We flew out of Seattle at 9pm on Sunday in the pitch dark and by the time we reached Alaska four hours later the sun had come back up and the mountain ranges far below the plane were cast in an ethereal blue light and I pressed my face against the window, trying to see … Continue reading We start the Brooks Range Traverse tomorrow/how my blog posts will go up on the trail

Bunny and I will be speaking about our Brooks Range Traverse and our fundraiser for Defend the Sacred AK at the REI in Fairbanks, Alaska at 6pm on June 12- come out if you're in the area! It's free, but there are limited spots- click the link below to register. Brooks Range Traverse at REI

... as well as how to use your new route on the gaia gps phone app Using caltopo.com, I made a route, including a gps track and paper maps, for my upcoming one-thousand mile traverse of the Brooks Range in Alaska. The route is entirely cross country, and follows no established roads or trails. Making … Continue reading From an idea to paper maps and a gps track: how to make a cross country route using caltopo.com

I pull to a stop at the fred meyer gas station in Medford, Oregon and smoke starts pluming from under the hood of my van. Thick blue smoke. I roll down the window and the outside heat blasts me- late May and it already feels like full summer in southern Oregon. The attendant stares at … Continue reading Carrot and Bunny’s Christmas Adventure/queer communities over time and all the different ways to describe the light

We also talk about my upcoming Brooks Range traverse, ultralight backpacking as a tool for accessibility, self publishing, and so much more! This podcast is GREAT, and being interviewed by Melody and Raechel was AMAZING. Get the episode wherever you listen to podcasts, or click here for the soundcloud. Intersectional Long Distance Hiking With Carrot … Continue reading I’m on the Feminist Killjoys podcast talking about intersectionality and long distance hiking

(While you're here, you should read this article on bullying and abuse in the outdoors community- it's the best thing I've read yet on the subject- Sasha DiGulian, Joe Kinder, and the Reframing of Normal.) My regular 3 season base weight (for other routes and trails) is 11lbs (you can see it here). My base … Continue reading The full gear list for my Brooks Range Traverse 2018

I've heard many, many long distance hikers say that they consider the trail an apolitical space- that they go hiking to escape the news and any discussion of what's happening in the larger world. Everyone deserves to be able to just get away from the larger world for a while, but the issue here is … Continue reading Intersectionality and Long Distance Hiking/The wilderness is not an apolitical space

This trip is different than any other hike I've done in a few ways- we'll be going a month at a time between towns (although we'll have food resupplies dropped by bush plane so will only be carrying about a week's worth of food for each stretch), the mosquitoes will be consistently horrendous, there will … Continue reading Gear and food that’s new for the Brooks Range Traverse 2018

This summer, my friend Bunny and I will traverse the Brooks Range in Alaska. The Brooks is a mountain range that runs across the Alaskan arctic from the Alaska/Yukon border to the Chuckchi sea. Treeline in the Brooks is very low; for this reason, much of the range is treeless open tundra, with some impenetrable … Continue reading Brooks Range Traverse 2018

The coyotes have tried to dig up Pinto's grave, again. They made it all the way to the edge of the white cardboard box before giving up. They were exhausted, I imagine, from digging under all those rocks, the ones we piled on Pinto's grave when we buried him. I kick dirt back into the … Continue reading For Pinto, who is free