Camping

Here they are: the 15 best day hikes, as told by our readers. All of the words and images below are straight from your submissions to our GP best hikes competition.

Packing perfectly for the Baja Peninsula in Mexico means being prepared for everything — because anything can, and will, happen.

The North Cascades aren’t exactly user friendly. There are no drive-up views for the minivan crowd.

A skill that every self-reliant camper should know.

For hikers, cyclists, and backpackers, a Trangia spirit (alcohol) burning stove is a proven option for any number of different overnight excursions. But even so, the variety of sizes, materials and accessories within Trangia’s product line is burdening for anyone in the market, or simply in consideration of an upgrade.

We found the 15 best day hikes near major cities in the South.

Leave it to an Alaskan to invent a new way to drink alcohol outdoors.

What do hikers, disaster survivors and Walter White have in common? They all need to communicate without a cell tower.

With the Appalachians to the east and Rockies to the west, the relatively flat American Midwest doesn’t call to mind a hiking destination. But that’s dead wrong.

Hammocks are supposed to call to mind carefree days of swinging lazily in the shade of coconut trees, while gentle tropical breezes toss sea-green waves onto sugar-white sand beaches.

You know it’s time for another Outdoor Retailer show when South Main Street in Salt Lake City is populated by fat bikes, single-wheeled skateboards and tan people with good beards.

The beauty of the West isn’t up for debate: it’s ubiquitous, grandiose and unchallenged. But hidden within these 13 states are secrets that can’t be seen driving an SUV through the “scenic” route.

A guide to ultralight hiking: rethinking pack weight, preparedness, safety and more.

Obsessive weight-trimmers with less than 10 pounds strapped to their backs are considered “ultralight” hikers, a term as ubiquitous and unregulated in the hiking retail market as “organic” and “grass fed” are in the food industry.

Stick anyone next to a cliff and they’ll inch forward and peek over; put anyone in a supercar and they’ll double the speed limit. We all want to stay safe and comfortable, sure, but in those moments when we lose our footing and time slows to a crawl, we are undeniably living in the moment.

These day hikes are not pretenders. We surveyed the northeastern U.S.

Goal Zero’s latest rechargeable lantern, the LightHouse 250 ($80), is a versatile light source suited for all regions of the globe. But does its on-paper usefulness translate to the real world?

We like to get our hands on new gear early, and short of theft and corporate espionage one of the best ways to do that is by checking out Outdoor Retailer, a biannual product show for retailers, manufacturers and other industry pros. We were on hand at the Winter Market 2014 show at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT, where every brand with a stake in the great outdoors showed off their future cold-weather wares.

Over the years we’ve owned a number of different hiking boots in a continuous search for just the right balance of sufficient support, stability, and grip without being so rigid and heavy that they feel like Tony Soprano concrete specials.

Even when you’re sleeping in huts every night, hiking in the White Mountains requires considerable planning. With New Hampshire’s notoriously unpredictable weather, it’s wise to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.