Hikes from Wild

This was the place where Cheryl rubbed sage between her hands because her mom had taught her that the scent provides a burst of energy – in this way Cheryl felt her mother’s power with her on the trail. Also, this was where Cheryl spent the windy night reading and rereading a poem called Power by Adrienne Rich. her wounds came … Continue reading Tehachapi Pass, California – Cheryl Strayed’s First Wild Footsteps →

Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild, called the PCT on the Hat Creek Rim “A legendary stretch on a trail of legends.” Indeed, for Cheryl, these are trail miles she will likely never forget. Having neglected to bring enough water for 100-degree temperatures and extremely dry terrain, Cheryl became dangerously dehydrated and overheated. “I knew this was the most serious situation I’d … Continue reading Hat Creek Rim, California →

No visit to Sierra City would be complete without sitting on the front porch of the General Store in the middle of town. Indeed, Cheryl Strayed sat here during her PCT hike (as told in her book and the movie Wild) and many PCT hikers before and after have paused here, too, to unpack their resupply boxes, to eat ice … Continue reading Sierra City, California →

Cheryl Strayed, in Wild, found herself in the Marble Mountain Wilderness of Northern California at the midpoint of her PCT hike. She’d been on the trail for approximately 50 days. As she gazed out over the horizon at a sunset made vibrant by distant wildfire smoke, she cried her first trail tears. She wasn’t crying because of sadness or joy … Continue reading Marble Mountain Wilderness, California →

Ashland, Oregon, is about an hour drive from the Cascade-Siskiyou Monument and marked an important juncture in Cheryl Strayed’s Wild adventure. Outside the Ashland Food Co-op a Swiss woman rubbed Cheryl’s feet and remarked, “Your feet, they are very strong. Like those of an animal. I can feel their strength in my palms… In Switzerland we have great respect for those … Continue reading Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon →

Are you a fan Cheryl Strayed’s book WILD? If so, you may remember a portion in which Cheryl raged over (and then reconciled with) what would have been her deceased mother’s 50th birthday. This scene occurred in the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Hike in this area This rolling out-and-back day-hike in the Sky Lakes Wilderness of Southern Oregon starts from the … Continue reading Sky Lakes Wilderness Walk, Oregon →

It would be hard not to be blown away by your first glimpse of the mercurial blue waters of Crater Lake. Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild certainly was… “My guidebook had been correct: my first sight of it [Crater Lake] was one of disbelief…” Strayed wrote in Wild. “The jagged circle of the lake spread out beneath me in the most … Continue reading Crater Lake National Park, Oregon’s iconic jewel →

While it had not been Cheryl Strayed’s original intention to conclude her PCT pilgrimage at the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River, in the end she was drawn there. “Down, down, down I went on that last full day of hiking,” Cheryl wrote in her book “Wild” “I could feel the river pulling me like a great magnet … Continue reading Bridge of the Gods and the Eagle Creek PCT – Alternate Route, Oregon →