What's going on at Atlas Guides?

Peanut, a.k.a. Melanie Harsha, withdrew all of her applications to doctorate programs, adopted a dog, and started planning her first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2016.

Spring in New England means mud and loose snow in the mountains. It’s a great time to hike if you can find the right locations, though. Here are a few of our favorites to get ready for bigger trips in the summer!

Alex Mason, a.k.a. Puff Puff, is a Brit who has made thru-hiking her lifestyle. She hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2015 and hasn't stopped since.

Jim Murphy took a wrong turn in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, walked straight into a forest fire, and shares the story of how he survived.

Poodle dog bush is a plant along the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California that causes severe, long-lasting irritation, worse than poison oak.

After meeting on the Appalachian Trail, this thru-hiking couple got married and decided to hike the Continental Divide Trail for their honeymoon.

Alex Patino, a.k.a. Golden Girl, explains how he went from working in the fashion industry in NYC for seven years, to hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Colorado Trail, and Appalachian Trail.

Ethan Gehl, a.k.a. Sochi, has hiked 6,000+ miles all over the world and shares what he's learned from his time in the wilderness.

Chelsea Fisher, a.k.a. PCP ("Pretty Cool Person") shares her journey of becoming a thru-hiker from the AT to the Long Trail, and now on to hike the PCT in 2019.

Trevor Pyke, a.k.a. Crunchmaster, shares how he's come to love thru-hiking and what he learned hiking the PCT, AT, and parts of the CDT.

Emily Schrick, a.k.a. Squishy, talks about her experience thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and how she stayed motivated to finish.

Ben Coats, a.k.a. Chicken of the Sea, talks about the curveball he experienced on the Pacific Crest Trail and how he finished his thru-hike.

Heather "Anish" Anderson's first book, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, about her 2013 Pacific Crest Trail hike is now available! Read all about her trail story.

Our guides may be best known on long-distance trails, but my favorite use for them is to plan hikes in trail systems like Camden Hills State Park in Maine

Craig Fowler shares his story of how he became a thru-hiker and bikepacker, and how he turned his passions into a full-time project.

Lani Advokat, a.k.a. Larry, has thru-hiked the John Muir Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Colorado Trail in the last four years. Check out what she has to say about her experiences thru-hiking.

Alec Santiago, a.k.a. Yuengling, shares a few stories from his experience thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

Read about what it's really like to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail by Kathleen Neeves, a.k.a. Token.

As I plan hikes for this summer, I look back on some of my favorite trips from last year, including my hike to Lookingglass Lake.

Ever wondered who answers your customer support email? Here is a behind-the-scenes look at Atlas Guides' customer support operation.

Dahn Pratt shares the jitters he experienced beginning his thru-hike or thru-tramp across New Zealand on the Te Araroa trail.

Allison DiVerde, a.k.a. Flower Power, offers her advice for those who are new to thru-hiking after her journey on the Appalachian Trail this past year.

Kyle O'Grady, a.k.a Nar Nar on the trail, shares the story of how he became a thru-hiker from his first ever hike to summiting Mt. Katahdin on the Appalachian Trail.

Kate Stelfox, otherwise known as Croc on the trail, talks about her experiences thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

Our new "My Trail Story" series will feature thru-hikers of all ages and backgrounds sharing their personal, real life experiences from the trail. Michael Ivey, otherwise known as Grizzly on the trail, starts us off.

We continue our review of the Sawyer Micro Squeeze and Sawyer Squeeze, this time with different squeeze containers, including the Vecto, Evernew, Smartwater Bottle, and Sawyer Squeeze Pouch.

Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Or are you going to forget them within minutes of making them? Check out how Guthook manages his New Years Resolutions— maybe his obsession can help you with yours.

Would you like to hike for 5-6 months? A few weeks? A few days? We've got you covered. See how long each of our trails are by time and length.

Give the Gift of Guthook this holiday season! We have trail guides for every type of hiker, thru-hiker, backpacker, or outdoors-lover on your list.

Whether you're stuffing stockings or looking for affordable hiking gifts, you're sure to find something on this list.

How do National Parks and Monuments decide how to manage their land? Guthook took a trip to see part of the planning process in person.

We review Sawyer's new Micro Squeeze water filtration system.

The definition of "thru-hiking" cannot be found in a dictionary. That's why I asked these thru-hikers to share what thru-hiking means to them.

Ten affordable lightweight backpacking items that are a must for any trip.

Last week I attended a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of National Trails and Wild and Scenic Rivers.

How much food do you take backpacking? How much SHOULD you pack? Read how Guthook plans the right amount.

Many hikers have difficulty adjusting after a hike. Read what experienced thru hikers have to say about post-hike depression.

Hiking to Havasu Falls was an experience I will never forget. But here’s the thing, I knew NOTHING about backpacking.

Since many hikers carry phones and portable batteries, we evaluated a variety of battery chargers and have some to recommend for long-distance hikers.

This set of maintenance tools is great and it fits easily in the side pocket of my pack.

Last week I took a trip into the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, a new addition to the National Parks system.

After the NOLS course, I went back out to the mountains to climb Wind River Peak. At 13,192 feet, it is the highest in the southern part of the range.

We will enter the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness of the Rio Grande National Forest and spend five days bouncing between peaks.

For my second annual Baxter State Park backpacking trip, I went to parts of the park that few out-of-staters ever see.

Though this was one of the most wonderful hikes I’ve been on, most hikers who visit Maine have never heard of the Cutler Coast.

You’re ready to hit the trail, your fully-loaded smartphone in hand. But how long will it last when you’re not near an outlet?

If you’ve been on the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trail and thought, “there are a lot of people out here,” you’re not wrong.

I’ve been fascinated by satellite imagery of the the Appalachian Trail. It tells a very different story about the landscape.

The plan: hike to Tumbledown Pond and camp. The difficulty: almost nobody attempts Tumbledown in winter.

For Sunday’s hike, Siren and I headed to Crawford Notch and the Mt Willey Range for a snow-covered trip to Mount Tom and Mount Field in New Hampshire.

Last weekend had much better conditions than the previous one, so I tried to make up for it by doing two great day hikes, starting with Mt. Chocorua.

Another week of heavy snow in New England meant the mountains were ripe for exploration, so we headed out on an overnight hike to Mt. Moriah.

I ventured into the northernmost part of the White Mountains for a weekend of serious winter backpacking.

I analyzed elevation data to come up with an estimate of the steepest climbs.

The 7th day of our Baxter backpacking trip. We had beautiful, clear skies and a view up to Doubletop from camp.

In northeast Baxter, there’s some small mountains and ponds with small campsites on the shore.

Tom and I set out over The Traveler Loop. I’d heard about how gorgeous the mountain was and had looked at it from Katahdin.

After two days of hiking over Katahdin, I was looking forward to a day of long miles with little elevation: a day in the green tunnel.

As with all trails up Katahdin, ascending the Hamlin Ridge was more like bouldering rather than walking.

Like most trails up Katahdin, the Cathedral was more akin to bouldering than walking, with just as much use of hands as feet.

I returned yesterday from seven nights of backpacking in Baxter State Park with my friend, Tom.

We set out into the last bit of the AT in Virginia, between Shenandoah and Harper’s Ferry.

My memories say that Shenandoah is easy and boring. I learned that wasn’t accurate.

After a day off, I was doing better. My aching feet were well rested and I was ready to hit the trail once again.

We hiked into Virginia's Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, one of the most-hiked parts of the AT in the south.

I’ve been planning a winter wonderland camping trip for the last weekend of the year with several friends.

I found some hikes in the White Mountains that proved that even in the “green tunnel” you can find a great wilderness trip.

I met up with Philip and Steve for a two-night backpacking trip through one of the wildest regions of the White Mountains.

I hiked two full loops in the Tumbledown range, a day hike that was lot more punishing and rewarding than I thought.

I took a month-long instructor course at the National Outdoor Leadership School. Our time there took us into the Wind River Mountains. Here's a report on that NOLS course.