Cheryl Strayed was 26 in 1995 when she set out to hike more than 1,000 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. Coping with her mother’s death to cancer at age 45, divorce and heroin use, Cheryl says she was at a very desperate and sad point in life and had “to save myself.” She saw a PCT guidebook in a department store and was drawn to the idea of hiking the trail. “I knew the wilderness was where I felt in touch with my highest self.”
The Wild book trailer by Cheryl Strayed is a great introduction to her inspiring story about the Pacific Crest Trail. Watch it and then head on over and watch the Wild movie trailer.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is Strayed’s memoir of her 1,100-mile journey from the Mojave Desert in California to the Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks, Oregon. She is fond of saying that the book is no hiking guide. It’s about her struggles as a young woman — both with the pain of hiking and the pain of her life – and coming to grips with them.
