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.1975, Dale E. Peterson, The clement vision: poetic realism in Turgenev and James, page 100:
2
The path over which one has already traveled.
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.2009, John Norman, The King, page 306:
When it was light enough we climbed a mesa, winding around the far side before coming up to watch our backtrail.2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 41:
backtrail
verb
Etymology From back + trail.
1
To backtrack along a trail.
If they didn't, they would then have to backtrail to try to pick it up1990, Wesley Ellis, Lone Star 97/bounty, →ISBN:
He reshouldered his rifle. "Want to backtrail with me?"1999, Dana Stabenow, Hunter's Moon, →ISBN, page 50:
1 more example
I hoped Carson knew where he was going, because there was no room to backtrail here.2013, Connie Willis, Uncharted Territory, →ISBN: