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alexa carpenter

@lexatreks

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probably outside
⛰︎ 𖡡 (recovering from) pacific crest trail ‘24
appalachian trail ‘22 | TMB | GR54 | nh48/48
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PCT GUIDE IS LIVE!! (link in bio)

@lexatreks and I poured our souls into this project. So stoked it’s finally here.

•••
Planning for the Pacific Crest Trail felt like a never-ending scavenger hunt—that’s why we created Trail & Error: The Ultimate Guide to Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

This guide has been an incredible passion project, shaped by a combined 8,000+ miles on trail and our shared love for immersing ourselves in nature with nothing but what fits on our backs.

After stepping away from the PCT, putting this guide together was both cathartic and necessary—our way of making the journey easier for those who follow.

We’ve packed all that we’ve learned into one practical resource by hikers, for hikers—covering everything from gear and resupply strategies to mental resilience and the small details that make a big difference.

Whether it’s your first long trek or you’re refining your strategy, this guide will help you take on the PCT with confidence ⛰︎
•••

#pct #pacificcresttrail #thruhiking #outdoors #explore #guidebook #hiking taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @lexatreks

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2 years ago

2,655+ miles and 148 days later, my second cross country thru hike and trek across the PCT is COMPLETE.

I walked all the way from Mexico to Canada, y’all.

Words fail to capture the meaning of this experience and all the ways it’s changed me. I began this trail with serious doubts about my purpose, but somewhere along the way, I found clarity in the challenges overcome, in stretches of isolation, and in the lasting friendships found both on and off trail.

Thank you to all the incredible people I crossed paths with on this journey—whether we walked few or many miles together, it was you who made this experience worthwhile.

And of course, special shoutout to my brothas @abbybuck_ and @beausephjack - couldn’t have finished this thing without you ♥︎
______
Days: 148
Total Mileage: ~2,680
PCT Miles: 2,300
Fire Detour Miles: 285
Blue Line Miles: 95
Elevation Gained: 450Kft
Highest Point: 14,505ft @ Mt. Whitney
Longest Day: 70 miles
Pairs of shoes: 4
Zero Days: 13
McDonald’s Visits: 50 at least
100+ degree days: too many
Mosquito Bites: 5,930
Continuous Footpath: yes by @lexatreks

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2 years ago

2,194.3 miles, Georgia to Maine, complete. I did it y’all. It’s going to take days, weeks, and years to apprehend the scope of this experience, and attempting to find the right words to bring closure to this journey only leaves me dumbstruck and crying (a recently typical state of being for me, as any of my tram members could attest).

As you could imagine, spending 5 months in the woods will leave you with plenty to share—indelible memories, hard lessons, a trillion pictures, and a reinvented perspective of life. But for now, I’ll leave you with some of the ideas that brought me to the mountains in the first place. As I ascended my last miles on trail, I reflected on my senior thesis, detailing the remedial nature of the mountains in a culture preoccupied by materialism/capital gain—things we seek to escape from on trail.

“Crowded by societal structure and convention, it has become more difficult for our conditioned minds to venture elsewhere—to a heightened plane of consciousness and spirituality. In our developed civilization, we are taught we must conform in order to survive, and thereafter we wonder why our lives are marred by mediocrity. . .As an environment that abides by no such institutional compulsion, nature and places like the mountains are perhaps the last destinations where humans can find vantage, impartial understanding, and belonging. . .Amid these obtuse erections of the earth, there exists an essence unequaled in its mystery; its energy is unintelligible, but nevertheless omnipresent; it is haunting, but captivating; terrible, yet exquisite; it is the hurdle we toil over, yet the pinnacle we aspire to reach. Existing as the ultimate set of contradictions, mountains are some of the most incalculable features of our planet. Perhaps their confounding nature—their physical departure from societal insurances and conveniences—inspire our renewed vantage of reality and recognition of humans’ biological harmony with the natural world…” [more below :)] taken in Mount Katahdin by @lexatreks

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4 years ago

somewhere between june and september with these lovely people and creatures ♥︎ by @lexatreks

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11 days ago

baxter pt 2 taken in Mount Katahdin by @lexatreks

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2 months ago

a month ago today, i had the chance to climb mount katahdin (the northern terminus of the appalachian trail) way up in maine’s 100 mile wilderness. i can’t say how surreal it was to walk in the same footsteps i did as my 23 year old self, finishing what was (without a doubt) the most difficult feat of my life.

the last time I climbed this mountain, i was wholly broken by the 2,190 some-odd miles that preceded it, dealing with lyme disease (unknowingly) and a host of other physical ailments. even so, it remains among the best days of my life (as evidenced by last few pics + the amount of times I bring it up on here).

this time, I had the joy of watching others come to the same end of their journey—not knowing the state of the world or the latest news headlines. detached and untethered, yet grounded in the most profound way. it felt sacred. to see these people and have this instantaneous knowing of them.

it was such a treat to return to this special place, to meet others who understand its significance in the same way i do, and to get to experience it alongside my favorite :) @kylejurow taken in Mount Katahdin by @lexatreks

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2 months ago

This past winter, courtesy of my talented mentor + roomie @nurseonthetrail, I decided to make skiing 400x harder and learn how to ski both up and down a mountain.
——

I have a lot of thoughts on this whole backcountry thing—and the endurance, skill, and judgment required to make it off a mountain in one piece.

It’s instilled a fear and humility in me that few of my other pastimes demand.

Despite the learning curve, it’s been such a gift to learn a new skill and to be surrounded by people who help me feel confident enough to send myself down 40+ degree slopes after taking like a decade long hiatus from skiing.

A good reminder of how different life can look when you step outside what’s familiar and let a new environment + new people change you ✨

Till next winter. :)

#skithewhites #whitemountainsnh taken in Tuckerman Ravine by @lexatreks

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6 months ago

Last month I had the privilege of escaping one of the coldest New Hampshire winters recorded in a decade. I’ve always had profound respect for people who call the Northeast home—it requires grit and a real tolerance for tough conditions. Short days, lots of gray, and prolonged discomfort.

I’ve never seen living here as a compromise, but for the first time this winter, the disparity in conditions really struck me. Just how much we depend on sunlight. How much energy we derive from it. And the depletion experienced in its absence.

Traveling a bit closer to the equator made this contrast quite obvious. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to explore hawaii and its rugged, diverse land/waters. To see lava for the first time and so much new wildlife. To camp next to trees strewn with flowers. To hear the birds, the waves, and the frogs.

Much needed reminder of how much gratification comes from being surrounded by living things.

Thank you to @kylejurow for showing me his stomping grounds and being the best tour guide and adventure buddy ever ♡ taken in Big Island, Hawaii by @lexatreks

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8 months ago

a fall for the books :) no matter how many changes of seasons I’ve witnessed, I’m continually astounded by the vibrancy of fall in New England. So cool to be able to trek through these mountains as their character shifts throughout the year. onto winter ❆ taken in White Mountains, New Hampshire by @lexatreks

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10 months ago

one snowfall into the season and we’re already reminiscing about summer :,) felt necessary to memorialize all the time spent outside w/ my buddies before the next 5 months of short and chilly days ☃️ taken in New Hampshire by @lexatreks

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a year ago

okay the last stretch of my europe adventure included getting chastised by the French, getting yelled at by the Swiss, getting booted from our stealth campsite on the side of the road @ ~midnight (our fault), proceeding to camp on the side of a golf course outside of Chamonix, hiking a small section of the TMB (my favorite trail ever with a big asterisk on *during the off season*), hanging out with an ibex dubbed Terry (terrance when he bluff-charged) by @jenny_from_the_trail, and tanning on my trash bag towel in France before beginning my journey home (last pic).

couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to be a big pile of hiker trash with my sweet friends @noellejeanseward @jenny_from_the_trail <3 taken in Chamonix, France by @lexatreks

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a year ago

day 10 | GR54

okay - finally made it to the last day of photos/clips from our trek across the french alps. it’s amazing how distant this trip already feels, as I write this caption back in the northeast, walking on the treadmill at the gym.

it’s been a hell of a whirlwind since coming home. makes me miss standing under a waterfall and hangin with some sheep on the top of a mountain. mostly, I miss spending time with the people who long to be disconnected in the same way I do. until the next trek ♡ taken in French Alps by @lexatreks

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a year ago