11/8/21 21 miles I've never had a trail name before. My name, Carrot, is so weird already that I've never wanted one. But now I have three- Snakeflusher Clownmouth Rawdog. Snakeflusher because Matthew is afraid of snakes now so whenever there's grass I have to walk ahead, to "flush the rattlesnakes", clown mouth because I … Continue reading Arizona trail day 25: rawdog

11/7/21 21 miles I wake at 4 a.m. for some godawful reason. I feel... bonkers tired today. Oh well. I guess I'll walk, because that's the only option on a thru-hike. Tired? Walk. Sick? Walk. Sad? Walk. Etc. I am extra stumbly on the descent to the suspension bridge over roosevelt lake, and my ankles … Continue reading Arizona trail day 24: molasses

11/6/21 26 miles The zipper on my sleeping bag is breaking- it keeps coming open in sections after I zip it. And my neo-air seems to be deflating more than the usual once per night. Between that and the fact that we've been getting to camp late on account of the slower miles, and also … Continue reading Arizona trail day 23: wiped

11/5/21 10 miles Waking up at 3:30 a.m. isn't bad, honestly, when you're in a warm comfortable bed and you can work on your blog for two hours with the blanket over your head so the light doesn't wake your sleeping friends. By 9:30 a.m. you feel like you've been awake an entire day before … Continue reading Arizona trail day 22: rattlesnake

11/4/21 15 miles At 3:30 a.m. there are loud voices, passing through camp. Gathering water, chatting, then gone. I'm confused, and then very awake. We'll learn later that there's an AZT bike race happening right now, and those were some of the racers. I can NOT imagine biking this trail, much less in the dark. … Continue reading Arizona trail day 21: Payson

11/3/21 22 miles In the morning Matthew tells me that something was wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night, screaming. I slept right through it, which I'm grateful for. The sound wasn't quite right for a mountain lion- he thinks it was a fox. The noises foxes can make are truly … Continue reading Arizona trail day 20: bummersville

11/2/21 22 miles There is a single mosquito that keeps regenerating after I kill it, so for the first time this trip I hang my bug net in my tarp. Also, it's warm tonite! Too warm to sleep in layers. My body feels confused, I toss and turn all night. In the morning tho I'm … Continue reading Arizona trail day 19: hot n steep

11/1/21 12 miles I wake up just before 4 am in the room full of sleeping hikers on air mattresses, and can't fall back asleep. Why... oh well, might as well make use of the time. I sneak out of the room and into the upstairs of the house, where a long leather couch faces … Continue reading Arizona Trail day 18: Mazatzal wilderness

10/31/21 13 miles My legs are tired this morning. Now that the trail is rocky and up and down it's time to get strong in... an entirely new way. I'm excited! Tired this morning though. And sweaty- it's hot already. I turn off my brain, put in my heaphones, let things get wacky. Matthew and … Continue reading Arizona trail day 17: Pine

10/30/21 24 miles Some small animal comes snuffling around my tent as I'm drifting off and knocks over my water bottle, spooking me; now I'm wide awake, listening for small sounds, everything outside seeming bigger than it actually is. At last I drift off, altho I'm a little chilled- this is the first night I've … Continue reading Arizona trail day 16: off the rim