Trip Guides

Similar to Rainer’s Wonderland Trail, Adam’s Round-the-Mountain Trail and Hood’s Timberline Trail, the Loowit Trail around Mount St. Helens is nothing short of spectacular. If you enjoy solitude, navigation challenges, eye-popping vistas, and fascinating geology, consider adding the Loowit Trail to your list. 

Gorgeous alpine meadows and pitch-perfect backcountry camping make this area, especially at sunset, a wonderland. It gets its name from the red castle-like peaks that stand like a fortress above the basin.

With spectacular fields of wildflowers well into summer, incredible mountain scenery, and cozy campsites nestled in beautiful meadows, backpacking in the Mount Adams Wilderness should definitely be on your radar.

The Goat Rocks Wilderness drapes over the crest of the Cascade Range in South-Central Washington, offering endless views of iconic Cascade peaks and volcanoes. Numerous snowfields flank its craggy ridges and peaks, while steep drainages open into basins filled with alpine meadows and glacial lakes.

Patagonia is one of the most pristine and wild regions on our planet. Just the word itself evokes images of windswept landscapes with jagged granite spires twisting to the sky, immense glaciers and some of the largest ice fields on Earth.

One of the nation’s smallest national parks, 56.2-square mile Bryce Canyon National Park in south-central Utah isn’t really a canyon in the usual sense. Comprised of a series of more than a dozen horseshoe-shaped chromatic limestone amphitheaters on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau, it’s a wonder of wind and rain erosion that has resulted in a maze of slot canyons, windows, and & spires.

A place made iconic by a National Geographic photographer (and subsequently a screen saver), Reflection Canyon, located on the Escalante arm of Lake Powell, perennially entices hikers far and wide. Though stunningly beautiful, we only recommend this hike to experienced backpackers with expert off-trail navigation skills.

For hikers looking for an adventure in the remote red rock beauty of Utah, Coyote Gulch is a hard-won, bucket-list destination.

The Sawback Trail in Banff National Park is a 74 km (46 mile) traverse through the rugged and beautiful Sawback Mountain Range. With most people flocking to crowded trails on the west side of the Trans Canada Highway, this trek provides a true backcountry feel in a stunningly beautiful wilderness. 

Nestled in the white-peaked Cordillera Blanca range in the Andes, the classic 4-day Santa Cruz backpacking trip may be one of the most beautiful treks in the world. While many people flock to the trails near Machu Picchu, this overlooked hiking mecca north of Lima has a fraction of the visitors, allowing for a relative amount of solitude for such a spectacular place.

Lying just north of the Mt. St. Helen’s National Volcanic Monument, the Mount Margaret Backcountry provides sweeping views of the blast zone caused by the 1980’s eruption and the surrounding peaks of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. With spectacular views, abundant lakes and wildflowers that persist into early August, the Mount Margaret Backcountry provides an incredible chance to get away without having to travel far from either Portland or Seattle.

Nepal is one of the most spectacularly beautiful countries on the planet. It’s a place where towering white peaks touch the sky, monks peacefully meditate in ancient mountainside monasteries, and lumbering yaks haul goods to quaint villages largely disconnected from the outside world. To put it simply, Nepal is a backpacker’s dream come true.

Washington’s Enchantment Lakes are a truly magical sight to see. They reside in an area where immense granite peaks, majestic mountain goats, and crystal clear alpine lakes are hidden around every corner. If you haven’t had a chance to experience this captivating place, put it on the top of your list.