Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Walking Brave, Walking Tall

She gave herself a new surname—Strayed—that best described her state of mind at that point of time. In 1995, Cheryl Strayedembarked on a solo 1,100-mile trek along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) that stretches across nine mountain ranges, from the California-Mexico border to Canada. Even seasoned hikers would admit it’s a tough trail and for a woman with little hiking experience to go solo was a remarkable achievement.  Strayed is also a very good writer, so what she sees, hears and experiences on her adventure is written in evocative prose.

The book that came out in 2012, spent months on bestseller lists and was, last year, turned into a movie produced by and starring Reese Witherspoon – who was nominated for a best actress Oscar.  The film was a hit, inspired people to go on the PCT and rightly turned Cheryl Strayed into a feminist icon.

Cheryl grew up in a poor but loving family and very attached to her mother.  Suddenly her world falls apart when her mother dies a slow, lingeringly painful death of cancer—a woman who didn’t smoke and advocated a healthy, environment friendly lifestyle.  Her mother’s passing break up the family too, as her stepfather and siblings drift away without a binding force to hold them.

Her marriage a good man, Paul also cracks under the strain of her casual infidelities and drug addiction. Finally, with the support of friends, saving money from a waitressing job, she gets set to go on a solo hike, hoping the experience will change her life.

Amusingly, she fills a huge backpack with things she feels will be useful on the trek and carries a weight that chafes her skin and puts a burden on her feet crammed into boots a size too small. The physical suffering, aching muscles, bleeding feet are overcome by the stunning landscape and the kindness of people she meets on the trail and the books she avidly devours in her tent reading by the light of a headlamp.

There are times when she is broke, but someone turns up to feed her.  There are ‘trail angels’ who travel to the spots where the hikers halt to replenish stocks, and help the exhausted travellers. People leave behind stuff they don’t need for others to pick up for free. Gradually a family of PCT hikers is established, people she meets sporadically on the trail and looks forward to running into.  One of them helps her empty out her bag—she calls it Monster—and carry just the absolute essentials. Others offer friendship and support when she needs it most.

Wild is a fantastic book, even for the armchair trekker, who can go through a step-by-step guide to endurance and survival, written by a young woman who learnt every lesson on the trail through firsthand experience, whether it is encountering bears or losing toenails. Her body covered with scars that she has earned, the two-month trail helps Cheryl heal her soul, let go of the past and begin again.

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

By Cheryl Strayed

Publisher: Knopf

Pages: 336