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Carrot Quinn is a writer and a long-distance hiker.
A queer feminist who deeply loves nature, Carrot spends much of every year sleeping in the woods or wandering the desert, and she has hiked over ten thousand miles in the last five years.
Her book, Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart, is about her first thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. She's currently at work on a book about her years riding freight trains and her childhood in Alaska.
In this episode, Carrot and I talk about long distance hiking, covering everything from post-trail depression to the disordered eating that often occurs on a long trek. She goes into detail about her hike of the Alaskan Brooks Range, which has now begun, as well as the important fundraiser she's doing as part of this adventure.
When she's not hiking, Carrot spends a good portion of the year living in her van, so she offers a realistic look at the highs and lows of van life. She also tells the story of her DIY fecal transplant, and how it cured the horrible symptoms she was experiencing after a poor reaction to antibiotics she took when she had giardia.
Lastly, we dig into an honest conversation about writing, and Carrot shares where she's at with her second book, how she thinks about the challenge of creating herself as a character while writing memoir, and lots more.
If you know me, you know how much I love Carrot, and that her work and mentorship are 100% responsible for me getting into long-distance hiking myself. It was a delight to have Carrot back on the show, and I hope you love this episode as much as I did, and that you'll donate whatever you can afford to her fundraiser.
Connect with Carrot
Selected Links From This Episode
Books, Resources & People Mentioned
- Bunny
- Bruce "Buck" Nelson
- Andrew Skurka
- Carrot's route making blog post
- Never Cry Wolf, by Farley Mowat
- Defend the Sacred AK fundraiser
- thepowerofpoop.com
- Melanin Base Camp
- Unlikely Hikers
- Democracy Now podcast
- Ultralight Backpackin' Tips, by Mike Clelland
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Thank you so much for your support!!
Music & Audio Editing by ADAM DAY
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Carrot doesn’t get kudos because she is white and thin, she gets them because she is simply awesome. Her audience does not hand out kudos based on skin color. If you show her route and a similar one, done by a man, to whatever experts, I am sure her route will be quickly rated as more useful, safer to hike, generating better views and so on. Men tend to lose concentration because they need a new beer or whatever. Women are not just capable to do the same as men, they often do it much better – that’s why there is oppression of women’s rights. Unfortunately, I am afraid that if she tries to be a role model, she would attract more idiots, who will focus on small details like “you said there is no reception, but then you wrote about conversations with your girlfriend with the inreach – another big fake!”. Plus, if she really manages to be a role model, she would definitively qualify as a spiritual leader for nearly 100 % of all hikers and this can also generate a lot of pressure.