"Discover Mother Nature's best-kept secret hikes. Nothing against the Bright Angel Trail, the Narrows, the Presidential Traverse, or Half Dome, which are all certainly worthy of their popularity, but hikers don't need another resource pointing them toward those conga lines. It's time we rewrite the backpacker's life list. Enter Backpacker Hidden Gems. For the first time ever, here is a collection of Mother Nature's best-kept secret hikes, chock full...

Chris McKinley, a graduate backpacking through Europe, savors his last three days of freedom before boarding his career fast track back in the States.

"Christine discovered long distance backpacking while surfing the internet at work. She decided that day to attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. One adventure led to another and a few years later she set out on the Wonderland Trail in Mt. Rainier National Park."--Back cover

Miranda, a nature loving, athletic fifteen-year-old, goes on a backpacking trip to look for Indian paintings in the canyons of southern Utah, where she feels a mystical connection to the women who were there before her.

"Many gaps exist in the literature linking the subject of thru-hiking with gender and sustainability; three subjects never researched in one comprehensive study. This research connects gender, thru-hiking and sustainability as fluid, performative identity constructions which can be implemented under a variety of contexts and through different ways. To better understand these dynamics, I asked, 'To what degree does thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail...

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- Prescott College, 2010 Self-awareness, cultural competency, environmental consciousness, and economic empathy are often achieved through study abroad travel experiences. This phenomenological study was intended to shed light on the inter'national backpacking study abroad experiences for college students, describing the phenomenon from the perspective of the participants and its meaning for those participants. The literature...