Hello there! I’m Jake Carr, a queer actor/writer/horror movie aficionado from Chicago by way of Cleveland. I grew up very much wanting to be a person who enjoyed and understood the outdoors. It wasn’t until life gave me a swift kick in the ass that I took action.
Back in 2016, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for my husband’s PhD program, only to realize I did not know my partner nearly as well as I thought. His various indiscretions and infidelities soon bubbled to the surface and I found myself at the lowest point of my life. But there was one saving grace: hiking. While every other facet of my life underwent decisive and painful change, I relied on weekly hikes to ground myself; to focus, reorient, and breathe. And let’s be real, cry a bunch.
In 2017, after my divorce was settled, rather than remain beaten down, I committed myself to a mammoth undertaking. I decided to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. Starting with nearly zero camping and backpacking experience, I hiked 2200 miles across 14 states–from Georgia to Maine–in 5.5 months. It was the single most challenging, rewarding, painful, exhilarating, surreal, empowering, restorative adventure of my life. I saved myself in ways I’m still working to articulate.
After finishing the trail, spurred by the momentum of the experience, I pursued a career opportunity in Alaska. This set a new string of wonderfully unexpected dominoes in motion, including housesitting for the winter in Fairbanks. I am finally an outdoors person.
I’m writing my first book! It’s about hiking and healing through a huge queer life transition on the AT. Click here for more info.
This site chronicles my travels and hikes around the country, enjoying this new life I built for myself. I hope you feel inspired to pursue growth through adventure, whatever that looks like for you.
Jake Treks 