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Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
Carrot Quinn fears that she's become addicted to the internet. The city makes her feel numb, and she's having trouble connecting with others. In a desperate move she breaks away from everything to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. It will be her first long-distance hike.
In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn't have chanced to meet in the “regular world” but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies.
In the desert of Southern California Carrot faces many challenges, both physical and emotional: pain, injury, blisters, aching cold and searing heat, dehydration, exhaustion, loneliness. In the wilderness she happens upon and becomes close with an eclectic group of strangers- people she wouldn't have chanced to meet in the “regular world” but who are brought together, here on the trail, by their one common goal: make it to Canada before the snow flies.
371 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 14, 2015
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About the author
Carrot Quinn
6 books344 followersI'm a writer and a long-distance hiker.
You can read more of my adventures and essays on my blog- carrotquinn.com
My instagram is @carrotquinn - instagram.com/carrotquinn
You can read more of my adventures and essays on my blog- carrotquinn.com
My instagram is @carrotquinn - instagram.com/carrotquinn
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 605 reviews
February 15, 2017
It always feels weird to be critical of books about thru-hiking when I haven’t done it. Heck, I’m training for a half marathon and I am still *very* much in the run 2-minutes walk 1-minute stage. I can walk for days, but I’ve never tried to do with much of a pack or in much elevation (the exception being lost for 2 hours while we searched for Triangle Rock in Rocky Mountain National Park). So I fully respect what Carrot did, both in writing a book and in thru hiking the trail (which she has done twice now and also don’t the CDT), but why read a book if you aren’t going to reflect on it?
I genuinely enjoyed most of the book. It’s a lot more detailed than some accounts that I’ve read. It’s an amazing juxtaposition to “Becoming Odyssa.” I like Carrot’s genuine honesty, how willing she is to talk about things like diarrhea and menstruation on the trail. I like that she really lets the reader inside her head, but I absolutely think that some of her later revelations about her childhood should have come earlier in the story- it would have made much of her need to find packs of hikers, her good-thought bad-thought circulations, and her depth much more understandable and relatable. Still, despite the honesty and stream of consciousness writing there was a lack of depth that would have made the whole story more meaningful. I’m left at the end not really feeling that thru-hiking is heartbreaking. Surely, she seemed emptied physically and emotionally at the end, and I can imagine that, but she couldn’t quite bring the reader to that place with her. I never felt that heart break in her writing, couldn’t understand some of her decisions, and wished she had let us in a bit more there.
I think my biggest qualm is the description. She is afraid she is addicted to the internet. Yet, at every turn in the book she is on her phone. I understand she was using it for maps and I certainly do not begrudge anyone real-time information on water in the Mojave, weather conditions in the Sierras, or even the ability to communicate with fellow hikers. I think it’s smart in fact, it’s safe. Still, she never explored that angle, the usage, what she was doing to prevent herself from being a phone-drone on the trail. I probably wouldn’t care so much if I hadn’t been expecting there to be a good hard look at modern relationships and technology and a return to “roots” on the trail.
I will also admit that there are times the repetition because a bit much. For the entire middle section of the book it felt like she was ending every paragraph by repeating three words “Rain, rain, rain” “water, water, water” “granola, granola, granola” and her favorite “Well, well”. It became grating to me. But Carrot is a fine writer. I recently read an article from her in the Guardian and it was excellent but this book is a first-stab. She has grown a lot in the last few years- reading the two pieces back to back showed me that. If she wrote another book about her further adventures I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up.
**Not the authors fault, but the audible narrator also mispronounced some really weird words… I giggled every time Seamus was pronounced cee-mues. Audible needs to work on its editing for their own productions.
I genuinely enjoyed most of the book. It’s a lot more detailed than some accounts that I’ve read. It’s an amazing juxtaposition to “Becoming Odyssa.” I like Carrot’s genuine honesty, how willing she is to talk about things like diarrhea and menstruation on the trail. I like that she really lets the reader inside her head, but I absolutely think that some of her later revelations about her childhood should have come earlier in the story- it would have made much of her need to find packs of hikers, her good-thought bad-thought circulations, and her depth much more understandable and relatable. Still, despite the honesty and stream of consciousness writing there was a lack of depth that would have made the whole story more meaningful. I’m left at the end not really feeling that thru-hiking is heartbreaking. Surely, she seemed emptied physically and emotionally at the end, and I can imagine that, but she couldn’t quite bring the reader to that place with her. I never felt that heart break in her writing, couldn’t understand some of her decisions, and wished she had let us in a bit more there.
I think my biggest qualm is the description. She is afraid she is addicted to the internet. Yet, at every turn in the book she is on her phone. I understand she was using it for maps and I certainly do not begrudge anyone real-time information on water in the Mojave, weather conditions in the Sierras, or even the ability to communicate with fellow hikers. I think it’s smart in fact, it’s safe. Still, she never explored that angle, the usage, what she was doing to prevent herself from being a phone-drone on the trail. I probably wouldn’t care so much if I hadn’t been expecting there to be a good hard look at modern relationships and technology and a return to “roots” on the trail.
I will also admit that there are times the repetition because a bit much. For the entire middle section of the book it felt like she was ending every paragraph by repeating three words “Rain, rain, rain” “water, water, water” “granola, granola, granola” and her favorite “Well, well”. It became grating to me. But Carrot is a fine writer. I recently read an article from her in the Guardian and it was excellent but this book is a first-stab. She has grown a lot in the last few years- reading the two pieces back to back showed me that. If she wrote another book about her further adventures I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up.
**Not the authors fault, but the audible narrator also mispronounced some really weird words… I giggled every time Seamus was pronounced cee-mues. Audible needs to work on its editing for their own productions.
July 18, 2015
this is one of those books I didn't want to end. 2600 miles with carrot was not long enough. thank goodness she has a blog and I can follow her second pct adventure there and her current hike on the cdt, 2800 miles this summer. this book is about hiking. the nitty gritty details of the day to day, mile to mile adventure. you will cheer her on each step of the way, you will feel her chill, her fatigue, her thirst and hunger. you too will be huddling with her in the shade of a small shrub in 100 degree heat and remember that when your mind is trying to wrap itself around hands too cold and numb to grip a trekking pole. and you will rally with her because you can't help admiring her tough as nails spirit, her honesty, her humor, her love for the trail, her friends, the family she finds there, the trail angels who support thru hikers and their journey following their dreams. you will come to love all of that, as she does. and you will worry about her even when you know already she's come thru somehow. in short, your heart will soar on one page and break on another, up, down, up, down, following the trail, trying not to fall off. coming to the end and wondering with her, what then?
December 7, 2021
“Time disappears, and it is just me and the mountain, and the wind. I have always been in this windstorm, I think, as I fight my way forward. And I will always be in this windstorm.”
My wanderlust is not quite satisfied by books about thru-hiking. Every once in a while, though, I pick up some accounts such as Carrot Quinn's Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail, and give it a try. I enjoyed Quinn's narrative as it followed her 2,653 mile journey. Besides detailing what happens on these hikes, such accounts also serve as reflections on what it means to be on a thru-hike cut off from our normal day to day lives as well as the ways in which one can grow on such a journey.
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back, into safety. -Abraham Maslow”
― Carrot Quinn, Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
My wanderlust is not quite satisfied by books about thru-hiking. Every once in a while, though, I pick up some accounts such as Carrot Quinn's Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail, and give it a try. I enjoyed Quinn's narrative as it followed her 2,653 mile journey. Besides detailing what happens on these hikes, such accounts also serve as reflections on what it means to be on a thru-hike cut off from our normal day to day lives as well as the ways in which one can grow on such a journey.
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back, into safety. -Abraham Maslow”
― Carrot Quinn, Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart: An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail
April 10, 2021
Impressed with her accomplishment but not impressed with the book. I wanted way more trail descriptions and way less "food diary". I think she included every bit of food she consumed.
July 17, 2017
I hated almost everything about this.
Let's first start with her just randomly deciding to do this with no prep or apparent reason. She's addicted to the internet, yet she takes her phone and browses the fucking internet when she's in town. Seriously? While making sure your pack isn't back-breakingly heavy IS important, it shouldn't be your #1 goal when packing for a hike that is several thousand miles. Spoiler alert: it's hers. For fuck's sake she didn't even pack pants or soap!
Next there's the exceedingly juvenile sentence structures and errors. "I think of how hard those first hundred miles was," uh, you mean were? Then there's the narrator saying "Ibprofren" (there's no R!) The "She said/I say" exchanges had me practically clawing at my face. Then there's her insane need to repeat words three times every few paragraphs (no exaggeration!). "Hike. Hike. Hike." "Shower. Shower. Shower. Gatorade, gatorade gatorade." "I hate it, hate it, hate it." Yeah girl, us too. Knock that shit off already. She also loves to end sentences with 'forever.' For no damn reason. The names of people and food aside, I'll be stunned if there are 100 different words used in this book.
Thirdly, this book is more about meals and the people she meets versus the trail itself. I also didn't expect so much of it to be about the towns she visits. Or food. She CAN carry more food, she just chooses not to (and says so), so you constantly hear about how hungry she is, and her fantasizing over various meals. It becomes more of a treasure hunt with her raiding hiker boxes and relying on trail angels (and hitching to the next spot on the trail vs actually hiking to it) than actually sustaining herself on the trail. I mean, she gorges on fast food and junk food then "I dig a hole, take a massive dump, and feel better." Are you shitting me? Really!? No, c'mon.
Apparently there's some ill-advised, fruitless and foolish romance later on but I didn't get that far. I couldn't take anymore. I really wanted to finish this... if only for there to be some epiphany or resolution, but even just having it on as background noise while I did other things pissed me off. I hate quitting, and feeling like i wasted money on a book, but I had to. This book was literally souring my day each time I listened to it.
I'm seriously wondering what book everyone else read that was so great and worthy of 4-5 stars! It certainly wasn't this one!!
Let's first start with her just randomly deciding to do this with no prep or apparent reason. She's addicted to the internet, yet she takes her phone and browses the fucking internet when she's in town. Seriously? While making sure your pack isn't back-breakingly heavy IS important, it shouldn't be your #1 goal when packing for a hike that is several thousand miles. Spoiler alert: it's hers. For fuck's sake she didn't even pack pants or soap!
Next there's the exceedingly juvenile sentence structures and errors. "I think of how hard those first hundred miles was," uh, you mean were? Then there's the narrator saying "Ibprofren" (there's no R!) The "She said/I say" exchanges had me practically clawing at my face. Then there's her insane need to repeat words three times every few paragraphs (no exaggeration!). "Hike. Hike. Hike." "Shower. Shower. Shower. Gatorade, gatorade gatorade." "I hate it, hate it, hate it." Yeah girl, us too. Knock that shit off already. She also loves to end sentences with 'forever.' For no damn reason. The names of people and food aside, I'll be stunned if there are 100 different words used in this book.
Thirdly, this book is more about meals and the people she meets versus the trail itself. I also didn't expect so much of it to be about the towns she visits. Or food. She CAN carry more food, she just chooses not to (and says so), so you constantly hear about how hungry she is, and her fantasizing over various meals. It becomes more of a treasure hunt with her raiding hiker boxes and relying on trail angels (and hitching to the next spot on the trail vs actually hiking to it) than actually sustaining herself on the trail. I mean, she gorges on fast food and junk food then "I dig a hole, take a massive dump, and feel better." Are you shitting me? Really!? No, c'mon.
Apparently there's some ill-advised, fruitless and foolish romance later on but I didn't get that far. I couldn't take anymore. I really wanted to finish this... if only for there to be some epiphany or resolution, but even just having it on as background noise while I did other things pissed me off. I hate quitting, and feeling like i wasted money on a book, but I had to. This book was literally souring my day each time I listened to it.
I'm seriously wondering what book everyone else read that was so great and worthy of 4-5 stars! It certainly wasn't this one!!
May 29, 2018
This read like one of my high school student's creative writing story. It was so incredibly repetitive - mememe, hikehikehike, mememe, friendsfriendsfriends, mememe, foodfoodfood, mememe, sexsexsex. She tried to be a lot more clever and introspective than she actually is, unfortunately. Most of her misery came from incredibly poor decisions and contradictions - such as "nah, I don't need anything other than shorts and a tanktop for fall in the Cascades" or "I love my friends soooooo much look at how clever and unique we are, but omg there's this super cute guy that I'm going to ditch my friends for."
She had occasional good descriptions, but they tended to be overshadowed by the endless ramble about her trying to be existential. Pass.
She had occasional good descriptions, but they tended to be overshadowed by the endless ramble about her trying to be existential. Pass.
May 27, 2015
Carrot communicates the rawness of being on the PCT in each moment. The startling beauty, the hunger, the physical pain and the incredible determination to be a thru hiker. I don't think you could get a more thorough, embodied, brazenly honest version of what it feels like to be on the PCT - whether in the moments wonder, of utter loneliness or those of deep, trail-found friendship. I tore through this book as she ran, stumbled, climbed the 2660 miles. And often, late at night as I read, I would have to get up and have a midnight snack after reading passages on intense hunger and then the joy of trail magic or arriving in a town for a greasy breakfast or roast chicken and potato salad from the local grocery store. It is hard to not feel like you are right there on the trail with her.
April 8, 2018
The PCT journey itself sounds wondrous and inspiring. The writing is mediocre at best, with annoying repetition and adolescent self-indulgence. It was the desire to stick through the entire trail that motivated me to actually finish the book instead of abandon it. Worth doing research on other PCT journals instead of read this one
April 10, 2017
As much as I enjoy reading travel memoirs, and particularly from hikers, sometimes I can’t help but be incredulous (and a bit annoyed) at how self-centered and short-sighted some of them can be. Also, there was more raw language and description than I would have wished…I skipped over several sections to get back to the hiking part.
Nonetheless, it's a tremendous accomplishment to hike the PCT (or the AT or any trail like them), one that requires fortitude, persistence, and determination. Despite hunger, thirst, cold, aches and pains, and fears of a less physical sort, Carrot Quinn nonetheless manages to hike over 2600 miles to complete the Pacific Crest Trail. Still, I got to the point where I groaned whenever she said “I know I should do X, but I want to do Y,” because I knew that, almost inevitably, she would do Y. She suffered more than she needed to because she seemed to give little thought for the future. All that aside, though, her book sheds a little light on the inner workings of a thru-hiker’s mind and heart.
Nonetheless, it's a tremendous accomplishment to hike the PCT (or the AT or any trail like them), one that requires fortitude, persistence, and determination. Despite hunger, thirst, cold, aches and pains, and fears of a less physical sort, Carrot Quinn nonetheless manages to hike over 2600 miles to complete the Pacific Crest Trail. Still, I got to the point where I groaned whenever she said “I know I should do X, but I want to do Y,” because I knew that, almost inevitably, she would do Y. She suffered more than she needed to because she seemed to give little thought for the future. All that aside, though, her book sheds a little light on the inner workings of a thru-hiker’s mind and heart.
March 18, 2017
Disclaimer: I listened to this book on Audible so that might have influenced my experience compared to actually reading.
As others have commented, this book had so much potential but just fell a bit flat. I enjoyed Carrot's story but I was waiting for the book to dig in to the characters and experience of the thru-hike more, and it just never did. There was a lot of detailed descriptions of meals and towns along the PCT, and that became distractingly repetitive about halfway through the book. I also felt as if I lost my connection to Carrot's story as soon as her relationship with Ramen started...I spent that part of the book thinking "WHYYYYYYY????" a lot. I have a lot of respect for Carrot and what she accomplished, and I will probably check out her other writing, but I was disappointed by this book.
As others have commented, this book had so much potential but just fell a bit flat. I enjoyed Carrot's story but I was waiting for the book to dig in to the characters and experience of the thru-hike more, and it just never did. There was a lot of detailed descriptions of meals and towns along the PCT, and that became distractingly repetitive about halfway through the book. I also felt as if I lost my connection to Carrot's story as soon as her relationship with Ramen started...I spent that part of the book thinking "WHYYYYYYY????" a lot. I have a lot of respect for Carrot and what she accomplished, and I will probably check out her other writing, but I was disappointed by this book.
July 9, 2015
Not Just Another Hiking Book
Carrot Quinn takes us 2,260 miles across a varied wilderness, as she simultaneously takes us through a tremendous period of personal growth. You would think that reading about the minutia of daily trail life would be dull, but it isn't. The discerning reader will grieve the end of this book almost as strongly as Carrot grieved the end of the trail. Carrot's writing flows and the reader is swept along. I was left wanting to read more.
Carrot Quinn takes us 2,260 miles across a varied wilderness, as she simultaneously takes us through a tremendous period of personal growth. You would think that reading about the minutia of daily trail life would be dull, but it isn't. The discerning reader will grieve the end of this book almost as strongly as Carrot grieved the end of the trail. Carrot's writing flows and the reader is swept along. I was left wanting to read more.
July 13, 2018
Waste. Of. Time.
She writes like a teenager so you’re shocked when you discover that she’s 31 years old. “Anus face” is what she names a cat she meets along the way... mature enough for you?
Suffer through her self-induced hunger, and made up food allergies. She tells us at the end that she grew up poor and her mother used their money to buy cigarettes instead of feed them. If hunger and food insecurity was going to be a theme of the book, it could have been so from the beginning, as a memoir.
Suffer through her petty need for affection from a younger man on the trail. A 25-year old virgin who she relentlessly temps with sex even though he says he’s saving himself for marriage. Then he leaves her when she’s sick and she just forgives him on the spot, he says “i love you” and she says it back, then a few days later they never see each other again.
Poorly thought through, poorly written, grammar errors everywhere, repetitive AF; and the narration made it abysmal. I listened to this at 1.5 speed and couldn’t imagine listening to it any slower than that.
Also she barely spent any time alone, away from technology, there was no purpose to the writing or the story. Just all over the place and ridiculous. AND she didn’t even hike that much! She was staying in hotels/motels all the time and getting rides. I’m done, good riddance.
She writes like a teenager so you’re shocked when you discover that she’s 31 years old. “Anus face” is what she names a cat she meets along the way... mature enough for you?
Suffer through her self-induced hunger, and made up food allergies. She tells us at the end that she grew up poor and her mother used their money to buy cigarettes instead of feed them. If hunger and food insecurity was going to be a theme of the book, it could have been so from the beginning, as a memoir.
Suffer through her petty need for affection from a younger man on the trail. A 25-year old virgin who she relentlessly temps with sex even though he says he’s saving himself for marriage. Then he leaves her when she’s sick and she just forgives him on the spot, he says “i love you” and she says it back, then a few days later they never see each other again.
Poorly thought through, poorly written, grammar errors everywhere, repetitive AF; and the narration made it abysmal. I listened to this at 1.5 speed and couldn’t imagine listening to it any slower than that.
Also she barely spent any time alone, away from technology, there was no purpose to the writing or the story. Just all over the place and ridiculous. AND she didn’t even hike that much! She was staying in hotels/motels all the time and getting rides. I’m done, good riddance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2017
Kudos to Carrot for self-publishing this gem of a book. The character she portrayed and the stream of consciousness narrative really allow the reader to identify and put themselves on the trail with her. I felt her anxieties, her exhaustion, and triumphs. I've got a major girl crush on this feral lady as a result. Meow.
Pop culture currently places Reese Witherspoon ala Wild as the face of the PCT. Slight blonde, unprepared, and uneducated on the trail. Carrot is strong, intelligent, and doesn't fight the trail, she becomes a part of it. She's comfortable in her skin and confident in herself as a female. She's the lead of this story and doesn't need rescuing.
This book was a great read, I'm left wanting more. I wasn't mentally prepared for it to be over. The abrupt ending of the book left many things unresolved, which must be what it's like to finish the PCT and not know how to integrate back into life off the trail.
After hearing the interview with Carrot on the SheExplores podcast, the listener learns how truly strong and intelligent she is. An activist for both women and the outdoors, Carrot is a spokeswoman I'm grateful to have representing me.
Can't wait for the next book.
Pop culture currently places Reese Witherspoon ala Wild as the face of the PCT. Slight blonde, unprepared, and uneducated on the trail. Carrot is strong, intelligent, and doesn't fight the trail, she becomes a part of it. She's comfortable in her skin and confident in herself as a female. She's the lead of this story and doesn't need rescuing.
This book was a great read, I'm left wanting more. I wasn't mentally prepared for it to be over. The abrupt ending of the book left many things unresolved, which must be what it's like to finish the PCT and not know how to integrate back into life off the trail.
After hearing the interview with Carrot on the SheExplores podcast, the listener learns how truly strong and intelligent she is. An activist for both women and the outdoors, Carrot is a spokeswoman I'm grateful to have representing me.
Can't wait for the next book.
July 8, 2019
It was okay. Carrot has a lot of potential but this book just did little to impress me. Some of it was a little ego fueled and felt it was more about the miles and finishing, than the adventure part. It was bland and her writing was simplistic enough to drive me crazy towards the end (I complained enough to drive my boyfriend crazy). There was a lot of the same descriptive words and some parts were just too much. I thought she would have something more profound and amazing coming out of this, sadly this did not happen. The romance was not needed (WHY WOULD YOU KEEP GOING BACK??) and the other characters seemed so flat and not real. I had to cheat a little and look at her blog to even get a feel for the characters that she talked about, still it was hard to see them as real flesh and blood. Overall it really just felt childish and flat.
June 7, 2017
Carrot succeeds at writing a detailed yet emotional story of hiking the PCT back in 2013. I am no expert but i have read a decent amount of these PCT/AT stories and most fail for a number of reasons. It is in the form of a daily journal, sort of, but she keeps it's playful and colorful. Carrot is 30-31 when she hikes the trail back in 2013 so it is one of the newer PCT books and I think her language is relatable and fun. I will say the back half of the book from oregon to washington really shines. She becomes more poetic and expressive and I think her writing style shines. I see some people frown at the graphic parts with her and Ramen or maybe other parts but she is just being honest and raw and i didn't have a problem with it.
Like i mentioned this is one of the better thru-hike books i have read, most of the others are bland and only focus on flora and fauna or are gruelling because it is a rigid daily journal. Carrot infuses the daily journal with insight and silliness but doesn't take aways from how long and repetitive a 2600 miles hike it. Understanding how difficult the hike is can be hard to grasp but as a writer i would think you would need to convey how serious this hike is without boring us to death.
Some might ask, is this like Wild? no not really. I would say Wild is beautiful but it doesn't illustrate the length of the PCT very well. Wild is stylized to be a good novel and it succeeded but it doesn't give you "daily life" feel that is so characteristic of a thru-hike. I think Wild and this book are just two different approaches.
One that same token if you are not into hiking or the PCT the book probably won't resonate as well, but that kind of goes without saying.
Like i mentioned this is one of the better thru-hike books i have read, most of the others are bland and only focus on flora and fauna or are gruelling because it is a rigid daily journal. Carrot infuses the daily journal with insight and silliness but doesn't take aways from how long and repetitive a 2600 miles hike it. Understanding how difficult the hike is can be hard to grasp but as a writer i would think you would need to convey how serious this hike is without boring us to death.
Some might ask, is this like Wild? no not really. I would say Wild is beautiful but it doesn't illustrate the length of the PCT very well. Wild is stylized to be a good novel and it succeeded but it doesn't give you "daily life" feel that is so characteristic of a thru-hike. I think Wild and this book are just two different approaches.
One that same token if you are not into hiking or the PCT the book probably won't resonate as well, but that kind of goes without saying.
February 25, 2016
The author decides to walk 2,660 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail for her first long distance hike, after she realizes she is having trouble connecting to her everyday life.
Quinn is a gifted writer and makes us feel like we are right there with her on the trail as she experiences many different emotions and physical challenges, as this book delves into her personal struggles along with the daily feel for the trail with its beauty and hardships.. She meets different groups of thru-hikers and becomes fast friends with a very interesting group of people, all looking after each other as they hike this long distance..
I love hiking books, maybe because at this point I wouldn't be able to do it myself, but I love reading about the strength, or maybe craziness of others.
I know from her website she walked this trail a 2nd time and has just now started to hike The Continental Divide Trail which runs 2,800(ish) miles along the spine of the US, from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Glacier National Park, Montana. I hope that she writes a book about this adventure as well..
Quinn is a gifted writer and makes us feel like we are right there with her on the trail as she experiences many different emotions and physical challenges, as this book delves into her personal struggles along with the daily feel for the trail with its beauty and hardships.. She meets different groups of thru-hikers and becomes fast friends with a very interesting group of people, all looking after each other as they hike this long distance..
I love hiking books, maybe because at this point I wouldn't be able to do it myself, but I love reading about the strength, or maybe craziness of others.
I know from her website she walked this trail a 2nd time and has just now started to hike The Continental Divide Trail which runs 2,800(ish) miles along the spine of the US, from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Glacier National Park, Montana. I hope that she writes a book about this adventure as well..
June 25, 2019
1.75 out of 5 stars
I think, perhaps, that reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed right before picking this book up was what ruined this book for me. There was so much about Wild that I identified with, so much emotion in the writing. Within the first 20 pages of this book, I could tell that the writing was not nearly up to par with Strayed’s. The author uses a lot of exclamation points to get her point across, and she tries to come across as nonchalant about everything, inserting “oh well” numerous times.
Unlike in Wild, this hiker is not in it for the alone time or the self-reflection. It comes across as feeling like she just wants to be a wanderer by trade. Allegedly she previously traversed the country by train.
Unfortunately, this took me forever to get through, and very nearly ruined my fantasy of the PCT because it felt as if it was written by a pompous princess pretending to be punk saying “ooo, look at me, look what I can do.”
It wasn’t just a little bit of bad writing, either. It was close enough to 400 pages to be 400 pages because…well.
Surprisingly, though, it also feels as though she is rushing through the whole thing. In one page, she goes into a convenience store, a bar, talks to someone who passes her to someone else for a ride, gets dropped off, finds her friend, reads a note, and starts climbing again.
There’s a lot of oh wells, cussing, people, and food, but heartbreakingly little about the experience of the trail. Let me retouch on the food. She is always daydreaming about food, trying to get food, or exhilarated about eating food. Even some of the hikers have foodish names: Ramen, Burrito Grand. I feel like this book had no editing whatsoever, was sadly shallow, and all over the place. The similes are horrible: “On the plus side the Milky Way is smeared above me like butter on toast.”
I was happy to be finished with the book.
I think, perhaps, that reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed right before picking this book up was what ruined this book for me. There was so much about Wild that I identified with, so much emotion in the writing. Within the first 20 pages of this book, I could tell that the writing was not nearly up to par with Strayed’s. The author uses a lot of exclamation points to get her point across, and she tries to come across as nonchalant about everything, inserting “oh well” numerous times.
Unlike in Wild, this hiker is not in it for the alone time or the self-reflection. It comes across as feeling like she just wants to be a wanderer by trade. Allegedly she previously traversed the country by train.
Unfortunately, this took me forever to get through, and very nearly ruined my fantasy of the PCT because it felt as if it was written by a pompous princess pretending to be punk saying “ooo, look at me, look what I can do.”
It wasn’t just a little bit of bad writing, either. It was close enough to 400 pages to be 400 pages because…well.
Surprisingly, though, it also feels as though she is rushing through the whole thing. In one page, she goes into a convenience store, a bar, talks to someone who passes her to someone else for a ride, gets dropped off, finds her friend, reads a note, and starts climbing again.
There’s a lot of oh wells, cussing, people, and food, but heartbreakingly little about the experience of the trail. Let me retouch on the food. She is always daydreaming about food, trying to get food, or exhilarated about eating food. Even some of the hikers have foodish names: Ramen, Burrito Grand. I feel like this book had no editing whatsoever, was sadly shallow, and all over the place. The similes are horrible: “On the plus side the Milky Way is smeared above me like butter on toast.”
I was happy to be finished with the book.
June 17, 2016
I really loved this book. The 3-star rating is more to do with the rating system in Goodreads (1-5), and that it covers all books of all type in the universe, more than enjoyment - I hope this rating won't deter other nature lovers and hikers from reading it! I love Carrot Quinn and her transparency, and the things she has to share about the trail and her experience there. I also read her blogs, and this book feels like a cleaned up, easy-to-access way to read those in a more concise way. I really appreciate that. But, I don't feel that in the way I've been rating all manner of other books, that I can give it a higher rating. It lacks the quality of a well-developed book, where some authors are devoting their life and time to a book as the priority, rather than the trail being the priority and the book a fun feedback on the trail experience.
February 5, 2021
My favorite thru-hiking memoir so far
I’m really into this micro genre, even though my current season of life makes anything beyond car camping unrealistic. Stories fascinate me, and someone usually has a really great one after thru-hiking a few thousand miles. This particular memoir is poetic and powerfully descriptive. I will forever imagine any trail as a ribbon that guides me. I can’t wait to get outside with my kids, to talk to the trees, and to contemplate the myth of time.
I’m really into this micro genre, even though my current season of life makes anything beyond car camping unrealistic. Stories fascinate me, and someone usually has a really great one after thru-hiking a few thousand miles. This particular memoir is poetic and powerfully descriptive. I will forever imagine any trail as a ribbon that guides me. I can’t wait to get outside with my kids, to talk to the trees, and to contemplate the myth of time.
August 13, 2021
If if you ever need proof that literally anyone can write and publish a book, this is it. Carrot’s writing style is straight up mediocre, repetitive and boring. She lacks self awareness and her narrative falls flat. There is no depth to herself or the people she meets along the way. It feels as though I’m reading her food journal, she talks about food way too much. Most of the book she’s off trail, eating something in town. The only reason I finished this book is because I don’t like quitting.
May 14, 2015
What a great read. I love Carrot's style of writing. I felt like I was on the trail with her!
September 25, 2024
I love a good PCT/thru-hike memoir and this one didn't disappoint. The writing style was more trail log and stream of consciousness which made for a surprisingly compelling read. The only thing missing for me was that I was hoping to get more backstory woven throughout to showcase the mental journey a bit more. But still really enjoyed this read, especially as a hiker who knows type 2 fun well. Definitely had me itching to get back on the trail again ASAP.
April 11, 2023
Once again, a horrible role model for people who are interested in Thru-hiking.
As exciting and valuable as trail stories are, the rough thing about trail narratives are that the authors are often not working writers... The lack of writing skill brings down potentially insightful quality in the themes, and this is the sad case with Carrot. She claims that she was addicted to the internet before hiking, and this book shows it. Her writing comes off as snippets of memes and blog posts she's read instead of actual books.
The only reason why I finished this book was because it was about a thru of the PCT. I am a PCT '22 thru-hiker and was excited to read an account of trail, hear about the places I've been, the lifestyle I love. Unfortunately she describes little to no parts of the trail. There is no sense of place. If you want to hear about every. single. burger she eats in town there is plenty of that...
She chooses to pack as light as possible to hike fast, but complains of how slow she is. She makes poor food and gear choices over and over again that leave her hungry, cold, and whiney, which you will get to read continually. She never fixes her unsafe pattern of behavior but then randomly at the end says that her relationship with food is always hypersensitive and controlled because of abuse and hunger she experienced as a child. I don't doubt her history, but her day to day actions are not consistent. Wouldn't someone who is so fearful of never starving again and so controlling about their food make sure they have plenty of resupply before heading back to trail? With an abundance of these hypocritical tidbits, she comes off as supremely lacking in self-awareness.
Maybe if there had been any amount of editing to this narrative I might feel better about it, but the fact is the writing is just bad. It reads as a journal that was self-published immediately. The typos, the crazy sentence structure, the weird palilogia that takes up half a page, all of it will drive you insane.
I lost count of how many times I read: "Well, I think. Well."
Or the paraphrase "..acting out their little dramas" ascribed to everything existing outside of herself. I have no clue who her friends actually are because they were described so poorly, and I never was moved to care about any character except for maybe the poor confused Catholic guy she sexually harassed.
I see from her bio she is a self proclaimed writer and has multiple books published. I hope that her writing has improved, that she had a helpful editor who could refine her story and fix endless grammar mistakes. I hope they are better reads than this. I will never know because I will never read them.
As exciting and valuable as trail stories are, the rough thing about trail narratives are that the authors are often not working writers... The lack of writing skill brings down potentially insightful quality in the themes, and this is the sad case with Carrot. She claims that she was addicted to the internet before hiking, and this book shows it. Her writing comes off as snippets of memes and blog posts she's read instead of actual books.
The only reason why I finished this book was because it was about a thru of the PCT. I am a PCT '22 thru-hiker and was excited to read an account of trail, hear about the places I've been, the lifestyle I love. Unfortunately she describes little to no parts of the trail. There is no sense of place. If you want to hear about every. single. burger she eats in town there is plenty of that...
She chooses to pack as light as possible to hike fast, but complains of how slow she is. She makes poor food and gear choices over and over again that leave her hungry, cold, and whiney, which you will get to read continually. She never fixes her unsafe pattern of behavior but then randomly at the end says that her relationship with food is always hypersensitive and controlled because of abuse and hunger she experienced as a child. I don't doubt her history, but her day to day actions are not consistent. Wouldn't someone who is so fearful of never starving again and so controlling about their food make sure they have plenty of resupply before heading back to trail? With an abundance of these hypocritical tidbits, she comes off as supremely lacking in self-awareness.
Maybe if there had been any amount of editing to this narrative I might feel better about it, but the fact is the writing is just bad. It reads as a journal that was self-published immediately. The typos, the crazy sentence structure, the weird palilogia that takes up half a page, all of it will drive you insane.
I lost count of how many times I read: "Well, I think. Well."
Or the paraphrase "..acting out their little dramas" ascribed to everything existing outside of herself. I have no clue who her friends actually are because they were described so poorly, and I never was moved to care about any character except for maybe the poor confused Catholic guy she sexually harassed.
I see from her bio she is a self proclaimed writer and has multiple books published. I hope that her writing has improved, that she had a helpful editor who could refine her story and fix endless grammar mistakes. I hope they are better reads than this. I will never know because I will never read them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2023
3.5 stars***
I really enjoyed the book, but it was quite repetitive.
I really enjoyed the book, but it was quite repetitive.
July 13, 2016
This book had a lot of potential, but I found it had some pretty big problems that prevented it from reaching that potential. You don't get a feel for who the other characters really are, because they aren't really fleshed out. The author doesn't succeed in conveying any sense of depth or development in her relationships with the other characters either. One second she's making out with a guy and the next she's saying she loves him, and as a reader I was hard pressed to figure out how she got from A to B. Also, she has an annoying habit of writing extremely obvious dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose (like, 'the food was delicious. "This food is delicious", I said.')
The moments I found most engaging in the book were when she talked about her troubled childhood, and I wish she would have explored that and the rest of her "backstory" a bit more. When she's in the windstorm and reflecting on whether she would be reincarnated as a tree as a punishment or reward for her life choices, I hoped she would discuss what she meant by that more in depth, but alas, we end the book without a real sense of who she is. Depth of introspection and character development is replaced here with detailed descriptions of what she ate every day and how her physical body felt. Overall, I feel very "meh" about this, but will follow her work in the future as I think and hope it will improve.
The moments I found most engaging in the book were when she talked about her troubled childhood, and I wish she would have explored that and the rest of her "backstory" a bit more. When she's in the windstorm and reflecting on whether she would be reincarnated as a tree as a punishment or reward for her life choices, I hoped she would discuss what she meant by that more in depth, but alas, we end the book without a real sense of who she is. Depth of introspection and character development is replaced here with detailed descriptions of what she ate every day and how her physical body felt. Overall, I feel very "meh" about this, but will follow her work in the future as I think and hope it will improve.
February 8, 2017
This book occasionals writes about the PCT and is mostly about all the stops off the PCT. The author does not establish any reason to care for her or the other characters in the book, and describes what each person ate at each and every stop off the trail. The brief parts she writes about being on the trail she mostly describes how far until the next point she gets to be off the trail. Once off she details the eating and sleeping arrangements of each stop.
She starts the book talking about how addicted to the internet she is, yet takes her phone on the trail and gives an update on her battery life every few pages.
Only at the very end of the trail does she open up a bit, and talks about being hungry as a child. However, it's difficult to find empathy for her being hungry on the trail. She can carry more food, she just chooses not to. Early on she forgoes a camping stove, and then is left to eat trail mix and granola for the remainder of the trail.
Hikers say not to depend on trail magic, but by Washington her and her troupe are doing exactly that, evening specifying where it would be good to have a trail magic stop.
At the end of the book I was less interested in hiking the PCT than at the beginning.
She starts the book talking about how addicted to the internet she is, yet takes her phone on the trail and gives an update on her battery life every few pages.
Only at the very end of the trail does she open up a bit, and talks about being hungry as a child. However, it's difficult to find empathy for her being hungry on the trail. She can carry more food, she just chooses not to. Early on she forgoes a camping stove, and then is left to eat trail mix and granola for the remainder of the trail.
Hikers say not to depend on trail magic, but by Washington her and her troupe are doing exactly that, evening specifying where it would be good to have a trail magic stop.
At the end of the book I was less interested in hiking the PCT than at the beginning.
January 25, 2018
I have a thing for books about long walks. I loved this book. I found the last quarter though highly disturbing and I had to stay up to finish the book - way past hiker bed time! I couldn't believe the author's so-called friends abandoning her to hike out on her own when she got sick. The woman is in the throes of a fever, she clearly has tonsillitis, and you send her down a barely marked side trail? Which in the end doesn't lead to anything and she has to bushwhack around an overgrown lake only to return to the PCT several miles back? with 40 miles to go to the road and no food (literally, no food. She is starving.)? (And don't even get me started on the so-called friend who told the author it would be a good idea to toss half her food - if she ran low, the so-called friend would share with her. Who wasn't even hiking with her!!) All that aside, I really loved the book. The author is one gritty chick. Her descriptions of the trail, the process, the characters, and the emotional highs and lows are wonderful. And next time I'm in Manning Park, I'm going to find the start/end point of the PCT just for the hell of it.
October 18, 2019
I've read a lot about the Pacific Crest Trail, both strictly informational and firsthand accounts, and this is the first book that has ever turned me off to the trail or made me rethink wanting to take that journey someday. Carrot's behavior on trail was consistently foolish, selfish, immature, and reckless. The way she describes herself, her friends, and other hikers makes me wonder if they could all possibly as obnoxious and disrespectful as she portrays them. She boldly and almost proudly writes about pressuring a young man for sex after he says no, trying to touch him in places he has said he doesn't want to be touched and forcing him to push her away multiple times. She just shrugs and figures "whatever will be will be" when she sets off knowing full well that she doesn't have enough food or water again and again because she doesn't feel like carrying more... I honestly don't know why in the world I finished reading to the end except I guess to find out if Ramen actually gets away from her safely.
May 30, 2015
Carrot Quinn has potential as a writer. She's adventurous, she's a likable narrator, and she's honest (almost too honest).
That said, this book was not the best. The overly simple language was charming for a while, then began to grate on me; and the other figures in the narrative never really developed into believable, flesh-and-blood human beings. And I really could have done without the "romance." (Why did you keep going back to him, Carrot? Why, why?) I read on just because I was hoping she would have some grand insight into her own behavior and the relationships she developed on the trail, but there was none.
I'm honestly baffled by the many exceedingly positive reviews of this book. It had potential, just never quite got there. Still, as I said, I think Quinn could develop into a very good writer. I plan to follow her work in the future.
That said, this book was not the best. The overly simple language was charming for a while, then began to grate on me; and the other figures in the narrative never really developed into believable, flesh-and-blood human beings. And I really could have done without the "romance." (Why did you keep going back to him, Carrot? Why, why?) I read on just because I was hoping she would have some grand insight into her own behavior and the relationships she developed on the trail, but there was none.
I'm honestly baffled by the many exceedingly positive reviews of this book. It had potential, just never quite got there. Still, as I said, I think Quinn could develop into a very good writer. I plan to follow her work in the future.
September 13, 2022
I like the parts about experience on the trail rationing good and water and the determination. It was a great accomplishment and I feel a bit frustrated that she never described what she felt as she finished. I was expecting to read about the joy and anguish of it being done but she never got there emotional so I didn't find it heartbreaking like the title describes.
I found myself extremely frustrated by her lack of self awareness and maturity. She didn't seem to have a lot of common sense (peeing on the trail, not having the proper attire for climbing in the cold, not filtering your water). I was surprised to find out towards the end that she was 30 years old because the emotional maturity and how she acted and thought process was that of a teenager.
I found myself extremely frustrated by her lack of self awareness and maturity. She didn't seem to have a lot of common sense (peeing on the trail, not having the proper attire for climbing in the cold, not filtering your water). I was surprised to find out towards the end that she was 30 years old because the emotional maturity and how she acted and thought process was that of a teenager.
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