Based in beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee, Chris Carter is a Senior Editor for GearJunkie, while squeezing in side gigs as an adventure filmmaker and content creator in the outdoor industry. Drawing from his childhood in Africa, experience as a rock climbing and backpacking guide, ultra-marathon running, and years of extensive thru-hiking, he’s passionate about journalism that gets people into the wild. He has thru-hiked the Triple Crown of long trails in America: the Pacific Crest Trail (2018), the Continental Divide Trail (2021), and the Appalachian Trail (2021), and has explored, rock-climbed, and backpacked all over the world. He hopes to spread his love of adventure and travel through his writing, art, and videography.
Topics of Expertise: Thru-Hiking, Backpacking, Rock Climbing, Ultrarunning, Camping, ADV Motorcycle Touring, Outdoor Gear
Years in This Expertise: 10+
Number Of Products & Number Of Hours Expert Has Tested: 500+ products, 2,000+ hours
Education & Certifications
Education: Bachelor’s of Arts in Intercultural Studies and Community Development, Covenant College
Years of Writing: 5+
Certifications: WFA, CPR, PADI Open Water Diver
Previous Publications: Wayfinder Magazine
Experience
Wrought from a somewhat unconventional childhood in rural Kenya, Senior Editor Chris Carter derives his journalist inspiration from a life lived under the brutal but beautiful African sun. From a young age, he was exposed to an adventurous, nomadic lifestyle in the purest sense — and he strives to reflect that in his writing, art, and videography.
After moving to America for college, Carter threw himself into the outdoor community as a way to connect with his roots overseas, and craft relationships with like-minded adventurers. Climbing, hiking, slogging through the rain — you name it. As long as it got him outside.
Since coming to the States he has thru-hiked the Triple Crown of long trails — the Pacific Crest Trail (2018), Continental Divide Trail (2021), and Appalachian Trail (2021) — and continues to pursue long-distance trekking and exploring around the world. Aside from hiking, he is an avid big-wall rock climber, motorcycle rider, and ultra-marathon runner.
His background in Africa not only gave Carter a desire to vehemently pursue unique, diverse experiences but also showed him the value of traveling light and efficiently. To that end, he is perpetually streamlining his kits and loves helping others make informed, wise decisions about the gear that keeps them comfortable and safe in the wild.
Carter comes from a history in video production and journalism in the outdoor industry. As a Senior Editor for GearJunkie, he is responsible for managing and creating content in the backpacking, hiking, and rock climbing categories. These days you can expect to find him dangling off tiny sandstone crimps, bopping along dusty trails, hopping planes — and trying to capture it all with either a lens or pen.
Career Highlights
Thru-hiking the Triple Crown of long trails in the US, including both the CDT + AT in 2021
Writing, filming, and editing a documentary film on conservation efforts in Kenya
Writing, filming, and editing a documentary film on thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
Competing in the RRCA Nat. Ultra Championship 50-mile trail race
Climbing El Cap in Yosemite
Motorcycle touring around Africa
A Word From Chris Carter
From pastime to profession — a gift not everyone receives. Writing and videography always served as conduits for my creative self, and the opportunity to stretch those muscles in my career, nestled within the outdoor community, has been one of my greatest joys.
We all want our stories to be heard, and we rack up some darn good ones when romping around the far-flung corners of this world. So I suppose that’s how I started. Writing, painting, filming … whatever I could do to tell my story, and in doing so, cement the abstract ideas and memories that live in my head into digestible art.
When I’m not clacking at the keyboard, testing gear, or scrubbing through the timeline of an edit, you can find me chipping away at the legion of unfinished drawings in my basement, or combing the verdant hills around Chattanooga in search of rolling single-track and bullet sandstone.
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