[pct-l] Impact of WILD on PCT numbers

[Jennifer Zimmerman]

Bill Bryson had a pretty tough time on the AT (though he was in a better
state than Strayed) but his book still helped pump up the number of hikers
attempting it.  I doubt this spike will be as large but I expect that there
will be a spike.

Wild was definitely a factor in our decision to thru-hike this year.  Of
course real life had to cooperate as well for it to be possible, but we
knew we wanted to attempt it before the movie comes out.  The relative lack
of people on the trail is a big part of the appeal.  I liked the book OK
and didn't care how far she made it or what she skipped but I'm glad I read
it with the understanding that it was going to be a memoir and not a trail
journal.


On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 6:47 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> ...
> You wanted thoughts on whether it will inspire a lot more people to hike
> the PCT. I don't think it will.
> Cheryl Strayed had a miserable hike. It was an ordeal. She didn't have a
> good time. Some potential hikers who might be considering trying the PCT
> might be discouraged, and decide not to, after reading the book. A few
> others might want to accept the challenge. So, I think reading the book
> will make very little difference. There will most likely be more hikers
> than last year. It's that way every year as the trail becomes increasingly
> popular.
>  ...