[pct-l] Cheryl Strayed's book

[Lindsey Sommer]

Like a lot of people have mentioned, "wild" is definitely less about actually hiking the PCT, though of course plays a big role. It's certainly worth reading for all the other stuff, her experience losing someone close to her, the subsequent happenings after that.

And I actually DO think that her experience in the book makes the trail sound very very difficult. I've read a number of PCT memoirs and this one actually seemed a bit more real to me because of how hard it was for her, with her huge pack and foot injuries. To me, so many hiking memoirs seem to go along the same lines of "and then I did 25 miles that day, climbed this mountain, and eventually got to Canada". She definitely goes into detail about the misery that I'm sure ALL PCT hikers experience at some point, whether it be miserable rain or cold. I particularly identified with having sound loops and songs playing in loops in your head for hours at a time.

It certainly does a great deal to inspire you to get out and HIKE, but I'm not sure it really sells long distance hiking as a pleasant experience. And hey, with the rate of obesity in the US right now, more hikers might not be a bad thing.

Cheers,
Lindsey

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 8, 2012, at 5:57 PM, Dennis Phelan <dennis.phelan at gmail.com> wrote:

> All this talk has caused me to buy this book for my kindle.  Hopefully it
> will be worth the $12.95.
> 
> Dennis
> On Jun 8, 2012 5:53 PM, "Douglas Tow" <douglastow at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Good afternoon!
>> 
>> Cheryl Strayed's book makes obvious mention a number of times of the
>> "Pacific Crest Trail" books by Schaffer, et al.  She also mentions Ray
>> Jardine, but somewhat indirectly.  Those interested may wish to track the
>> popularity of these publications on Amazon to get an idea of how great the
>> traffic is of those taking the logical next step toward considering a
>> hike.  I hope the PCTA makes mention of how much additional inquiry and
>> membership activity there has been.
>> 
>> The author suffered mightily from problems stemming from excessive pack
>> weight and footware and equipment choices.  As the book is more of an
>> inspirational/recovery story, there is little ink devoted to guidance as to
>> how a person might make the trail more enjoyable and accessible.  By way of
>> example, she suffered foot problems wearing too-small Raichle
>> boots, continued to suffer for various reasons even after sizing up her
>> boots, and never mentioned that so, so many hikers now wear running shoes
>> or trail runners.  A casual reader could easily come away with impressions
>> that the trail is truly dangerous, full of snow, rattlesnakes, privation,
>> some predatory men, and people that offer passing hikers drugs.
>> 
>> And then there's the reason that 10,000 people don't start a distance hike
>> on the PCT every year - logistics.  Time, money, physical ability,
>> relationships, jobs, supply and resupply.  So many that have a neverending
>> dream of going end up not going, or only going after years of planning and
>> saving.
>> 
>> We shall see.
>> 
>> Doug
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