backtrail

English

Etymology

From back +‎ trail.

Noun

backtrail (plural backtrails)

1. A small path or trail that is not used regularly.
   • 1975, Dale E. Peterson, The clement vision: poetic realism in Turgenev and James, page 100:

     The path of renunciation has many sideroads. It is all the more tragic that the radiant Christina Light becomes so benighted in defeat as to pursue moral backtrails out of a bored self-abandon.

2. The path over which one has already traveled.
   • 2009, John Norman, The King, page 306:

     They waited there for some five minutes when, suddenly, on the backtrail, perhaps a half mile or more behind them, there were three flashes, sudden and bright, one after the other, brilliant in the cold, pure air.

   • 2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 41:

     When it was light enough we climbed a mesa, winding around the far side before coming up to watch our backtrail.

Verb

backtrail (third-person singular simple present backtrails, present participle backtrailing, simple past and past participle backtrailed)

1. To backtrack along a trail.
   • 1990, Wesley Ellis, Lone Star 97/bounty, →ISBN:

     If they didn't, they would then have to backtrail to try to pick it up

   • 1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 50:

     He reshouldered his rifle. "Want to backtrail with me?"

   • 2013, Connie Willis, Uncharted Territory, →ISBN:

     I hoped Carson knew where he was going, because there was no room to backtrail here.