EPISODE · Aug 19, 2026 · 34 MIN
The Full Range - Carolyn Highland (Part II)
from Hiker Trash Radio · host Bleav + Doc
About the Guest Carolyn Highland is a writer, outdoor educator, and endurance athlete based in Anchorage, Alaska. Her second essay collection, The Full Range: Essays from a Life Outside, is published by Rocky Mountain Books. Her first collection, Out Here, was published during COVID. She writes primarily about skiing and the outdoors for magazines including Backcountry Magazine, and has been keeping a journal since age seven. She taught fourth and seventh grade at an outdoor school in Truckee, California before moving to Anchorage, where she and her husband recently honeymooned by fastpacking the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites. What's Covered in Part 2 Running 50Ks and 40-Mile Loops Instead of Races The Opening Essay — 48 Hours Ultras and Heartbreak — The Through-Line The Rae Lakes Run — Standing Up Alone Sam Wasn't My Person, But He Was My People Backcountry Skiing — The Winter Version The Full Range — What It Is and What She Wants Readers to Take Away The Mental Game Hiking Hack — Two Pieces Off the Beaten Path — Two Recommendations Honeymoon Note Pay It Forward — Protect Our Winters Links & Resources Carolyn Highland — Website: https://www.carolynhighland.com Instagram: Verify handle before publishing (transcript shows C_Hyland — confirm correct spelling) Substack: Verify handle before publishing (transcript shows Carolyn Hyland — confirm correct spelling) The Full Range — Rocky Mountain Books: https://www.rmbooks.com Fierce Country — Heather Hansman: https://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com Jeff Pelletier — Ultra-runner and fastpacker with a YouTube channel featuring trail running and fastpacking content. Inspired Carolyn and her husband's Dolomites honeymoon run. Protect Our Winters: https://www.protectourwinters.org Connect with Hiker Trash Radio Email: mailto:[email protected] Social: Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — search Hiker Trash Radio. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it takes 60 seconds and makes a real difference. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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What this episode covers
In Part 2, Carolyn Highland gets into the adventures, the essays, and the through-line that ties them together. She runs 40-mile loops solo in the Eastern Sierra when her crew cancels. She has sat in a backcountry creek at golden hour with seized legs, chips, and sparkling water, knowing she would have to stand up alone because there was no one else to do it, and found in that moment a kind of freedom she would not trade. She has spent years noticing that the thing a 50K teaches you — keep going when you're cold and exhausted and it would be easier to stop — is exactly the same skill that a heartbreak requires. Her book tracks both, side by side. This half of the conversation also covers the opening essay in The Full Range (a 48-hour goodbye ski weekend with a former partner, knowing the whole time this was the end), the most striking line in the book ('Sam wasn't my person, but he was my people'), the mental game and what negative self-talk does to your body, two hiking hacks, a Jeff Pelletier YouTube recommendation, and a recently honeymooned-in-the-Dolomites aside. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, start there — it dropped 10 minutes ago.
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The Full Range - Carolyn Highland (Part II)
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