Frequently asked questions, both real and imagined!
How do I contact you?
carrotquinn4@gmail.com
Where can I find you on social media?
My instagram, my public facebook page, my twitter
Why don’t you allow comments anymore?
Because of comments like this one-
While I love and cherish all of the kind, generous, positive comments I’ve gotten on this blog over the years, what I love even more is the sweet, sweet peace that’s left behind when I no longer have to see/moderate comments like the one above. You can still contact me directly at carrotquinn4@gmail.com- trolls never seem to make it that far, ha!
Are u gay
I’m queer. In my life I’ve been attracted to, and fallen in love with, men, women, genderqueer and transgender people.
My backpack is too heavy. What can I do?
Allow me to recommend the book Ultralight Backpacking Trips, by Mike Clelland. That is an excellent place to start.
You haven’t posted here in four days! Are you dead?!
No. Expect up to two weeks between posts when I’m on a trail. I also keep my posts at least four days behind, to protect my privacy and safety on the trail. Which brings us to…
Can I come “find” you on the trail?
Do you mean can you track down a stranger off the internet in the middle of the wilderness without her consent? If you do that, I will call the police.
How do you blog while on the trail?
I use the wordpress app on my phone, which for several years has been the Samsung Galaxy S series. You can save posts to the app and upload them when there’s service. Putting photos in posts is a pain on the android version of the wordpress app, so I use instagram for photos. (This phone is also my only camera, and I use the HDR setting to take decent landscape shots.) I keep my phone charged with an Anker external battery. On days that I don’t have time to write a full post I take notes, and write the post as soon as I have the chance.
What is the Pacific Crest Trail?
The PCT is a long, narrow ribbon of space-time that stretches from Mexico to the Canadian border.
I want to hike the PCT. Where do I find info?
Start on The Pacific Crest Trail Association’s website– there’s loads of info there.
Do you have to be fit, young or strong to do a thru-hike?
No, but you do have to really, really want it.
How much does it cost to thru-hike the PCT?
Between $3,ooo and $5,ooo. My hike was closer to $5,ooo because I sent myself dried vegetables, changed my shoes when they start to hurt my feet as opposed to when they were in tatters, bought all new gear for the trip, and ate no ramen. Everyone stays in hotel rooms sometimes- but you split the room with as many hikers as you can to make it cheap.
How do you afford your long-distance hiking lifestyle?
Seasonal jobs, some more lucrative than others. I also don’t own a car, didn’t got to college (so I have no loans to pay back), own few possessions, rarely eat out, have no health insurance, put off going to the dentist until it’s an emergency, don’t drink, and have lived in various budget dwellings such as a trailer in my friend’s driveway, a cabin without running water or electricity, and a shed full of spiders.
What’s the most important advice you’d give to next year’s thru-hikers?
Get your base weight below ten pounds (base weight is everything that you carry except food, water or fuel), hike with people who make you laugh, and never, EVER complain.
How the fuck do you deal with your period on the trail?
I wear pads. Lots of people like the diva cup.
How did you reconstruct each day in so much detail for your 2013 blog, even after the trail was over?
I took notes every day.
Aren’t you writing a book?
I want to buy your freight train book, Ten Thousand Miles by Freight Train. Where is it?
That novella was part of an e-book publishing experiment wherein I pasted together a bunch of freight train stories and published them on Amazon in 2010. But the stories are part of a larger, full-length work, and so I’ve withdrawn them from Amazon. That book, The Sunset Route, is now finished, and available for pre-order wherever you buy your books. It comes out July 2021!
Can I live on the PCT?
You can live there for a little while, as long as you keep moving.
No but really, can I live there?
I wish.
CARROT QUINN 
I’ve been saddened by the thought that the story of your trail journey is nearing an end – I can’t imagine how you must feel. As I was walking the concrete paths of NYC earlier this week, I wondered how your legs were adjusting to the absence of the PCT.
How much did U spend on lodging and postage? I’ll bet many through hikers did not lodge once?
Which blog or journal from the 2013 CDT hiking season is your favorite, if you have had the time or inclination to read any? Balls and Sunshine were my favorite.
I always thought Carrot was your real name. What is your real “boring” first name and how did you come to be known as Carrot?
How are you reconstructing your blog in so much detail after the fact? Did you take notes that you are referencing back to?
-GoalTech
Hello I would like to purchase you rebook 10,000 miles by freight train but amazon tells me this is not currently available. Have you withdrawn it ? Is it still available? Love to read it if I can.
What do you use to write your blog with? iPhone? How do you manage to keep it charged? Do you get enough connectivity? Your posts are fairly long.
Gosh Carrot, don’t let a troll get to you. Folks are here because they enjoy you thoughts … and the way
you express them. For instance ” I decide to drink for once and it’s fun, the sense of comraderie, no sitting by myself feeling like an outsider, the bare bulb of sobriety making everything too bright.” And the detail you put into that wade around the edge of Lake Waptus, delirious with tonsillitis … made me think I was actually there, in pain with you.
No, don’t let the trolls bother you dear, just step over those posts like you would a pile of shit on the trail.
Was wondering why i couldnt reply to your posts anymore, now i see why. Sorry that you had to get something like that from a random fool, but think of all the positive responses you get! Im sure they outweigh the odd random negative one. I hope you’ll allow us to post again some time soon. Happy trails! X
Carrot -I read your post – Cat Power. I’m a bit frustrated that you don’t have a place for comments after each post, but suspect it is for a good reason & good boundaries. Re: Cat a Power. Watch the 2012 movie “the five year engagement.” That’s all I have to say.
Carrot, Uncle Tom turned me onto your site sometime back. I have read your book up to Sonora Pass. Your writing is the best thru hiking book for how it really is. I first read The High Adventure of Eric Ryback as a child in the 70’s. Well done.
Hi Carrot! Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your book–I bought the Kindle version. It was truly a page turner, which left me wanting more, MoRe, MORE!! I have several friends I’d like to buy the paperback version for, so keep me in mind when you get home. Great Christmas gifts….