A great read for anyone who has thru hiked

A great read for anyone who has thru hiked or for those thinking about going on an adventure and want a taste of the trail.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Not the best hiking related book I’ve listened to.

I prefer ones where you learn about the other hikers and their stories and maybe a bit more about the trail itself. She mentions a few other hikers but hardly anything about them apart from their trail names. She focuses more on what she and everyone else ate on the way. She also seems to skip quite quickly from one part of the story to the next without telling you what happened in between making it harder to follow.

With other hiking audio books I’ve listened to (apart from ‘wild’ which is similar to this one and ‘a walk in the woods’ both of which I didn’t rate very highly) I’ve wanted to keep listening to them and get to the end because I was enjoying them and wanted to find out what happened next, with this one I just wanted to get to the end so I didn’t have to listen to it anymore. I always try and listen to all of them to the end in case it gets better and to be fair the last hour of this one was probably the best bit (I will admit to skipping some of the more cringeworthy parts of the book though).

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

Love it

Fantastic read! Remind me a great view into trail life on the PCT! Would recommend if your wanting see an inside view of trail life.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Enjoyable

Really enjoyed this book. A snapshot of life on the trail for a thrill hiker

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Top tip: if you’re gluten intolerant, don’t eat gluten.

It’s a reasonable trail story. Not great.

But, oh boy, for a person who claims to need gf food, she eats an awful lot of gluten. And then complains about stomach issues…

Yawn.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Beautiful story - Beautifully read

An inspiring tale of endurance. Drawing imagination of the hardship of trekking the PCT. Friendships made continue from trails end. Erin Spencer reads beautifully a story of a woman who’s early years are marred by neglect. The listener will be appalled by a description of Carrot’s heartless mother. The fact that Carrot survives everything thrown at her is inspiration to us all.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

I wanted to like it so much....

I started this book a few years after reading Wild and expected a similar novel - my first mistake - it isn't, not even close. It is so very different for so many reasons, one being the time between Wild and this novel was written and secondly the maturity of Cheryl Strayed in her book versus Carrot Quinn in this.
Throughout I felt like I was listening to a teenager whine about absolutely everything but mostly about not feeling well and about a boy. This is a woman who decides to hike the path on a whim, or it sounds like it is on a whim, yet has all the best equipment and frequently, especially in the beginning eats at restaurants and spend most of her time with lots of people, who, when she is not with them texts and moans about missing, like it's spring break in college and she is 17 worried what her friends are doing without her. Imagine my surprise when I googled her and found out she was in her 30s on this hike - my second mistake - had I stayed in the belief she was 17 I'd have forgiven much more of her whining, knowing she was 30 I just felt it was plain annoying and immature.
She never has enough food, refuses to carry enough water and quite frankly balances on what's sensible and safe, yet she still keeps wondering why she is feeling unwell, when on the trail she seems to live of gatorade and fritos, complains she is gluten intolerant, ignores it then again wonders why she is feeling unwell, and the number of times she mentions her blood sugar after eating a candy bar, jeez...
I was fed up after an hour, but with all the good reviews kept telling myself it must get better, it never did, just one long whine about feeling unwell, eating 'handfuls of trail mix' and obsessing about a boy who wouldn't sleep with her.
The book needs a really good edit, too many repetitions, though every so often a brilliant sentence or statement will occur, it's ruined by being repeated four times on the same page.
This book is not a hiking book, it is a book about a girl meeting friends and chasing a boy that just happen to take place on one of the most famous hiking trials in the world, yet the hiking is secondary to everything she does, and that was probably what disappointed me most, I am not surprised she hiked the PCT again shortly after, unless she omitted a whole lot in this book, most of the time she didn't pay much attention to her surroundings.
I finished it - my third and final mistake - I wish I had stopped after the first hour, it didn't get better or more interesting...

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Horrific

14hours of my life lost listening to this twisty, whiney sod go on about food, blisters, and some dude who clearly isn't interested in her! If you want an adventure book look elsewhere!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

Not the best!

Unfortunately the book has no real content it’s mainly walk sleep eat. Which I appreciate is most what the PCT is but you don’t really get to know the much about the author!
But then what do I know so make up your own mind! Probably do it with your free credits tho!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful