Arizona Beginner Guided Backpacking Trips 2026!

Registration for these trips is now closed.

Six days of eating, learning, and hiking in the beautiful low-elevation Sonoran desert!

By popular demand, I’m hosting another series of guided beginner backpacking trips in Arizona in February of 2026. These trips are great for people with no or minimal outdoors experience, who want to build the confidence to plan and execute backpacking trips of their own, and/or prep for a long distance trail like the PCT. Scroll to the bottom of this page for reviews from past participants!

These trips, like all my guided trips, are for women, trans and non-binary people.

There will two sessions, with five spots each-

Session one: 4pm on Monday, February 16 to 11am on Saturday, February 21

Session two: 4pm on Monday, February 23 to 11am on Saturday, February 28

Cost: $2,500 if you register by October 1st, 2025. The fee can be paid all at once or via payment plan ($250/month with the remainder due before the start of the trip). $3,000 after October 1st, 2025.

Registration for these trips is now closed.

I’ll send you a link to register within a few days of receiving your application.

Do you want to hike a long trail in the future, like the PCT of AT (or just go backpacking in a similar style, with light gear and confidence in trip planning/food/pacing/weather etc) but you feel overwhelmed by the idea of learning on your own? Then come learn with me and a small group of women, trans and non-binary people in Southern Arizona! You and I will spend two hours together on zoom in the months leading up to the trip- I’ll help you figure out your gear, food and navigation, and answer whatever questions you might have- and then in February the group of six of us will meet up at the Phoenix airport, and I’ll drive us to our rental house- we’ll spend an evening and a full day practicing our skills (setting up our shelters, packing our packs, using the navigational app on our phones etc) and also discuss our hiking itinerary- where we’ll camp, how far we’ll hike each day (about twelve miles) and where we’ll find water. We’ll also eat incredible meals, prepared by our chef Kelly Kate Warren. The morning of the third day we’ll set out for three days of backpacking- we’ll hike far enough each day to put our gear and bodies to the test, in order to learn and troubleshoot and grow, but not so far that we stop having fun. Along the way I’ll be there to help with whatever comes up. At the end of the third day we’ll be picked up at a trailhead and shuttled back to our rental house, where an incredible dinner awaits us. The next morning we’ll have breakfast and say our goodbyes, having made new friends, had an incredible time, and gained a lot of confidence about backpacking, and I’ll drive everyone back to the airport.

Who is this retreat for? This retreat is for women, trans and non-binary people who want to learn about backpacking in the style of long-distance hiking, either in hopes of completing a long trail in the future or just to feel more confident on shorter trips. You don’t need to have any outdoors experience to join this trip! (Although you will need to have a certain amount of walking/hiking fitness by the time the trip rolls around- I can help you figure out a training plan, if you’d like. And you’ll need lightweight gear- I have wonderful packs from Superior Wilderness Designs to loan out, but you may need to borrow or purchase other lightweight gear.

Note: there will be a dog at the rental house (Kelly Kate’s wire-hair terrier). He is extremely friendly, just something to take into account if you’re allergic.

Things we’ll cover before the trip in our zoom calls, and also practice in Arizona:

What gear to bring
Pitching your single wall shelter
Choosing footwear
Planning water carries in the desert
Navigation
Caring for your feet
How much food to bring and what sort of food (including meals for dietary restrictions)
How to schedule your hiking day
How to pack your pack
Shitting outside
How to prevent and care for blisters
How to prevent and care for chafe
Keeping your gear dry in the rain and preventing hypothermia
Keeping cool in the desert and preventing heat exhaustion
Campsite selection
What clothing to bring

And so much more.

What’s included:

Lodging. Lodging when we’re in town is in a rental house with a mix of rooms with single beds and rooms with more than one bed.
A ride to and from the Phoenix airport and our rental house.
All meals while we’re in town: dinner the night we arrive, three meals the next day, breakfast the morning we depart for hiking, dinner the night we return to our rental house and breakfast the following morning. Snacks, coffee and tea will always be available. Meals will be tailored to the group’s dietary restrictions. You are responsible for your hiking meals and snacks (and I can help you plan those).
A shuttle to the starting trailhead plus a ride from the ending trailhead back to town.
Two hours of one-on-one zoom coaching with me before the retreat.

You are responsible for:

Your food for the three days we’re on trail
Your airfare in and out of Phoenix
Your gear. I ask that participants get their baseweight (everything they’re carrying except food, water and fuel) down to 15lbs or less, for injury prevention (we can build your gear list together)- I do have lightweight packs to loan out, but you might also need to buy or borrow some gear.
A garmin inreach (each hiker is required to carry one of these)
The paid version of the app we’ll use to navigate (it costs $20)

There will be two sessions:

Session one: 4pm on Monday, February 16 to 11am on Saturday, February 21

Session two: 4pm on Monday, February 23 to 11am on Saturday, February 28

There are five spots in each session.

Registration for these trips is now closed.

Refund policy: I cannot offer refunds, unfortunately, although if you cancel I’ll stop payments on your payment plan and you won’t owe the remainder. To protect the full amount, I suggest purchasing trip insurance to cover the cost of your trip should you have to cancel due to illness or emergency.

Meet our chef:

Kelly Kate Warren has been working in the wilderness for 10 years, as a trail worker, ranger, fisheries technician, mule packer, guide, and backcountry cook. Her greatest love is backcountry cooking – she gets to throw a dinner party for hungry wilderness workers every night, and she loves the creative problem solving involved in feeding folks in the backcountry. People do not expect to eat pho or a rainbow beet salad in the wilderness, let alone vegan cheesecake or baklava or ravioli from scratch, and creating memorable meals is Kelly Kate’s favorite way to make the wilderness feel welcoming and comfortable. When she’s not cooking she’s writing, walking her dog, and exploring wild lands. I am SO EXCITED that Kelly Kate will be cooking for us when we’re in town, the meals she makes will definitely be one of the highlights of this trip!

FAQ:

I don’t have any outdoors experience at all, although I do walk a lot. Is this trip for me? This trip is perfect for you! The only prerequisite is a certain amount of walking fitness by the time February rolls around- I can help you with the rest!

Where is the closest airport to the rental house? Phoenix, Arizona.

I’m gluten intolerant and vegan. Will there be food for me? Yes! The incredible meals our chef prepares while we’re in town will have options for everyone’s dietary restrictions.

Do you offer refunds if I change my mind? I cannot offer refunds, unfortunately, although if you cancel I’ll stop payments on your payment plan and you won’t owe the remainder. To protect the full amount, I suggest purchasing trip insurance to cover the cost of your trip should you have to cancel due to illness or emergency.

Will Kelly Kate be cooking our meals while we’re backpacking too? Unfortunately, no. You are responsible for the three days of food you’ll need for the backpacking part of the trip. I can help you plan your meals during our zoom calls, if you’d like!

How will I get from the Phoenix airport to the retreat? I’ll pick you up from the airport!

What will the sleeping arrangements be? There will be a mix of rooms with single beds and rooms with more than one bed. As a group, you’ll decide who sleeps where.

How many people will be on this trip? There will be five people in each session, plus me and our chef.

When does the trip start and end? The trips starts at 4pm on the first day and ends at 11 am on the last day.

How much does this cost? $2500

How will we get to the trailhead, and back to the house once we’re finished? A shuttle.

How far will we hike each day? About twelve miles, with about two thousand feet of elevation gain each day.

What will our longest water carry be? Eleven miles. And we’ll camp at water each night.

I’m not sure what to bring on this trip. Don’t stress! We can go over that in our two hours of zoom calls.

I think I might lowkey hate my gear. This is a good opportunity for you to try out new gear, with support!

What weather can I expect on this trip? In February, the low elevation Sonoran desert can freeze at night and days can be hot; we’ll be prepared for temperatures from freezing to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and for bright sun as well as occasional rain.

I’m nervous about heat exhaustion/snakes/desert hiking in general. We’ll go over everything in our zoom calls to build your confidence and on the trip I’ll make sure you stay safe (and don’t get dehydrated or too hot!)

About me:

My name is Carrot Quinn. I’ve hiked eleven thousand miles, including from Mexico to Canada three times. I lead guided backpacking trips in Southern Arizona, Southern Utah and Alaska’s Brooks Range. I LOVE sharing my love of outdoors with other people. I also have my Wilderness First Responder certification.

Some testimonials from the participants of previous Arizona guided beginner backpacking trips:

Lyca says: Carrot was extremely chill and steady, and helped us stay calm when things went sideways. Unlike other wilderness skills classes I’ve been in, Carrot was engaged but open to our perspective, leaving us with the feeling that we had made choices together. Instead of feeling like everything was mediated for us by a guide, I walked away feeling very capable to hike, and plan for a hike. The time with other queer femmes was unlike any other space I’d been in, completely transformative and lovely, without being overbearing. Our course ruled and I would recommend it to anyone.

Mere says: If you suspect that you might love backpacking but the idea of figuring it all out feels overwhelming, do not sleep on this guided trip. Carrot was unfailingly supportive, reassuring, encouraging, and incredibly generous with her knowledge. I learned so much just from talking with her for that first hour, after spending years spinning my wheels trying to jump-start my backpacking life on my own. She broke all the daunting planning down into manageable pieces, answered any and all questions and concerns, and helped us with practicing tent set-up and pack packing (while we got to eat KK’s absolutely incredible food and hang out with Danny the sweetest pup) – and then we got to hike through the breathtaking desert landscape! I loved hiking with a small group like this and I felt really safe knowing that Carrot was watching out for us – helping us tend our feet blisters and keeping an eye out for heat exhaustion, helping us get our tent set-ups just right, and keeping up our morale when the going got tough. Parts were physically challenging but I loved it – there is nothing like watching the sun rise over the desert where you are with the only people for many miles, and there are moments like that from this trip I genuinely will cherish forever. I’m so glad I did it because now I feel much, much more confident in my abilities to go out and do a longer trail on my own. So if you are nursing a secret wish to learn how to get out there yourself – this is it!!

Diane says: So refreshing to learn about a technical endeavor without any chance of mansplaining. Carrot was a great resource for expertise when needed while never stripping away opportunities for us to figure out the little things on our own. I felt both safe and engagingly challenged. Plus she’s a great conversationalist which can make the miles fly.

Stephanie says: As a first-time backpacker and new-ish hiker, I thought it would be prudent to try out a group trip to learn before I ventured off by myself. This turned out to be a great adventure and opportunity to experience the Arizona desert with a group of folks who also hadn’t done it before. There was adequate opportunity to meet with Carrot in preparation for the trip. Hiking with a group of queer hikers felt like an inclusive and Safe way to try out something new. Although the desert and I will never be best friends, the night sky was breathtaking and worth the trip! I highly recommend one of Carrot’s trips!

Elisa says: I would highly recommend this trip for anyone interested in backpacking that feels overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to start in accessing entry level information to backpacking. The zoom calls before our trip covered gear, water, food planning and what backpacking app to use. I made reachable goals for conditioning my body before the trip so I felt strong and was less likely to get injured. I booked this trip without knowing anyone else and was a little nervous about that but I loved the tight, close community we formed and I feel like I have awesome lasting friendships with the other folks from my group.

I appreciate Carrot’s openness and calmness. On our trip one of our hikers ended up getting sick with norovirus on the first night backpacking. Carrot was warm and calm and made sure they felt cared for and that everyones needs were met. It ended up being a good lesson for what to do in an emergency on a backpacking trip. In all, I would recommend this trip and hope I can join other trips in the future!

K says: Carrot does a great job helping you prepare for the trip, and the food you eat at the rental house is fantastic! I was a bit nervous before the trip since it was my first time backpacking, but Carrot is a kind, nonjudgmental, and genuine person and guide, so I felt comfortable and supported throughout the trip. I’m glad I challenged myself to join this trip, and I gained friends and confidence in the process. I definitely recommend signing up for one of Carrot’s trips!

Amy says– When I decided in July 2023 that I wanted to do a thru-hike of Vermont’s Long Trail (272 miles), I knew I’d have to learn a lot of skills to be successful. I’d never been backpacking before in my life, and I’m not the type to just buy a bunch of equipment and show up at a southern terminus and start walking. Plus, if I did that, my family (and my psychiatrist) would have been really freaked out.

But how to learn? I picked up a lot from books, and from going out on my own for a night or two at a time. But thru-hiking is a whole different beast from a couple of days here and there. I looked into various training programs, but I don’t do great in formal training environments, and I didn’t really feel like spending more time with dudes telling me what to do. I didn’t want a wilderness leadership training program or an AMC this or an REI that.

Then I saw that Carrot was leading a women+ writing retreat/backpacking trip in Arizona in February, and that she advertised the trip as a way to learn to thru-hike from a woman who’d hiked 10s of thousands of miles. I signed up.

Carrot met with me over zoom twice before the trip, to help me choose equipment, plan my menu, and get ready in every way for the trip. I was a little scared, since I’m older than the average thru-hiker (late 40s), and because I’m kind of a scaredy cat. (okay, I have some issues with anxiety. Also, I’m afraid of heights.)

This is getting wordy! But — I can’t say enough good things about my experience on the backpacking trip. Carrot was so helpful beforehand, the trip was so well-planned, the desert was breathtaking. The other women on the trip were amazing humans I’m so blessed to know now, and doing something so hard with such cool people surrounded by such nature — was really extraordinary. KK, our basecamp chef, made incredible food for us all before and after we were out in the desert. The house we stayed in was comfortable and welcoming. KK’s dog was silly and wonderful.

Before we went into the desert, we had a couple days at the house to get to know each other and try out our equipment. Carrot looked at everything each of us had and advised us what we could leave behind to save weight. She showed us how she liked to pack her own pack. She helped us learn to pitch our shelters. (I had a brand-new single wall trekking pole tent I’d bought on her advice, but it was winter in Boston so I hadn’t had much chance to test it out yet.). She checked out the food we’d brought. She helped us figure out how to use our satellite messengers and how to use the navigation app.

On the trip itself, Carrot continued her same low-key style of guiding. If she saw someone struggling with something, she’d ask if we wanted help rather than jumping in and showing us The Right Way. She’d make suggestions if we wanted them, but she was also cool stepping back and letting us figure something out for ourselves. She often gave advice in the form of “I like to do x“ or “I find that y works best for me; but other people do a or b”. She never made anyone feel silly or slow or dumb. She answered every question we asked her, including of course the ubiquitous poop-related ones. Okay, not every question — invariably my “are we there yet papa smurf?” questions were answered with some variant of ‘you tell me’ — a chill way to make sure we were all building our navigational and planning skills.

“How far to the next water source?” she’d ask, and we’d look on the app. “So how much water do you want to carry?”

I hiked at the back of the pack for the entire time, usually about 20 minutes to half an hour behind the rest of the group. I especially appreciated how Carrot kept an eye out for me but, as with the rest of her guiding, in as low-key a way as possible. She never made me feel that I wasn’t going fast enough or that I was a burden because I was at the back of the group. Every so often I’d turn a bend and find her chilling in the shade of a saguaro, or see her across a canyon and wave at her, so I felt safe knowing she was keeping track of me, but it never felt overbearing or infantalizing. She always reassured me that my pace was just fine and that she could see I was making good choices for myself.

I learned so many little things from Carrot over the course of that trip: about the early signs of heat exhaustion (the Umbles), about how to pitch a tent on rock or sand, about how to travel with a group but also hike alone, about what can distract the mind from scary heights, and how to pick a good tent site. I learned so much too from the other women on that trip — we learned from each other. One woman had a brand new Jetboil stove she wasn’t sure yet how to use — I was so proud that I had a Jetboil I DID already know how to use — so I could help her.

On the third day out, I developed a couple blisters and a couple more hot spots. Carrot pulled out her bag of tape and taped my feet, explaining what she was doing as she went along. SHE TAPED MY GROSS, DIRTY, BLISTERED FEET. I was so grateful. The feeling was very like my experience with birth doulas.

Actually, that’s what a backpacking trip with Carrot feels like: like traveling with a backpacking doula. A doula knows you can do the thing and she’s there to help you through it while making sure YOU know you can do the thing too.

At the end of the trip, Carrot said I was “durable and competent” and I knew she meant it, and I FELT THAT WAY TOO. I know my upcoming thru-hike will be a difficult journey and that I have a lot more to learn, but I also know that I’m about as prepared as someone relatively new to backpacking could be. I took “durable and competent” back to my family and friends and that’s helped so much with THEIR anxiety for me, too.

I know I wouldn’t have learned as much or had so much fun in a more formal training environment, or, frankly, in a group with men. Carrot combines professionalism, warmth, respect, a light touch, deep experience, humor, and great planning to lead what I’m sure must be the best newbie “learn to thru-hike” backpacking trips on the planet.

PS. KK’s cooking rules.

Cayce says- This was truly a gem of an experience shared with incredible community that I will hold close forever. Carrot offered so much support before and during the trip and thoughtfully guided us throughout the experience without taking over in any way. I was never made to feel silly for any and all questions ranging from poop to hiking-related medical issues to on-trail meal triumphs and disasters – it was always a fun and incredibly supportive environment all around. Aside from the practical knowledge acquired in terms of gear and logistics, I gained the confidence to plan + complete long-distance hikes and developed friendship with a group of extremely special people in the process. Thank you Carrot!

Megan says- Carrot is a wonderful and patient guide. I feel like this trip was thoughtfully planned out and there was support from Carrot months prior to getting to Arizona. It was helpful to have space to ask questions about hiking in the desert, gear and food. Once we got to Arizona, we had plenty of time to come together as a group, get to know each other, write together, eat together and go over gear/food for the hike. It was a magical trip and just what I needed. I was able to tap back into my creative self, walk miles in the dirt in both silence and conversation. I was inspired by others in our small group, I learned from Carrot, I had individual and group experiences that have stuck with me after returning home. I am so grateful Carrot has carved out space for womxn and queers to be in nature together.

Haley says- I feel very prepared and sure of myself in the backcountry after this trip. Carrot is so kind and knowledgeable, accommodating and understanding of others. I felt the culture and spirit of the Arizona trail shine alongside the sun, being surrounded by positive souls and fresh air in the magical desert.

Dianna says- If there is a part of you feeling called to go on this trip, I say do it! I love to day hike, but before this trip I had very little backpacking experience. Now I feel confident about backpacking and am already planning my next adventure. Between the zoom calls and the trip itself, I learned so much about gear and how to use it, asked a million questions about thru-hiking and literally had the time of my life. Carrot and KK are such rad, warm and thoughtful people who make the whole experience feel really amazing.

Marcela says- If you are someone who has a little voice in their head / heart telling you to Go Outside, but you’re nervous you might not have the skills / gear / confidence to do so — sign up for this trip! Carrot provides the ideal learning environment where you feel guided and safe, but also encouraged to figure things out yourself and gain some independence. I left this trip with new friends, more confidence in my outdoor skills and an eagerness to thru-hike! Truly can’t recommend this experience enough.

Julie says- Signing up for a guided trip with Carrot is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself. I’ve dreamed of long-distance hiking for a long time, and yet there were certain skills I didn’t have that prevented me from taking that leap sooner. Carrot helped me to bridge that gap and feel confident in doing a solo hike. Everyone on the trip was so easy-going, kind, funny, cute, and cool — making the experience so fun and meaningful.

You can also email me with any questions at carrotquinn4@gmail.com. I hope to see you in the desert!

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