Meet the hikers blazing a new trail on the Carson City to Canada Quest

Julianne Mahoney and Audrey Payne won the Carson City to Canada Quest and will hike 1,600 miles from the Nevada capital to the U.S.-Canada border.

Nevada is home to its fair share of storied trails, traversed over the centuries by American Indians, Spanish explorers, gold seekers, farmers, settlers, and even a horse thief or two. This summer, two intrepid U.S. hikers are blazing another Silver State trail, though this path is recreational, not migrational.

As winners of the Carson City to Canada Quest, Julianne Mahoney, 28, and Audrey Payne, 41, will embark on a 1,600-mile backpacking trip, starting in the state’s capital and ending at the U.S.-Canada border. 

This feat is possible because of the new Capital to Tahoe Trail, the first to connect Carson City to Tahoe and a gateway to a notch on the Triple Crown for hikers—the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). 

The tourism bureau Visit Carson City selected Mahoney and Payne from a pool of 350 applicants for the Carson City to Canada Quest. They will each receive a $5,000 prize.

Connecting Carson City to PCT

The 9.8-mile Capital to Tahoe Rim Trail is a singletrack trail, completed in 2023. Described as long and remote with some unpredictabilities, the Nevada trail has an IMBA rating of blue (more difficult). It’s open to hikers, bikers, runners, and horseback riders.

“This trail is special to us and the many committed individuals that helped make it happen,” said David Peterson, executive director of Visit Carson City, in a press release. “This was not an overnight execution–getting the Capital to Tahoe trail carved out and ready for hikers has been eight years in the making, and we can’t wait for our two adventurers to break it in.”

Mahoney and Payne kick off their individual quests on the steps of Carson City’s State Capitol building sometime before July.

The Carson to Canada Quest begins at the Carson City State Capitol building (amadscientist/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Meet the winning hikers

Audrey Payne

A communications specialist at the University of Colorado and a passionate environmental advocate, Audrey Payne is already out on a trail, about 360 miles into the southern portion of the PCT. By the time she completes the entire PCT trail, including her upcoming detour to Carson City, she’ll have been away from home for almost half a year. But this backpacking pro isn’t homesick—yet. 

“I’m only a few weeks in right now and it’s already going too fast,” she says in a call from a town in the Wrightwood, Calif. area.

Payne applied for the Carson to Canada Quest after completing the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail (AT), an adventure that inspired her to write a book, “Where the Rhododendrons Bloom,” about the highs, lows, and unexpected friendships she experienced on the trail.  

“You’re out here meeting new people every single day,” says Payne. “You might pass a lot of strangers in real life and you never talk to them … but out here …if someone passes you on the trail, they stop to talk to you.”

Payne hiked the AT after recovering from a back injury and hopes her resilience will inspire others.

“If an idea of doing something is really tugging at you and you keep thinking about it, stop making excuses,” she says. “You need to find a way to go for it.”

She was torn between whether to next hike the PCT or Continental Divide Trail (CDT) when she learned about the Carson to Canada Quest and thought, “Why don’t I just throw my hat in the ring and if I win, that will be my sign.”

When Payne approaches the Lake Tahoe area in the next few weeks, she’ll be shuttled to Carson City to play tourist for a couple of days and fuel up for the second leg of her adventure, hiking back to where she left off on the PCT, starting at the Capitol building.

Payne enjoys documenting her travels on Instagram and YouTube, and will continue to do so on this journey. 

Audrey Payne is a communications specialist at the University of Colorado and a passionate environmental advocate.

Julianne Mahoney

Julianne Mahoney is the founder of Wild Brush, an outdoor gear company. “I’m sitting at a sewing machine right now,” she says in a telephone interview from her Durango, Colorado studio. 

Usually, however, she’s usually outdoors ultra running, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, or kayaking. Otherwise you’ll find her doing something artsy like crocheting or painting.

Mahoney grew up in “an indoorsy family” near the District of Columbia and had no inclination to hike until she came across the book “A Journey North” as a teen. The account of a woman hiking the AT inspired her to try hiking for herself.

“I had maybe strolled around in the woods for 20 minutes before,” she recalls. “I didn’t know that the AT was right next to my door until I bought that book.”

So far, her longest backpacking adventure has been on the 600-mile Colorado Trail. She describes solo backpacking as a magical experience.

“There’s something about the experience of being solo that allows you to really feel so connected with yourself and the environment and nature around you,” she says. “You feel like you belong out there … interconnected to the plants and flora and fauna. It feels very immersive internally and externally.”

Along with being fully prepared for diverse environmental factors—from heat to hail—along the way, Mahoney says it’s important for a solo female hiker to “trust my gut and my intuition to keep myself safe.” 

As a vegan, eating can be challenging, and a shower is always calling her name, but Mahoney doesn’t mind. 

“I love being alone and I really enjoy and feel very grateful for the opportunity,” she says, adding, “I’m an ultra runner. I can run 50 miles by myself and enjoy the whole horrible experience.”

Even on the toughest day, “it’s hard not to feel grateful.”

Mahoney will begin her hike at the end of June. She intended to bring her dog Indiana, a 100-pound Great Pyrenees heeler mix, along, but he has a leg injury and has to sit this one out.

Before heading out on the Carson to Canada Quest, Mahoney is looking forward to hanging out in Reno, going mountain biking, and swimming in Lake Tahoe. She’s also stoked to check out the Midtown Reno thrift store, Gear Hut.

Julianne Mahoney grew up in “an indoorsy family” and had no inclination to hike until she came across the book, “A Journey North,” as a teen. (Courtesy Julianne Mahoney)

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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