Episode 13-Carleigh Fairchild
Carleigh Fairchild was a contestant on seasons 3 and 5 of the Alone show. On this episode we hear Carleigh talk about her time on the show, Niasziih healing practices, her teaching opportunities, and much more. Carleigh is full of wonderful insights about life and being connected with our self and our environment.
Carleigh offers healing sessions, classes, and other items for sell on her website, please take a moment to check it out!
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Transcription:
Sam 0:13
Welcome, everybody to Episode 13 of the alone podcast. We're excited today to speak to Carleigh Fairchild. Carleigh was a participant on both seasons three and five alone. So Carly, welcome to the show. And thank you for sitting down to spend some time with us today. Hey, Sam, thanks for having me. Looking forward to talking. Cool. Well, again, I'm I'm super excited and just always grateful for everyone being so willing and generous with their time. So again, thank you, I know you've got a lot going on in your life right now. But you know, the I think the easiest way to start, I used to start with kind of an easy, just general question for people. But I think the easiest way now is just to let you go ahead and tell us who you are. And tell us kind of your story. And then we'll dive in from there. All right.
Carleigh Fairchild 0:58
You know, with a story, or like, Intro questions, it's always interesting of where, where to start the story, or what pieces to add in?
Sam 1:11
Well, this is your time. So you can start from the beginning and work forwards you can start at the end and go backwards. You can leave everything out if you want. It's up to you.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:23
Yeah, I think
I'll start with
my mom recently showed me photographs of me when I was a kid, probably,
oh, maybe six or seven years old. And I have on like a sweatshirt and sweatpants. And it's autumn. And I've stuffed my clothes full of leaves, like a human scarecrow.
And what I think about now with those photos is like man, I was into like survival skills before I even knew that they existed. Yeah, because that is a legitimate, like, easy, quick way to get warm with insulation is to literally stuff your clothes full of dried leaves, or grasses or ferns, like anything that's dry, you can just stuff your clothes, and you immediately have insulation. And
yeah, I just thought that was hilarious to see that. You know, I went to summer camps as a teenager to learn Earth skills, learn about shelter building and making fire by friction and water purification and beginning of what plants are edible and medicinal. And I just loved it. Like I loved the connection I felt with the earth through those skills. And I love the connection also with myself and like
the confidence that gave in myself knowing that I could do these things, and also connecting with other people better than I did as a teenager going to public school.
Like I
sixth grade was my last year in public school because I didn't get along. Like I didn't understand. I would say the psychology of the other kids like that it was so important what you wore, and how you acted. And if you didn't fall into that then you just got made fun of so actually started homeschooling seventh grade on which was great for me. And I got to study a lot of our skills over those years. So that was like all my preparation for a the Alone show. Like when I saw the show and wanted to apply. Like my preparation wasn't like learning things. It was like choosing materials to take with me because I came from a background of like the earth provides for what you need and you don't need to take like a huge backpack full of gear with you. So having those 10 items to choose about really like the locks like oh cool
Sam 4:05
that's funny that's that's really interesting. It's like that coming from from Vegas where you are to you know, most people Wow 10 items you have to survive on that like oh man 10 items. That's that's so convenient. I can take a luxury or two.
Carleigh Fairchild 4:18
Yeah, yeah, like I thought taking a sleeping bag was a huge luxury item. Because I've made so many shelters out of just what I find on the landscape has like oh, cool sleeping bag. Like I don't have to worry about what materials are there to make my shelter out of like I know I'll be able to stay one.
Sam 4:40
That's super cool. That's a that's a mindset that that I don't think I've encountered yet.
I think there's been some people that I think one or two that opted to not bring a sleeping bag if I remember but that's interesting that for you. A sleeping bag was a luxury item and something that I wanted to talk about so I'm glad that you know in your
Introduction of your your background, it seems like you, and you've just confirmed that you started off on a i It's funny, the more I talk to people, the less I want to call it a different path. Because
I think I think that more minimalistic and really earth based and land based and just being in tune right is what I would call it being in tune with, with the land that we live on. I don't know that that's not normal. But when compared to the rest of society, I think I have to call it you know, anyways, so it seems like you from an early age, you kind of started down this different path. Do you know what, what sparked that in you? Like was, was there something was there some seminal moment or person or, or something just in history that that made Carleigh say, you know, I think I want to do this experience a little bit different than what I'm told I'm supposed to, or what I see that I'm supposed to do.
Carleigh Fairchild 6:02
Yeah, I think I have the benefit of having a family that provided me ample space to live outside the typical, you know, society perspective. I got a huge backyard growing up. And we're allowed to like, go climb the trees and play in the mud and make forts and run around the neighborhood with a bunch of other kids and really just experience, like, what life is like outdoors to however, we wanted to explore it. And then my aunt and uncle, when I was pretty young, they bought a farm. And they started farming chickens and turkeys and market gardens. And so like, we spent a lot of time there helping with those, those processes of living. And so I learned about like taking a chicken's life and how to clean it and process it and to honor the gift of that life. Even though like in the in that process, like knowing that that's what we're raising, raising them for, and being grateful and like providing them with a really healthy, safe environment, to live a good life while they could. So I think that really like I would just say, like, all the situations of my life led me to that I don't have like one moment. Definitely the difference of like going and learning or skills and like how to how to make shelters from, you know, like, what is the earth provide for us as humans, when we know how to look for it, and ask for it and be grateful for it. My Cry was, that was huge. But there isn't like just one moment that changed everything.
Sam 8:09
And I think that makes sense, right? I think it's probably pretty rare that we have these huge, you know, moments that that turn into a big change in our lives. So it makes sense. And that's great that your family was able to to foster that within you and to help help you experience life in that way. When you think back on your life, and I don't know if you've done this or not, if I would think that you have and you look back on, on the decision and the ability when you were transitioning from sixth to seventh grade, to take a different track and to do a homeschool, which seems like really opened up the opportunity to do a, a more holistic style of education. Have you ever thought about your life if that either wasn't an option or wasn't possible or if that wouldn't have happened?
Carleigh Fairchild 9:04
I do think occasionally about or I have thought occasionally about that. But it's kind of like you know, the waters gone under the bridge like i Yes, I probably wouldn't be a very different person. But I like the person I am. So I don't want it to be different. And a fun, fun story about that transition of ending public school and starting to homeschool. which ties into my never giving up on season three is at Christmas break that year. In sixth grade my mom was ready to to have may start homeschooling like she didn't like how the school system was going. And I was like now I'm going to finish what I started. I'm going to finish sixth grade and then homeschool
Sam 10:01
So you you've always been a very driven and determined individual. Yes. That's, that's funny. Yeah.
Carleigh Fairchild 10:11
Yeah. It's like, I don't think I've ever tied those two stories together before, but it's kind of funny to do. So,
Sam 10:17
yeah, I had an experience. So I do, I don't want to get too personal myself, because this is about you. But I had a kind of a similar experience where I was interviewing for a job. And it's a, it's in a line of work that I had been doing at that point in time for three or four years and, and, you know, was kind of finding my home, when it comes to a profession in a career. And I had prepped for that interview. And in the middle of that interview, for some reason, I'd never made this connection in the middle of that interview. A bunch of stories from my childhood kind of came back into my memory as I was talking to these people. And I think it worked out because I was able to stop me like, you know, I just had this funny realization that I've been a rule follower, and, you know, XY and Z throughout my entire life and is able to share these stories. So I understand I've had that happen to where, you know, as a, as an adult, you know, 2930 years old, have this realization of the way that the course of my life has happened today, is following a pattern within myself that, you know, started years and years and years and years ago, before I even knew what was happening.
Carleigh Fairchild 11:28
Yeah, yeah, I think we all follow patterns in our lives without conscious awareness. And like, the more I mean, in some ways, that's what I do in my life is look, look for those patterns so that I can have conscious choice around what I'm doing, and not just falling into the old pattern that's maybe not working for me, like I think some patterns work for us. And some patterns get in our way.
Sam 11:55
Can you elaborate on that a little bit? Like, do you have examples of how you do that in your life? Yeah, I
Carleigh Fairchild 12:02
guess, one pattern that I'm working with, a kind of perpetually comes back now. And then, is a pattern of like, looking externally for something. Or like, for example, if I'm with a group of people, I'll focus on like, the needs of the group, before checking in with myself and what I need. And so I'm working on finding that balance of when, in a situation where I'm not just alone. being like, Oh, my, what do I need right now? Like, I'm asking what everybody else needs, but what do I need? And can I bring that to the table, and share that as a valid need for the situation?
Sam 12:52
I think that that is so huge. I, I know a few people in my life I just had a good conversation with with a long, not long lost, but a long, separated or estranged, or you know, a friend that I just hadn't had contact with him forever. And then this individual doesn't do that. Right. It hasn't been doing that and hasn't checked in with themselves on what they need, and is constantly putting other people ahead. And it just hasn't been sustainable. And, you know, this individual is now is now suffering deeply from that from this pattern of, you know, through this person's whole life, never taking stock of what their needs were, and putting everyone else first and trying to make everyone else's life happy and workout. And so we just had a good conversation about that. I used to be very, very much an empath, and, you know, focusing on others and things and I feel like I've turned into an old curmudgeon, as I as I've gotten older. And so there's definitely some balance there. And I think that's one of the biggest struggles probably is how do you balance your needs with the needs of those around you?
Carleigh Fairchild 14:03
Yeah, and allowing, like, speaking for our own needs, but still having contact and compassion for other people's needs. Now, it's not like, Oh, I'm doing this, that's what I need to do. Who cares about you know, like, that's not what I'm wanting to do. It's like, okay, these are my needs, what are your needs? Alright, can we meet those needs together in this instance? Or do we need to do separate things to do it? You know, like, simple as, like, I need to go to the grocery store, I need to go to the post office like, or wanting to go to the farmers market. It's like, I don't really feel like going the farmers market today. Like, there's just like, I think it's awesome. And just today, I feel like there's that's just going to be too many people for me. You know, so it's like, oh, go to the post office. You go to the farmers market. Cool. Awesome.
Sam 14:55
Yeah, that's, that's a it's a healthy space to be able to be there with yourself. And then with those around you and to have that mutual respect to be able to function in that manner. So Good on you for working on that and for finding, trying to find that good balance because I've I've swung too far in the opposite direction.
Carleigh Fairchild 15:13
Yeah. Well, you know, the funny thing about balance is it's not a fixed point. Yeah. It's a constant check in of where, what is balanced now?
Sam 15:26
Hmm. That's interesting. That like, as soon as you say that, it makes perfect sense, right? Like, yeah, because we're people and life is life. And, and everything changes. Yeah, even in a matter of moments, everything changes. And what happened 15 minutes ago, or what the experience was 15 minutes ago isn't necessarily where you are at right now. Well, thank you for complicating the rest of my eye. I appreciate that. I will, I will make sure that every five minutes or so I'm checking in with myself.
Carleigh Fairchild 16:02
It seems like it could complicate. But in a way it's freeing. Because you don't have to keep dragging along all these previous fixed points. Gotcha. You can get to be in the moment and spend fresh, like what's now
Sam 16:23
I feel like I feel like I want to take a moment. I can't do that. I want to take a moment like pause everything and just let myself and everyone else. Stop and think for a minute. Because I it's funny, I had this experience with a an episode A little while ago, was talking to someone was like, man, like I, I feel I feel like I need to like, give time to just stop and digest everything that just happened. And this is one of those moments. So if I could hit pause, maybe I just invite everyone to hit pause for a minute. And digest because like, in my mind, I need to digest. But I can't do that, because we have to continue our conversation.
Carleigh Fairchild 17:01
I mean, I think you can pause for a minute or two if you want. I'm not in a hurry are going anywhere.
Sam 17:07
Well, I I appreciate that. That means more editing for me.
Carleigh Fairchild 17:13
Oh, gotcha. Yes. Well, we'll just keep making nice.
Sam 17:17
We'll just keep on we'll just keep on going. And, and I'm going to have to circle back on that. Because I think that was that's very profound. be checking in with yourself and those around you and making sure that you are okay. And that they are okay. And that everyone's okay. But then moving forward. And that's a that's a hard thing to do to do in life. So,
Carleigh Fairchild 17:42
and even being okay, that someone or yourself is not okay. Yeah. Because we're not okay. All the time. Yeah. And that's okay.
Sam 17:54
It's, No, it's true. It's so true, like a tongue twister, but it's okay to not be okay. And to have, like you have permission to not have life be perfect. And I think we get caught in that trap. So frequently. And I think that's something that we see I think from the show, and, and from patterns of living that that people, you get to know yourself really well when you're in that experience, and you get to understand what matters. And I think I was talking to Britt, talking to someone that's, you know, I as much as I'm not jealous of of the full experience. I am jealous of the focused learning and the focused understanding of yourself and of the world. That that seems to tend to happen in the experience of alone. And there's other ways to Okay, go on.
Carleigh Fairchild 18:49
I know you are curious about Niazi healing than I do, and let's say healing modality that is earth based. And I've studied it for seven years. There's a school here in western North Carolina called Wilderness fusion. And the classes meet once every three months. So people travel from all across the country. But the beauty of that is that I would go to class, have some new awareness, like maybe like what I just shared with you of like, you can let go of the past fixed points and like be in the moment and ask questions of what's real now. Have this new awareness and then I had three months to integrate it into my life at three months to seek out how that affected my life and how that affected the patterns and choices of my life and work on it before getting the next nugget. And so I've done that for seven years now. And It has been, like life changing, like I understand who I am and my own psychology and, like, what, what drives me and what my, my passion is and what my vision is, and like how to like, it's a continual practice. You know, it's not a fixed point, like I was sharing earlier, like, I'm still like, have things to work on. But that's exciting, because it means that like, I'm alive, to keep, like understanding things more and and becoming more of who I am with less baggage or fixed points. I guess I said earlier. Like, I can have more movement and flow. And that's pretty awesome.
Sam 20:49
Man, another, everyone hit pause again. And digest. So I wanted to talk about about that. You're going to have to say it because I was going to say, knee Ozzie healing. And apparently that was not right. He said that one more time. It's like making sure I can get it right from here on out. It's nice as he is. Nice. Okay, so nice. Yeah, that was something that I wanted to get into. So thank you for for transitioning there. I love it. When people make my transitions easier. I don't have to like scramble to get there. So can you talk about that modality and maybe the history where it comes from, where your interest came from? And how it functions within a person or for a person?
Carleigh Fairchild 21:38
Yeah, those are many different questions. So so let me dive in. Because what I previously said was like my experience as a student, yes, cool. The history of Naya z is that it is an earth based healing modality, that how do things come to be in this world? I don't always know. You know, it has some loose, I hate I struggle with like how to say it or describe it. Because I don't want to offend anybody or feel like like, appropriation like, I don't want to be doing that.
Sam 22:26
And I think everyone can tell that you are a very so thoughtful, and a very, very, very thoughtful human being. And I think that, that we will all give you grace.
Carleigh Fairchild 22:38
Right. So I, I think when it's time when I say it, and we'll see how see how it gets. It'll be a little bit of a story. So it has loose WinAVI Apache routes. Because there is a man called stalking Wolf, who traveled across all of the Americas, and then taught a young boy on the East Coast, called Tom Brown Jr. I don't know if you've heard of him. He has a survival school there. And then Tom Brown Jr. had a student and his name is Carl dress gay. And Carl comes from a healing back ground he had studied at the Barbara Brennan School of healing. And through his experience there combined with the tracker schools, and grandfathers talking Wolf's philosophy of living and of the Earth has brought back to life this healing. That's how I want to say like he's brought it back to life. He hasn't created it. But he's brought it back to life. You know, something that's like out there waiting for somebody to pick up again and bring back to the world. And
Sam 24:00
something say yeah, I think you call the grandfather stocking Wolf. Is that Yeah, is so if I'm understanding the chronology here, he is a somewhat recent figure a current figure, or is this
Carleigh Fairchild 24:14
he just passed away like 50 plus years ago? Okay. So he taught Tom Brown Jr. When Tom was a child, like child into teenage years.
Sam 24:26
And so this was something that the stalking wolf had from his experience in his background, and then he was able to share that. And now we have it today and it's being maybe expanded upon or at least at a minimum, it's being put out there more so people can can benefit from it. Yeah.
Carleigh Fairchild 24:49
And it's, it's something that isn't, I want to I don't want to in that phrase, like it's something that anybody can learn. Niazi I healing is about becoming the vessel of healing, which means becoming who you are, with such contact and awareness that you can offer contact and other perspective to somebody who needs help. You know, some might say it's energy healing, I say that it's way more than energy healing because it's working with, with someone as, as the Earth, like, you are an earth with, like, all these landscapes of who you are, that's made up of like the events of your life, and, and so much more. And there's some parts of that, that you like, walk all the time. You know, like the common paths, but like, what about the paths you never walk? What do you have to learn and those paths that could help you move an illness or disease through your body instead of holding on to it?
Sam 26:00
I'm going to see a lot of things and ask a lot of questions. And they're probably all going to be completely wrong. No,
Carleigh Fairchild 26:08
no wrong questions.
Sam 26:10
So be well, my, my, my, my assumptions here, so be prepared to do lots of correcting.
Carleigh Fairchild 26:16
So I've got one at a time. Because I only hit like one, maybe two of the questions you previously and you're asked and that
Sam 26:24
you're great. So are we talking mental emotional, spiritual healing, and or physical healing? Are we talking mental, emotional, spiritual, that leads to physical? Can you kind of, yeah, put that together for me,
Carleigh Fairchild 26:45
I miss this philosophy. emotions, feelings and emotions are just communication. They're not a separate like body, so to speak. Like we have our physical body. We have our mentality that's kind of part of our physical. We have our like, primal psychology, we have our spiritual psychology like we have, we have layers to who we are. And as a Niazi, I practitioner, like I work with all of those layers. I work with the physical I work with the spiritual, the mental, all that
Sam 27:25
interesting. How does that work? Like me? Maybe not. You don't have to get into like the the whatever behind it. But as far as the what does this modality look like, in those different portions?
Carleigh Fairchild 27:40
So Anna, Anna, I don't know this quite what you're asking. But in a practical sense. I have had I've given healing sessions online via zoom. With people wherever in the country or I have a client, two clients in Germany. And depending on what is like it's depending on what's needed. Like, the client might be sitting, they might be laying down, I might incorporate body body work into it, like have propped them up on blocks, so their hips are up. And there's a different alignment happening. My real line, like the legs, like people can be all sorts of like askew and their physical bodies, and that's totally connected to everything else that's going on in their life. And the opposite is true. If there's a trauma or event in our lives that we're stuck with, like we're like we can't find some people might say closure with or find a way to just move through it. Like learning what there is to learn and move through it. Those things have an effect on our physical bodies. So when I start with a client, after making some contacts and connection,
I'll ask what do you why do you why are you here? Like what do you want to work on?
And however, the person answers that question, that is the doorway that we walk through together to explore what's going on. And I also like to say it's not me doing doing something to you. Like it's my self working with you to create and encourage your bodies you.
Sam 29:50
Interesting, I'm going to try really hard to not turn this into like a session because this is so fascinating.
Carleigh Fairchild 30:00
I am available for sessions if you or anybody else want. I know, like I said, Zoom sessions I have found very effective, even though it's seems like maybe it wouldn't be, but it is.
Sam 30:15
Yeah, I wanted to. I was going to jump into this a little bit a minute ago. But to your point, yeah, so for those that are listening, and, and if you're sitting there thinking, Man, I, I wish this would turn into a session and I was the one on the other end. Carleigh does provide this as as a as a paid service, but as a service. And I believe that the main contact there is going to be through your website, which is Carleigh Fairchild comm. Right? Is that correct? Okay. So yeah, if you're, if you're interested in in this and interested in in learning more and speaking to Carleigh to try and figure out if this is something that you're interested in doing, yeah, Carleighfairchild.com, you can contact her through there. And this is something that that she does provide. And so when you're speaking to someone, and they have, whatever ailment, whatever it is that they're, you know, that it's decided that they want to or need to work on. Is that, is it all coming from the individual? Or is there some level of intuition or training? I mean, in my mind, I'm kind of envisioning that you have become very in tune with yourself and with how, with the world really with nature and with with this existence? And so is there some level of intuition and connectedness that you were using, when you're helping these people? Like, can you speak about that? Am I completely wrong?
Carleigh Fairchild 31:43
Yeah, no, you're now you're right on. You know, you could say I have, I have tuned my instruments very well. And so yeah, in if you want to call it intuition, sensing, knowing, curiosity, like sometimes I'll be in a session, and I'll have some weird, weird, curious thought come up. And I'll be like, I mean, at this point, I don't question it too often anymore. I'll just ask the question. I'm trusting from all of my experience, but it's valid. And there's some reason why I'm called to ask that question. It's fascinating.
Sam 32:30
And it has to feel, I mean, obviously, it's not for you, right? It's for someone else. But it has to feel very gratifying to be able to be used as a, you know, there's so many words, we could call it a medium, a vessel or whatever, as the person that's there to throw the help someone have a realization and to know that, that that came from all of the work and effort that you've put in, I can only imagine that that is a very gratifying and rewarding feeling to be able to do that with people.
Carleigh Fairchild 33:04
Yeah, and I would, I would highlight that, like, some energy healers might say that, like, the healing, like just travels through them, like they're just a conduit. And I would emphasize that in a healing session, I am making deep contact with whatever experiences in my own life that I need to, to provide the contact with the client to help them feel their experiences that maybe they haven't been able to feel before. You know, like, ironically, a lot of some of my alone experience has actually really deepened my ability to be a healer. Because of the trauma of pushing myself so hard, doing something I like, I love deeply, but pushing myself so hard and continuing to choose isolation and that struggle. Even though in the moment, I was able to, like not feel the struggle or the pain a lot. Like I was able to focus on other things in the moment, but it doesn't mean that pain and struggle wasn't happening. Like that's something that I've come to realize in the last couple years since the experiences like the pain and the struggle was real. I chose not to focus on it because I really wanted to stay there. And if I allow that pain and struggle to to come up and like be felt I couldn't have stayed.
Sam 34:43
That's very interesting. Before So, for those listening before we hit record, Carleigh and I were visiting and I had a just a, you know, just trying to get to know each other and make this not sound like two people that have no idea who each other Are when they start talking. And one of the questions I figured we'd get into in the show, but that for me, I'm just curious, because I'll be honest, everyone like, this is totally selfish, right? If I were to call Carleigh or anyone else like, Hey, I just like this show, can we talk for an hour? All y'all are very gracious, like, You're fantastic people. But like, rightfully the answer private, like, you know, maybe, maybe we can find some time or, you know, but where I do a podcast now, you know, so this is all very selfish for me. And so something that I've been very curious about, for with Carleigh was, you know, she was, so you're so invested in in season three, and obviously, Season Five didn't go how I think anyone was thinking. And so I had asked Carleigh a question about, you know, just what that felt like. And the response that I got was like, not what I was expecting, because with how, how intensely into season three, it seemed like you were you, it seemed like Season Five was going to be something like for me, at least that for myself would be very hard to, to, to handle and hard to understand and hard to work with. But that wasn't the case, it sounds like or at least today it's not. And so I'm trying to, I think, is that related to what you're talking about with your Naza healing and how you been able to help yourself through those experiences that you had with alone?
Carleigh Fairchild 36:22
Yes. So when I went to Patagonia for season three, I was in my third year of wilderness fusion, and had learned a lot about myself got a lot of like, helpful tools to, like, be able to bring myself back into myself. And, and going out there, like, I fulfilled a huge dream of mine that I wanted to really see, and use my skills and see see if I could really live off the land, or live with the land. And I was at a point in my life that having that alone time was really like helpful in what I needed. And so I, this is gonna be a long rambling story to get to answer your question. But it's,
Sam 37:23
it was a long, there's a long rambling question.
Carleigh Fairchild 37:29
You know, I loved being there. And in Patagonia, and learning this piece of like, becoming part of this piece of land that I've never visited before. And over time, like, getting to know it. Like, like, the back of my hand, like, I just knew that small piece of land so well, and it truly became my home. Like, I'd walk down the trail back to my shelter in the evenings, and I wasn't like, I was going back to my shelters, like, I'm going home. Like, and that just sense of, like relief of like, I'm home, I can go in, I can make my fire, get my water boiled. Like, I know, I can get warm and I know I can get water regardless of food. You know, I, I struggled a lot with getting enough food to eat in Patagonia. I always ate like a little something. But you know, as people who saw the show, see, like, I lost a lot of weight. I was so invested, like you said, in my experience and wanting to be the last person out there. But I kept checking in, like I was saying earlier, like, I would be doing something I might feel like, like that pain and exhaustion and struggle might like start like being really real for me and I might start crying. And and then I'd kept I'd like catch that and be like, Okay, well, do I want to be here? Like I checked in in the moment like, but do I still want to be here even though this is really hard? And I would tell you like nine times out of 10 When I asked that question, like a big old smile would come on my face. Like even if I just been crying I'd be like yeah, like I do still want to be here. You know, and that 10th time the answer was still be here but maybe the biggest smile you know, I guess such a crazy awesome real experience but I didn't want it I wanted to wait till till the end until I could go home with the you know with being the last person out there.
Sam 39:51
I love that. I love that I had you know when when I talked with Brooke One of the things that Brooke had mentioned was that, you know, they had the opportunity in season four, to decide to tap instead of her being pulled, right. And I loved that they had the opportunity, really, and that they chose to make their own choices and to to update their choices, like we talked about that constant check in and what you just said. And so I love that, that you took the time to constantly check in and to make sure that, you know, you were still making the decision that you wanted to make, and that you weren't running on, on a decision that you had made, however long in advance, but that you were constantly saying, Do I still want to be here? Is this still what I want to be doing? Is this is this where I need to be in my life right now. And I think that's really fantastic that you gave yourself that opportunity and that you respected yourself, I think, enough to and you know, yourself enough to continue to do that. I'm curious, and I'm not going to ask this question in the way that I want to. But what was it like for you coming home from season three, and and that adjustments back into, you know, into life? i It's, I will say this I've I've wanted to try really hard not to fall into, you know, having these conversations go the exact same way. But for me again, I'm super selfish. And for me, one of the most fascinating things about these conversations has been that reintegration experience. I'm just very curious, based on what you've just said, how your reintegration experience was coming back from from that shock. And I mean, you mentioned you use the word trauma, but can you talk about that a little bit?
Carleigh Fairchild 41:53
Yeah, um, you know, I would say, in in the moment, and in the experience of being alone in Patagonia, I didn't have awareness of it as trauma. It's afterwards, looking back actually feeling a lot of the feeling that I diminished while I was there, that I realized that it was a traumatic experience for me too. To ignore my physicality for so long, in order to stay and, and the isolation and everything. But in the moment, like I said, I didn't really feel those things because I wanted to my focus was elsewhere. So I was able to, I guess, have the iron will to, to not pay attention to those aspects. And, and I found connection with everything. Like the earth, the trees, the plants, the birds. Like I found connection everywhere. I just didn't have somebody physically there with me. Like, I even felt the connection with my family and loved ones. Like from halfway around the world, I could still feel it, which was really nice. So they, they pull, they told me I can't stay any longer. was completely heartbreaking. I think that got portrayed very well. And then, then I was like, Okay, I did what I could do, you know, my mentality was I did what I could do, I did it to the best that I could do it. And I'm really grateful for my experience, like, so grateful. I'm still so grateful that I have the experience. And that gratitude carried me home. And I would say I kind of had an easy ish transition you know, food, I was super amazed that both in like, what tastes like what I thought would taste good and what didn't taste good. Because after three months, my my taste buds for salt and sugar. Were so sensitive because I didn't like have any, that my first taste of chocolate, which I was very excited about tasted disgusting. And my first taste of bacon, which I also was very excited about was disgusting. I couldn't eat it. I literally spit them out. And I was like, what? Oh, what happened? Like, almost like, teared up of like, but I wanted these things.
Sam 44:46
Yeah, I can imagine like looking forward to the day right? Dreaming about the day and then that day comes and it's just that's terrible.
Carleigh Fairchild 44:59
Yeah, but it was awesome. So that's a hard transition in that, like out there all alone, like, it was all about me. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. However I wanted, you know, like, there's nobody else to consider or worry about. And then going home, it's like, oh, my pattern of looking for what the external is expecting to happen. Came back and I was like, Oh, this isn't, this isn't working out so well for me. I need to like, figure like, that kind of started to change and myself have really been more in tune with what's going on. Which is, I mean, I would say I'm still listening, like figuring that out. Especially physically, like, because I had this amazing skill to be able to ignore my physical and just expect it to carry me through. It's like, I have a whole dialogue with my body about like, what's going on? Yeah, but you were also asking about season five, right and coming home from season five. So
Sam 46:09
that's what was gonna get into transition to that story is well, so what you've just said name is making me think. So how was your mindset different going into into five? Were you? Like, how? How did that learning from season three, impact your thought processes and your mentality? Maybe going into five?
Carleigh Fairchild 46:33
Yeah, so I don't know if anybody you might kind of guessed this, but like the time period from me getting home to getting the phone call about season five was like, I don't know, eight months. Yeah. Something like that. I know that I landed in Mongolia one year after I was pulled from Patagonia. So I was still understanding my Patagonia experience. I still hadn't unwrapped the depths of that experience yet. You know, like my body had had gained the weight back that I'd lost in like two or three months. So like that was back but was my physical body like really back yet. And then I gained a whole bunch of weight in preparation for going to Mongolia because as like, If only I had weighed more like that would have helped me since there wasn't I wasn't getting food. Like so that's something I need to do for going to Mongolia is like okay, has to get food, like right away. Like calories lost or calories lost and if you don't, like it's harder to get them back. When you're living in that kind of situation. That's like, okay, that's that's a mentality that shifted for me of like not being too worried about food, too. Okay, from like, almost hour one I need to start trying to catch fish and figure out food here. Because it may not last and so I need to get it right away when I can.
Sam 48:23
Interesting a so I mean that's funny I knew that the like the four to five turn on was obviously like, land and then get back on an airplane. I guess for some reason my mind I make sense. It would have been a year
Carleigh Fairchild 48:40
well, it's different because Season Three was in Patagonia. So it was filmed during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sam 48:48
That's right, that was the one where there were versus I'd forgotten that there was the different timeframe there of how those worked.
Carleigh Fairchild 48:54
Yeah, so I would imagine and this is like guessing here where like the film crews went from Patagonia like pretty straight to Season Four was on Vancouver Island again, right? Yeah. Like there wasn't much time there between the two. Yeah, that is sometimes a lot of time so you know like Brooke Yeah, definitely was the the youngest so to speak of like our shortest timeframe of like, leaving one show starting the next show.
Sam 49:30
So when you when you went into Season Five were you really going back as like an in it to win it type of thing, or did you have Did you set limits for yourself? Did you have in your mind Did you say like did you have basically limits and you say this is what I'm willing to do to myself this time and this is what I'm wanting to get out of this experience.
Carleigh Fairchild 49:52
I wanted to see some five with a win it in it to win it 100% I was very determined again. And I also had with me and awareness that tapping out was a choice, this time versus in season three, I tapping out wasn't something I was going to choose. Like, it just it wasn't like, do I want to tap out? You know, that wasn't how I asked the question. It was like, do I still want to be here. So the focus was different. So I had that awareness. And then also I learned, you know, after coming home from Patagonia, that when your buck goes from concave or convex to concave, like, you've lost a lot of weight. So I had that awareness of like, okay, I can know like, even though I might not, like, know what the numbers on the scale are, when I get weighed, like, I can know, in my physical when I've pushed it pretty far. Yeah. And knowing that, like, I don't want to push it as far as I did last time. Although also knowing that the temptation if I was there that long to keep pushing would probably be at play.
Sam 51:11
Interesting. So just gonna say did it did it feel good to to have that permission from yourself? Like, did it did that help you going into the
Carleigh Fairchild 51:23
whole thing? I honestly, in some ways, like felt sick about. Like, because I hadn't going on grade going into going out again. Yeah. Because there was that like, super determined part of me that was like, I'm in it to win. And I'm going to win at this time because of XY and Z. Like, I think it's gonna happen. And then there's a part of me that's like, realizing the trauma that I experienced and put myself through. And knowing how likely that my psychology would make that pattern happen again. Yeah, back to like patterns in our lives. Like, even though I had awareness, I wasn't sure that I would be able to keep that awareness. Because awareness, awareness is perishable, like we forget things. And especially in intense situations, our patterns are more likely to carry us through then awareness in the moment. So all those things were like swirling in me. But I also was like, I can't not do this. Like, I have to go. So there was a lot of different feelings and thoughts going on very early on in the season five. Yeah. And, you know, like, I love like, I was so excited to catch the fish. While I was there. I caught more fish in four days than I did six days. So for me, that was a little personal when, like, Yes, I'm doing too great. And who knows what would have happened like, it seems like fishing didn't go so well, as the season progressed there and Mongolia as it got colder, so you never know. But I felt like that was a little success for me.
Sam 53:26
Something that? I guess well, for those that don't remember, or that aren't aware. So and I think I mean, I don't remember was it four or five? Seven? How many days in season five?
Carleigh Fairchild 53:39
Yeah, so on day four, I like sometimes on the alone show like time gets skipped so much that you don't know what happened. So like, for those first four days, I was, I was fishing a lot. And I was also exploring my area a lot looking for the best shelter location to build, like I was gonna dig into the hillside and build like a semi Earth shelter to protect from like all the wind that happens in Mongolia and the super cold negative temperatures, like I knew I needed a really solid shelter. And so I wanted to invest my time first and finding the ideal, you know, the best location I could. So that day four was like the last day I was like, Okay, I've got like tomorrow, I've got one more area to look in. And then I like I'm pretty sure I have the location for my shelter. And so I wanted to be able to be in two places at once by setting up some fish fines so that fish could be caught while I was working on my shelter. And then I could come back and pull some fish out of the river. And you know, I stopped those set those up in the river. And while pulling in all line with, with a fish on it. The fish was wiggling all over the place. And I was trying to grab it. And the next thing I knew the fish was dropping into the water. And there was a really big pain in my right hand. And I look at my hand and I see the fish hook continuing to like go deeper into my hand.
Sam 55:23
Yeah, for those that don't remember when she says deeper into her hand, I mean, it was it was buried.
Carleigh Fairchild 55:30
It was the completely in the eye of the hook.
Sam 55:34
Yeah. So I mean, that happened, obviously, super early. But you just mentioned your talk about how you had caught so many fish. Right. Something that was kind of a thing from some others that I've spoken to? Is it Season Five kind of turned into a almost a healing thing for them? And that there was this, this getting piece and this getting some understanding of what had happened. Did you did you get to have? I mean, it sounds like with the fishing, maybe that happened? Did you get to have much of that? Just I mean, based on the time frame, you're probably still you're still in the here and now figuring it out. Right?
Carleigh Fairchild 56:12
Yeah. I was, you know, when does healing happen? It was always a question I asked. I think it had a piece in it. But I didn't. Wouldn't say that it brought a lot of healing to me. I'd say that, like showed me more, more what needed healing than getting healed. But I had the amazing experience, Sam of connecting with some of the the on ground, like local production crew. And the summer after season five, I went back to Mongolia. And I was an intern for panoramic journeys, which is a film and tourist company that brings people to Mongolia, to interact with real connection with the people there and the lamb their love. So I got to go back and have a ton of amazing connection with that land in Mongolia, and the people there. And through that experience, I got a lot of healing. There was a lot, there was just so much space in that Mongolian landscape. And time is different, like, you know, it takes all day to drive somewhere across the step. And it's, it's not like there's no rush or hurry. It's like there's so much time to do everything that needs to be done. And there's so much space for everything that needs to be done. That I was able to internalize that in a way that really helped me.
Sam 57:58
That's cool. I was it's funny, I had jotted down a minute ago. Question specifically in relation to Patagonia. You just answered it in relation to Mongolia, I was going to ask if if you'd ever if you had ever, or if you would ever consider going back to visit that location. Because it sounds like a you know, in Argentina or Patagonia, you had a huge connection with your space, right? You had a very close relationship with the land that you were living on. And so I mean, you've done that with Mongolia, is that something that you would like to be able to do at some point to go back to Patagonia and to to
Carleigh Fairchild 58:40
I check it likes to go to Patagonia. I don't know that I want to or even if I could go to the exact spot. But I can sit here and be talking with you and visualize so much of my area. Like it is a part of the place
Sam 59:03
you had mentioned. And there was even a clip in the show that you had you were able to feel and connect with your loved ones while you were there is it does the same work for the space as well, where you can take time to sit back and reconnect with the land in those locations. Or at least in in Patagonia.
Carleigh Fairchild 59:22
Yeah, definitely. And in Mongolia, and I didn't get to see my spot. But just the land connecting with the landscape in the broader sense was amazing. So if anybody has a desire to go to Mongolia, and I don't know what things are going on right now there but panoramic journeys was an amazing group of people and have some amazing trips out there.
Sam 59:51
That's cool, how much how much time did you get to spend with them and in Patagonia doing that experience
Carleigh Fairchild 59:58
in Mongolia
Sam 59:59
Bing or sorry, yeah, Mongo.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:00:02
I know, both and similar. Yeah, they're
Sam 1:00:05
very, that was that's what I was thinking I made that mistake. Those are pretty similar.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:00:10
Yeah. I was there for about two months. Cool. That's awesome. That's amazing.
Sam 1:00:21
That's an awesome, awesome experience and to be able to go back and to to meet the people, I think that's super cool. Like, for me, when I go places, I've never traveled internationally, but the people and the reality of a space is what is so fascinating to me, more than the tourist side of things. And so that's cool that you're able to have that experience, and to really connect in that way, with the different cultures and different, you know, with the people that make a living in a place where you were trying to make a living and
Carleigh Fairchild 1:00:57
yeah, yeah, one of my, there's so many favorite memories from there. But like, one that tops the charts is, I was in western Mongolia, staying with a Kazakh family. And I got to go spend the day with their 13 year old daughter, riding their horses, following their herd of like, a couple 100 sheep and goats. And like making sure that they didn't go mingle with the neighbor's flock of multiple 100 sheep and goats on the other part of the valley. And I was just like, What was amazing about it was that she absolutely loved what she was doing. Like, she just loved it. And just like, it just came off her. And I knew some words in Mongolian at that point, but not Kazakh. And she knew, like a couple of words in English. And so it was just amazing to like, figure out how to dialogue with Harry to understand what role I should do to help and what was going on. It's just great. Fun.
Sam 1:02:11
And it was just the two of you. It's just
Carleigh Fairchild 1:02:13
the two of us. My, my translator didn't come with us. She stayed with the adults. And it was just the two of us got off. And normally, I was like, I don't even know, like, are we going to come back for lunch? Are we still stay out all day? Do we take something? Should I bring water like, and you know what, I didn't care. I was like, I don't care. I'm just gonna go spend the day and if I don't eat, like, that's okay. Like, it'll be fine. And, you know, modern technology, she had a cell phone. And so her mom called her, like, around lunchtime. And I was like, come back for lunch. But I didn't seem like that was normally something that happened. You know, like she was kind of like, why are we going back I kind of feel that was was fun.
Sam 1:03:01
So that's, that's great that you were able to do that. And fascinating that you were able to have that experience because I had never thought about it before. While we were talking about going back to a particular location to to have that opportunity. As we as we transition a little bit, I have one last kind of an Alone based question. And then we'll kind of move on unless there's something else that you want to share that we haven't touched on or something that you're feeling to speak about in that regard. But when you look back on your experience, how are you different today based on what you learned about yourself and about anything else? From your time that you had with with the show?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:03:49
That's just a small question.
Sam 1:03:53
One last little one, before we move on just the last
Carleigh Fairchild 1:03:55
little one you know, it's hard to say what was just bad experience, you know, versus like everything else that's happened in my life in the last several years. So I guess I would answer it like, sense those experiences, like I I understand more how, how important and even vital it is, for me personally, and I would venture a lot of other people might resonate with this, to have connection with the earth like a deep meaningful relationship, that that is really aware that the Earth can provide for so much of my needs, and also that I have a responsibility in that relationship to help The Earth, like when I go and harvest, like in Patagonia, when I was harvesting materials to make my shelter, I didn't just cut down a whole grove of saplings. Because I needed that many, like, I went to like, six or more groves of saplings. And I thin them out, so that the ones that got more left behind, could have more room to grow. So that that place was left off a little better. From me taking what I needed. And also that like, Yeah, but the earth gifts are so many things. And that my responsibility is to help make it better, as much as I'm able to, you know, I go harvest berries, having the awareness that I want to eat the berries, but so do like the birds and the animals. And the berry bushes themselves need some berries to fall to the ground to like, grow new bushes. And so where that, like it's not all for me. Some of it's for me, but not everything.
Sam 1:06:18
That's cool. Your answer kind of reminded me of a of something else I had thought about a while ago that I think I'd wanted to ask someone but I didn't. And so I'll ask you here, this is a this is a trial run. And, and I think it's a complex and maybe it's a complex question. But for me as I'm, as I'm looking at it, you know, you're someone who has a very close connection with, with the land and with the earth, and very close connections with those spaces that you were able to live in and interact with? Was there ever any or has there ever, ever been a feeling of guilt or remorse or, you know, anything that that goes into when you look back on? On, on like a consumptive use of that space? For the purpose it was used for? Or is it completely symbiosis kind of for those two? Maybe to help this question make sense? Like, for me, I hunt, right? And whenever you take the life of an animal, or at least for me, when I take the life of an animal, even though I know that it is going to feed myself and my family, and it's going to go for good and not be wasted. There's still this feeling this, this responsibility, and this wait, and that goes with it. So have you ever had thoughts of, like I said, I don't know what it would be your remorse or guilt? Or is it just an awareness of how that land was used? Can you speak to that at all? As am I making that they can I
Carleigh Fairchild 1:07:57
hear what you're saying. And I would say my My only regret is that I wasn't able to take down my home. And, and return that piece of land close to how it was before I showed up. Just wasn't something I was able or was like in the realm of the show, like allowed to do since I hadn't chosen to leave, you know, like I could choose to leave and take it down. You know,
Sam 1:08:35
they didn't have that great time lapse at the end.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:08:39
Right? There wasn't a time and space to to do that. And so there's some regret there. But there's also like, total acceptance of like, well, that's not the situation and I know that they took it down and probably did an okay job, you know, taking it down and returning it back. Like my my training so to speak is to really leave it looking as best as I can as if nobody was ever there. Taking the rocks back down to the like, maybe that's not the exact spot that I got them from but take them back down to like take you know, like I I hauled up gravel and put gravel in my entryway that I crawled through and I did gravel like dry mortar for my stone fireplace. You know, just so many so many little details. And it's like Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Somebody else did it.
Sam 1:09:43
Cool. Thank you for answering that for me because I've I've often wondered if, if if that relationship is complex? Because it seems to me that it has has an opportunity to be a pretty complex experience. And do you Good point, one of my favorite parts is actually watching. And I'm impressed with the care that is taken to return sites, back to some semblance of, you know, obviously human use on a space for that long is going to leave a mark. But it seems like they tried to do a very, very good job of returning that space close to what it was or as close to what it was as could be. So yeah, yeah, they do. Okay, well, we, you know, it's funny, I wanted to talk about the the PCT and get into all that stuff. And we're, you know, we're kind of getting on here a little bit, but I do want to ask you, so you did do part of the, the PCT. And you did that? I mean, quite a while ago, but do you have? I mean, where did that come from? Was that? Like, what sparked your interest in doing that? And do you still have have dreams and desires of thru hiking? Or is that? Did you get that out of your system?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:11:02
Yes. So short story, maybe, is that I had just graduated from college, and felt somewhat that I had necessarily lost track of who I was, but I hadn't, like caught up to who I had become. And I wanted something to really connect with myself and and say, Okay, who am I now? Like, give some space to, to discover that answer. And I knew somebody who had through hiked the whole PCT and suggested it and I was like, I've never backpacked, like, literally, I had never backpacks. I've gone on lots of camping trips. I've gotten on lots of survival trips, but like, who wants to carry a pack that weighs 20 to 40 pounds all the time all day? Like I don't know about that. So I started doing a couple of like, one or two night trips, you know, not huge hike, like mileage every day. I was like, okay, I can see the appeal of this. Like, I can spend my time getting into an area and know that I have shelter, food and water. This is this actually kind of cool. And so I did a four day trip with a friend. And I was like, Okay, if I can do a four day trip, I can do a you know, almost six week trip was kind of my, my logic thinking there. And so I I just did it, I plan, got some advice, I plan meals, made some home cooked, you know, Camp meals, I dehydrated and mailed myself boxes all along the Cascade Mountains. And I just started and the first week was probably the roughest. Because I in some ways packed way too much food. And I wasn't really used to that heavy of a pack. Like I'd done about 100 miles of training. But not with a full full pack. So yeah, and I think you were wondering, like, was I alone the whole time?
Sam 1:13:32
And yeah, cuz like on thru hikes. It's pretty typical for those that don't know. So the PCT is a thru hike. So it goes, does it start at the Canadian border and run all the way south? Yeah, it's
Carleigh Fairchild 1:13:41
Mexico to Canada. Yeah. And I Washington section, which was 500 Miles
Sam 1:13:48
talking west coast. Did you go north to south or south to north?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:13:52
I went south to north. Okay.
Sam 1:13:55
And so for those that don't know, through hiking, basically there's there's a handful, you've got the the PCT, you've got the Continental Divide, you have the Appalachian Trail. So there's a handful of these hikes that are, you know, super long. And there's kind of this whole culture that surrounds through hiking. And so you did a solo, I believe, right, it was a solo trip. But frequently, you know, in some people's experiences, you'll pick up a hiking partner, or you'll have kind of group camping areas. So you might be you know, you'll see the same person and I must be from experience. I'm just someone who has paid the tension, I guess. And so there might be someone that you're leapfrogging on the trail back and forth and then you meet up in a in a group site at night or things like that. How did that experience go for you? Were you alone a lot. Did you have kind of some shared experiences?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:14:46
Yeah, mostly it was solo. ads say that first half or more. I wasn't even leapfrogging with people. Like there's not as much hikers there and it wasn't the right season for the thru hikers from Mexico to make it that far north yet. Like there was, I don't know, two or three maybe hikers that started in Mexico that had made it that far and passed me. They might slow down and talk to me for like five or 10 minutes, and then they'd like pick up their pace again, and be off. Because at that point, it was both really fast hikers that have made it that far north.
Sam 1:15:33
So this was early on in the season.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:15:35
Yeah, I started in like July. So yeah, there's still some snow in places. But yeah, so mostly alone. Like, I think two days I hiked with this older couple. Because it was an area in the North Cascades where there's been like a huge flood a year before two years before bunch of downed trees. And there was word on the trail of like, how to navigate it. But it was still like how, unknown how well it was going to be marked or like how sketchy or the log crossings on these rivers going to be. And so we hiked together for about two days just for, like moral support, which was really nice. But other than that, I was the only time I like literally hiked with people. I think there was, it was actually that same couple, they would hike, we'd camp like in a similar location. But they would hike faster during the day and then stop sooner. And I would hike slower like enjoying the scenery and stopping have snacks and lunch and sometimes a nap if I felt like it. And I'd like pull in the camp later. But like we travel the same distance in the day. So we we saw each other a couple of nights before we're like, you know what you want to hike together tomorrow cuz sounding a little sketchy.
Sam 1:17:03
Yeah. That's cool. So you I mean, this, this could turn into a whole big rabbit hole. But relatively speaking, you knew yourself pretty well. By the time you had the your first alone experience, which I'm sure was very helpful. But there's
Carleigh Fairchild 1:17:20
definitely gave me some insights and awareness of like, the whole like, journey might be overwhelming. But if I take it one step at a time, and like make, like markers that are achievable, like I can keep going.
Sam 1:17:35
That's cool. Did you? I mean, so it sounds like there weren't a ton of people around? Did you? Did you still pick up a trail name? Or did that not happen? Because of the lack of
Carleigh Fairchild 1:17:45
people? I maybe this is against the rules. So no hurry, if
Sam 1:17:50
it's against the rules, don't do it.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:17:51
I picked my own trail name. Oh,
Sam 1:17:55
I thought your say like, you're gonna reveal something that shan't be revealed.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:17:58
Now, I just picked my own trail name, because I wanted that, you know, like, like, it kind of gave my old personality, so to speak, like, a space to like, figure out who I was, like to let go of that a little. And because I wasn't hiking with people, and, you know, for other things, reasons that I've said of like, I just wouldn't be hiking, like, the likelihood of a lot of people passing me to give a name just didn't seem that calm that like likely to happen. So I picked my um,
Sam 1:18:32
so for those who are, you know, you might be wondering what the heck we're talking about. So in, in Dragon culture, there's a thing called the trail name. So basically, you know, there's typically some some number of people that are doing these trails at roughly the same time and locations. And so you'll get what's called a trail name, which is, you know, you could probably clean it better than me, but it's basically a moniker that you get that you go by, on your experience. And so you'll, you know, as you're talking to people you hear about, you know, someone else in their experience, and you can know who they are by their trail name, I think one example would come to mind is, let's say you are someone who was hiking, and you had some interesting characteristics surrounding your boots. And so maybe your boots were too big, or maybe your boots were brand new, or maybe your boots were really flashy. And so you might get known as boots. And so people on the trail would be like, Hey, have you seen boots today? Or, you know, some other thing that
Carleigh Fairchild 1:19:30
the lady that I hiked with, with her husband, their North Cascades, she was PC, because she she'd gotten it on some previous hike, that she always had a paperclip and like the paperclip was like she was always fixing things and making things work with the paperclip. And so she got called PC. There you go. So that's a perfect example. Yeah, and like I remember and also helps you remember names too. Yeah, when it's like
Sam 1:19:59
different When there's some thing that connects it, yeah. So can you can you share your, your troll name? Or is that a personal thing for you?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:20:08
No, I can totally share it. Um, I chose Flickr, like the winner and Flickr. Because I really like the birds that are. Yeah, I really like the bird. It, there's a like in it. It's very adaptable. Like it lives on the East Coast. It lives on the West Coast. It lives in the deserts, and
Sam 1:20:31
used to come into staying on my house.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:20:35
Yeah, and and they're a woodpecker, but they feed on the ground too. They don't just feed in trees. And so I've always thought they're a really cool bird. And like, I've seen them everywhere I've lived. So that's what I chose.
Sam 1:20:50
Cool. Do you do you want to so do you want to route through hike? Again? Is that something that you're you see yourself doing at some point? Or? You will
Carleigh Fairchild 1:20:58
I'm I'm back to the Why do I want to carry a lot of weight on my back? perspective, not that it's out of the picture. I just don't currently have any plans. I'm looking into more places like hike in a day. And then like make a base camp, and then explore around like, that's more what I'm interested in doing now.
Sam 1:21:20
Cool. Love that. Well, Carleigh, let's go ahead and to want to share some things you're up to and how people can find you and, and those types of things.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:21:32
Yeah. I'm up to so many things. But what's relevant, I guess, is I just got a new website made, which is super exciting. And I
Sam 1:21:47
just Carleighfairchild.com. For those Thank
Carleigh Fairchild 1:21:49
you. The self promotion thing is challenging for me. And yeah, so I do and I as the AI healings I'm apprenticing at the wilderness fusion school to become a teacher there. I am currently a nanny for for mumbled, which I am loving. And have a because of the parents work schedule, like my schedule is all over the place. But I love it and allows me time to go out and have adventures of my own. And then I'm also i i teach and do have done some public speaking and gave a keynote presentation last summer. Last spring for a wildlife events.
Sam 1:22:44
What do you what do you teach? I know you do something called connection with plays. And yeah, can you tell us what you what you're teaching and what people can expect and what they might enjoy what you do?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:22:55
Yeah, so I've been you know, over the years I've taught basic are skills shelter, fire, water food. basketry is something I'm really passionate about,
Sam 1:23:07
how the heck do we make it an hour and a half, we haven't talked about baskets. I know
Carleigh Fairchild 1:23:11
I have other podcasts that I've talked a lot about baskets, though. So this is this one's different. I love baskets, I teach a ton a lot of basketry classes. And I this last year, I did my first connecting with Plex series, which was an online series that met every two weeks for three months. So six sessions. And it's based kind of around three things. One is having a sit area, so someplace outside can be in your yard actually suggests that it's in your yard because then you're more likely to go there. But you try to spend time every day or a couple times a week to connect with the earth and connect with yourself and observe the local patterns of the wildlife around you. And then the basics of Earth skills and then the like the philosophy and mentality that is part of those skill sets. And what I really weave into everything I do is this healing perspective that I have you know, how can we have more more contact and more perspective and more choice in our lives so that's always connecting with place series and I'm planning on running one again in the spring. Still trying to set out you know, figure out the dates but thinking maybe February March April for that and You know, I was talking with you, Sam about I'm looking for some land to buy or some land to live on and be a caretaker of here in western North Carolina. And so I've got like, a brainstorm of other other classes I'd like to teach this year, and just figuring out the logistics of those right now before putting some dates and locations up. And I have those on my website.
Sam 1:25:30
Currently fairchild.com.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:25:36
Need to just make that in my brain? On my website, Kylie Fairchild, calm. Some fire by friction. basketry classes shelter building. Yeah, those are, those are my passions, and things I like to share about. And I really, yeah, connecting with place and connecting with ourselves as place.
Sam 1:26:05
I love that I'm, I'm super interested in connecting with place. Series, that seems like a It's a neat idea. And I love that it's approachable for or accessible, rather, for anyone from wherever, right, wherever you are, you can you can have this experience. I think it's super cool. I don't need to say the website again. So everyone knows where to go. It will be linked in the description of the show. I believe you are somewhat active on an Instagram account. can people find you there? Where where is that?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:26:40
I believe it's just at Carleigh Fairchild. Try to keep things simple.
Sam 1:26:47
I'll get that linked below. And then this one, do you have a seems like you might be coming back into like a public Facebook pages or something there that people that you want people to find you or where would you prefer?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:26:58
No, I have a public Facebook page. Honestly, I have my Instagram account linked to that. And so I I do an Instagram post and share it with shares to Facebook. And then I check it every so often to catch up on comments and respond to folks. But it's not, you know, I struggle with being on social media. So yeah, I try to keep it simple.
Sam 1:27:27
Okay, so Carleigh,
Carleigh Fairchild 1:27:29
I get to see my website. I think I have it set up that you can sign up for a newsletter, and then I'll like send out periodic emails. So if anybody isn't on social media or doesn't want to connect that way, sign up on my website for the newsletter. If anything on my website doesn't work, please let me know. Like, I just may not have done something correctly. So
Sam 1:27:55
yeah. Okay. Well, that's awesome. Thank you for sharing it again. All of that will be linked in the show notes. So before we wrap up, do you have any any last things you'd want to say? Any anything that you wanted to discuss or mention or say that we haven't gotten through? Are there any records that need setting straight or just anything at all you'd like to share before we wrap up?
Carleigh Fairchild 1:28:19
No. No records that needs setting straight. I know a lot of people have a lot of strong opinions about season three and me being pulled. And I guess like thank you for your support. And even though I didn't win the money, like I feel like I won because I had an amazing experience. And that experience, and like my life experience. I'm reading a memoir right now to share some of my experiences and like maybe give insight into how I became who I am. And my how I think about things. So
Sam 1:29:06
cool. I love I love that. You know, Clay Clay, the winner of the, I guess SPOILER ALERT clay winner of last season. He he's writing a book. I think it's coming out here soon. And I just spoke with Barry and he's putting a book out now you're putting a book out. That's something that I've I've always been curious, like, I wonder why people aren't putting books out. So I'm super glad to hear that you're doing that. If you need somebody to do an advanced reading and some editing work, I don't know how, if you're self publishing, if you're going to do a go through publisher, but if you need help if you're going to Self Publish, and you need some some advanced reading, I volunteer if you end up meeting them because I think that'd be super fascinating. So super excited to see. See that come out. Carleigh, thank you so much for your time this conversation has been Fantastic. And I keep getting these reminders in my life about slowing down. Right. And I think that's been one of the more interesting things that's come within me from from this project is, is the need to slow down. And, you know, life is just so fast. And I said, the biggest takeaway for me, I think, from even today's conversation is is how important it is to slow down, to connect and to check in. So thank you so much for teaching me that today. Hopefully, someone else has found that beneficial. But again, thank you for your time. And I hope you have a great rest of your day. And I'm excited to see what the future holds.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:30:45
Yeah, thank you, Sam, so much for putting this together and reaching out, you know, you say you're doing it because you're selfish. Yeah, because you want to talk to everybody. He was all alone. But sometimes that's what the world needs, like selfish isn't a bad thing. You know, can we follow what we're really called to do and curious about and, and trust that it's also going to help other people out?
Sam 1:31:09
Well, everyone now that we're closing out, go ahead and hit pause again and think through that. Cry this is again, fantastic. Thank you so much, and you have a great rest of your day. Exam take care you as well.
Carleigh Fairchild 1:31:22
Bye
