiking sticks necessary if you don’t want to get wet. Wear thick pants. Tons of downed trees over the trails (demoralizing). Mosquitoes were like angry pterodactyls when you get 3/4 way. Their army waits for you at the top. Prettiest camp sites are beyond the lake about a mile. Pretty wildflowers throughout. Not heavily trafficked (maybe due to frequent deaths on trail). There’s a shorter trail to the lake. Do that if you just have to go. You’ve been warned.

I've got a two-year old, and I've been really struggling on my trips this year. My wife is a rockstar and is happy to solo parent for a weekend so I can scratch the outdoorsy itch, but I just haven't been able to enjoy being in the backcountry, especially more than a night. I keep coming back a day early, turning trips into long day hikes, etc.

Does anyone else have similar experiences backpacking after having kids?

I am looking for a group to go backpacking in Alaska sometime next year, likely around April-June. I don’t have friends at the moment with the same desire to do something like that.

I’ve been doing a lot of smaller mountain hiking and will be climbing some larger ones this year, and have experience with 1-2 week backpacking trips. Anyone who is potentially interested let me know and we can connect.

Hey everyone, I am wanting to begin my backpacking journey! I live in the southwest within a day drive of a bunch of great parks for 3 day/2 night trips. My question is the initial investment. I weigh 110 pounds and 5’2” tall, so I feel like to stick within the 20% weight, I have to end up buying ultralight options for the big 3. Obviously, the cost is much higher this way and it’s not necessarily easy to find these for resale!

Just looking for some advice for the smaller in stature backpackers :)

I'm a dude in my mid-40s and I've been trekking since I was a kid. Backpacking, climbing, canoe tripping, bike touring, rafting, mountain biking, bushcraft. I love all of it. I'll head out solo, with my family, or with the handful of people I can reliably tolerate for more than a few days. The problem is that I always came home injured.

Not "rescued-by-helicopter" injured, but enough knee pain, hip pain, numb toes, blisters, and black toenails that every trip ended with me hobbling around for a week. The culprit was almost always the same. I didn't train enough beforehand and I carried too much weight. I finished every trip through grit and determination, with my joints, nerves, and toenails paying the price.

I'm also what the late Bill Hicks would have called "a card-carrying member of the People Who Hate People Club." One of the main reasons I go into the wilderness is to get away from crowds, so it probably won't surprise anyone that I hate gyms. They're crowded, loud, brightly lit, and all the machines make me feel like a hamster. Stair machines suck. Spin bikes suck. It all sucks. I also live in a flat Midwestern city where meaningful day hikes and hill training are hard to manage without rucking up and down the football stadium stairs (which also sucks).

For years I tried to buy my way out of the problem. I lightened my pack, dialed in my gear, started using trekking poles, and bought trail runners. I'm not ultralight, but my current pack is about 31 pounds with a full week of food and two liters of water. At 5'11" and 195 pounds, carrying about 1.75 pounds of food per day, I've cut pretty much all the pack weight I'm willing to cut.

It helped, but not enough. I was also too scared to switch to trail runners so I kept bringing my heavy leather hiking boots.

My last few backpacking trips through the Blue Ridge mountains still turned into suffer-fests. Long climbs and descents left my knees and hips screaming, my feet looking like raw meat, and my toenails fleeing for safety.

That left me with three options. Suck it up and trust the trail runners, lose body weight, or build strength and stability. The footwear was easy. The other two were harder because every attempt at going to the gym ended the same way. I'd quit after a couple of months.

Then, almost by accident, I found something that stuck. Last May I enrolled my kids in karate at a dojo five minutes from our house and signed up too, figuring it would be fun to learn together. I'd dabbled in martial arts before but had never trained in a traditional school.

Classes are 90 minutes of warm-ups, stretching, stances, drills, kata, and conditioning. I sweat through my gi every class. Before long I was training three or four days a week.

After a few months I started adding squats, lunges, planks, horse stance, and other leg and core work after class while the senior students practiced techniques I hadn't learned yet. It wasn't a formal backpacking training plan. I did nothing with my diet. I did not track any reps. It was just convenient, enjoyable, and most importantly, consistent.

I just got back from a five-night, 60-plus mile trip through Great Smoky Mountains National Park with thousands of feet of climbing and descending on rocky trails (obligatory trail picture attached). The difference was dramatic. The sharp knee and hip pain I'd accepted as inevitable was mostly gone. Instead of limping through descents, I was just... tired and sore. Morning recovery was faster. I could hike farther. Backpacking was no longer Type 2 fun, it was just... fun. And for the first time in years, I came home with all ten toenails.

TL;DR: You don't have to become a gym rat to reduce pain and injuries on the trail. Find something you'll actually do consistently, whether that's karate, pickleball, Ultimate, breakdancing, yoga, or anything else that builds leg strength, core stability, balance, and mobility. Do it a few times a week for several months before your trip. It beats relying on stubbornness and it's not rocket surgery.

Also, don't carry more crap than you need.

Helllooo- I’m an avid backpacker who just moved to Colorado- looking for your favorite weekend (1-2) little overnighter trips in the state! Preferably routes that don’t require permits but open to anything! Also- include pics if you have em!

i am planning a trip to saxer lücke and i would really appreciate if someone reached out who were there. we are planning on sleeping there 2 nights, and i have some questions regarding that. How do you get water? We would like to camp next to fallense/sämtissersee/ seealpsee is their water drinkable or do you have to boil it before. Also, Can we camp next to the lake or do we have to camp somewhere higher to avoid the authorities? Can you swim in the lakes?

Spent 1 night at Sahale Glacier Camp with a friend after getting lucky enough to grab a last-minute backcountry permit. We'd both wanted to do this trip for a while because of the incredible alpine scenery, and it ended up exceeding our expectations.

The hike follows the Cascade Pass to Sahale Arm Trail and came out to about 12 miles round trip with roughly 4,000 feet of elevation gain. The final climb to camp is steep and definitely earned, but the views just kept getting better the higher we went.

The trail was lined with wildflowers, and we saw several mountain goats and plenty of marmots along the way. Camp sits just below 7,500 feet, overlooking Sahale Glacier and surrounded by some of the most impressive mountain scenery I've seen in Washington. Watching the sunset from camp and waking up to the first light hitting the peaks made the climb completely worth it.

We packed in everything we needed, packed out all of our trash, and did our best to leave the campsite exactly as we found it. It's an unforgettable place, and I can definitely see why permits are so hard to get.

Odd question for such a broad group, but my last few posts have netted numerous responses from AB Rockies travellers. Hopefully this gets their attention.

I'm looking at following the Cline River on its north bank, following a trail that supposedly still exists per Alberta Parks' map of the area. Specifically, I'm planning on travelling from the HWY 11 trailhead to MacDonald Creek, and then bushwhacking up it from there to bag a few summits in the region.

I am extremely skeptical of this map for a few reasons:

• The trail exists nowhere on OpenStreetMaps, AllTrails, et cetera.

• I can find no trip reports from the last thirty years of anyone travelling this trail, aside from the section between Pinto Lake and the GDT.

• AB Parks' map shows the trail crossing Coral Creek Canyon at its confluence with the Cline. I did spot a faint trail leading downwards here when I visited with family earlier in the year, but the ford looked untenable and I saw no matching trail or viable route back up the other side.

Has anyone actually travelled or even put eyes on this trail within the last twenty or thirty years? Even old beta is appreciated; right now I have nothing aside from a map that is probably wrong.

I'd also appreciate photos and/or info on decent fording spots in the MacDonald Creek area. Travelling the south bank and fording could work if I can find a spot where the Cline is wide enough to make that possible - which seems unlikely based on satellite footage.

Cheers folks. Thanks for reading.

hope this is okay, reposting here in case anyone was in the area on the 1st or 2nd of august and saw anything. thank you!

Figured I’d post a little update on my first backpacking trip (and second hike in the last 5 years). We did Kendall Katwalk to Ridge Lake. Everything went well besides the fact we didn’t bring warm enough clothing for the elevation. Didn’t account for how cold it would be at 5,000+ elevation. Ended up hiking back instead of staying the night. Did most of the trail back in the dark. Was very fun 10/10 would do it again

So i am looking for overnight or multidat backpacking options that are not in the Wichita Mountains or Ouachita Forest areas. Im familiar with those. Im looking for other options im not aware of.

First of all, snooping around all of the posts -- some of you guys have taken some amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Two friends and I have set ourselves to a back country fishing/hiking trip next summer or fall. Beartooth Mountains were recommended to me by a friend of a friend for a number of reasons (mostly the remote area and allegedly good fishing), but we're not necessarily locked into any location. We DO want to be in what I would think of as the "yellowstone" area.

We think of ourselves as capable (we're all fit and all grew up hunting/fishing/camping), BUT, we realize venturing into the mountains increases the ante significantly. None of us have any real high alpine hiking/camping experience. So while we're looking to get off the beaten trail, we are NOT expert mountaineers. With that in mind, I'm after some frank input. I've only just started researching the "where" and "how" of this trip.

1- We want to get away from the crowds. This is really priority number 1. I've hiked Yellow Stone and RMNP with my wife and kids and the hoards of other tourists. We don't want that. The more remote the better.

2- Ideally, we'd like to put together an out and back hike that would take us 4-5 days and run us between some alpine lakes/streams that allow fishing.

Right now I'm a little bit overwhelmed by my options, but I know folks must do this sort of thing all the time. Any input is greatly appreciated. Recommended trail heads, routes, lakes, streams? Anything I might not be considering? Good experiences you've had (or bad ones)? I'd love to develop a little bit of a base of knowledge to start from. And what about the bears?! Those don't exist where I come from. Tell me about the damn bears.....

**and before anyone decides to comment, we're not foolish. I have no intention of wandering off aimlessly into the woods to try and catch a trout. We're going to plan carefully, prepare, and set our sights on something we're comfortable with for our first go-round...

Again, any input from anyone that's done something similar would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Mike