The book: Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

By Cheryl Strayed,

2012

The author begins with the story of a life falling apart after the death of her mother, the demise of her marriage, and other calamities. It doesnt take long to figure out that Strayed is a metaphor for her situation instead of her real name.

In 1995, Cheryl Strayed is a 26-year-old waitress who has saved her tips and has nothing to lose. She determines to walk the 1,100-mile Pacific Crest Trail.

She travels alone carrying a backpack half her weight and the worlds loudest whistle.

It seems there are two basic types hiking the trail: those ultra-prepared and those much less so. Strayed falls so much in the latter category that among the sparse other hikers, no one is betting on her succeeding. Hikers must register at each segment of the trail from California to the Columbia River and thus become familiar with each other through meeting at rest stops, passing along the trail, etc.

Something about this story is riveting. She writes:

I knew if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told.

I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me. Insisting on this story was a form of mind control, but for the most part, it worked.

Strayed, almost against all odds, arrived at the Bridge of the Gods on the Columbia River. It is an inspirational story well worth reading.

Wild – From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is available from the Grant County Library, where Linda Driskill is a volunteer.