In the movie, she keeps saying she's “hiking the PCT,” so someone unfamiliar with the trail landmarks might misunderstand (most people probably don't know that Mojave is not near the Mexican border and the trail doesn't end at the Bridge of the Gods). But yeah, she did not hike the whole PCT, and that's fine.
First released in March 2012, Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir detailed her three-month journey on the PCT through California and Oregon, as she grappled with the aftermath of her divorce, a heroin addiction, and the loss of her mother.
How far did Cheryl Strayed hike? In June 1995, the real Cheryl Strayed hiked 1,100 miles of the 2,663 mile long Pacific Crest Trail. The Wild movie true story reveals that Cheryl began her journey in Mojave, California and finished her 94-day trek at the Bridge of the Gods on the Oregon-Washington border.
Cheryl Strayed walked a very respectable distance, but still less than half of the trail's 2660 miles. A thru hiker must average 20 miles per day in order to complete the trail in a single year due to snow levels at high elevation. Cheryl averaged 5-7 miles per day.
Strayed subsequently married filmmaker Brian Lindstrom in August 1999. They have two children and live in east Portland, Oregon, where Strayed has lived since the mid-1990s. Her daughter, Bobbi Strayed Lindstrom, played the younger version of Strayed in the film adaptation of Wild.
You might think that there would be few things left for her to accomplish, but last year she found one – and achieving it was cause for joy. NO TRAINING: Witherspoon had no physical training to prepare for the hiking and camping involved in playing the role of Cheryl Strayed.
The horse grew weak after Eddie neglected it following the death of Cheryl's mother. Cheryl asks Eddie to mercy-kill the horse, but he doesn't. Cheryl then says Leif must shoot the animal.
It depends on the year, but in general, the PCT has fewer thunderstorms, less humidity, and less early-season snow. The AT is a much wetter trail, and early starters will also get the fun of dealing with snow and cold.
A similar thing happened after she sold “Wild” to Knopf for $400,000, Strayed tells Martin: “Again, the great, funny irony about that was that I got my first check, and we spent it all on credit card bills. We went out and had sushi. But our life didn't change. We only got out of credit card debt.”
Sabbe, 33, from Belgium, ran the length of the continental United States, from Mexico to Canada, in an unofficial fastest known time (FKT) of 46 days, 12 hours, and 50 minutes—which was five days and four hours ahead of Timothy Olson's mark of 51 days, 16 hours, and 55 minutes.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association estimates that 700 to 800 people attempt to thru-hike it each year, and about 15% to 35% (versus the AT's 25%) actually succeed.
Karel first set the PCT speed record in 2016, completing the trail in 52 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes, before ultrarunner Tim Olson bettered it in 2021, with a time of 51 days, 16 hours, and 55 minutes.
Anne Marie Fox/Fox Searchlight. If you've read Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir Wild, you know that the author embarked on a herculean endeavor—hiking 1,1000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone, with zero hiking experience, and an unwieldy 40+ pound backpack strapped to her backside.
Go behind-the-scenes on the set of Wild, the film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling 2012 memoir, with this exclusive short featuring Strayed and actor-producer Reese Witherspoon.
What Wild Has in Common With “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman” 1,100 miles of walking the Pacific Crest Trail as a woman. One of the feats of Wild, the film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's popular memoir, is how effectively it “deglamorizes” the polished persona of Reese Witherspoon, who plays Strayed.
How long does it take the average person to walk the PCT?
The trail is 2,650 miles and it generally takes the entire snow-free season to walk. That's about 5 months. Elite athletes who are experienced on the PCT have finished the trail in as little as two months. The few who achieve sub-100 day hikes average well over 30 miles per day.
So, how much does it cost to hike the PCT? On average it costs about $6,000 to hike the PCT. That said, the cost of your hike can easily amount to several thousand dollars higher (a common scenario) or lower (if you're disciplined and your hike is setback-free).
Most people over 10-20 miles a day, with a 16-mile-a-day average. Some days you'll walk more; some days you won't walk as much. Create a rough plan of where you'll be each week and each month, and consider the weather when planning.
Aimee forces her to go to a store to buy a pregnancy test, and as they wait in line to purchase it, Cheryl sees a book about the Pacific Crest Trail. She takes the test, which confirms she is pregnant. She breaks down and tells Aimee that she can't be somebody's mother and decides to get an abortion right away.
Tigelaar likes to say that adult Clare in the emotional Tiny Beautiful Things is an alternate-reality version of Strayed, one who never hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and never wrote Wild; now 49 and devastated that she hasn't fulfilled her promise as a writer, she drinks too much, she creates chaos, and her marriage, ...
Her award-winning essays and short stories have been published in The Best American Essays, the New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, and elsewhere. Strayed has also made two hit podcasts, Dear Sugars, which she co-hosted with Steve Almond, and Sugar Calling.
