The new Reese Witherspoon movie Wild faced a major challenge as it headed to the big screen. In the popular memoir of the same name, author Cheryl Strayed hikes the Pacific Crest Trail in hopes of finding ways to cope her mother's death, her experimentation with heroin and her divorce.

What trail is Wild based on?

Wild is Cheryl Strayed's memoir of her 1,100-mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Strayed's journey begins in the Mojave Desert and she hikes through California and Oregon to the Bridge of the Gods into Washington.

What is the trail in the movie Wild?

Plot. In June 1995, despite a lack of hiking experience, Cheryl Strayed leaves Minneapolis to hike, by herself, 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of the 2,650-mile (4,260 km) Pacific Crest Trail.

Was Wild actually filmed on the PCT?

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 happened to Cheryl Strayed?

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.

Wild Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Reese Witherspoon Movie HD

Was Cheryl pregnant in Wild?

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.

How old was Cheryl Strayed when she did the PCT?

During the hike she was 26 years old, on the trail alone, and fleeing the demons of divorce, heroin, and the untimely loss of her mother to cancer.

How many miles a day did Cheryl Strayed walk?

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.

How much did Cheryl Strayed make from Wild?

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.”

Where is the Bridge at the end of the movie Wild?

The Bridge of the Gods is a steel truss cantilever bridge that spans the Columbia River between Cascade Locks, Oregon, and Washington state near North Bonneville. It is approximately 40 miles (64 km) east of Portland, Oregon, and 4 miles (6.4 km) upriver from Bonneville Dam.

How long does it take to hike 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.

Why did they shoot the horse in wild?

Ruling: Fact

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.

What was the personal tragedy in wild?

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life.

Was strayed well prepared for this trip?

Despite being a newbie, Strayed didn't go into the hike blindly. She ensured she knew where fresh water would be available and packed smartly, including food, a tent for shelter, a water filter, warm clothing, emergency supplies, and a loud whistle to scare off bears.

How much money do I need to hike the PCT?

For most people, $9,500 is still a lot of money, even for the adventure of a lifetime. On a 5-month trip, it represents almost $2,000 per month.

Did Cheryl Strayed get her degree?

Her books have been translated into 26 languages around the world. Cheryl Strayed holds an MFA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota.

Did Reese Witherspoon train for 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.

Which is better PCT or Appalachian?

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.

How many miles a day does the average thru hiker walk?

Most hikers walk between 14 and 20 miles on any given day of their thru-hike.

How did Cheryl Strayed meet her current husband?

Nine days after she finished her hike on the PCT, Strayed met Brian Lindstrom at a Tex-Mex restaurant called Esparza's, just down the street from where they now live.

Who is the oldest woman to hike the PCT?

Mary E. Davison – trail name “Medicare Pastor” – is the Old Lady on the Trail, and proud of it. A retired pastor and grandmother of ten, she began long distance backpacking at age 60 and completed her Triple Crown (walking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail) 16 years later.

Why did Strayed write Wild?

“ Wild is built on the savage sorrow I had, the grief, the things that messed my life up,” says Strayed, who, while hiking the PCT, was coping with her divorce, recovery from her brief heroin addiction, and her mother's death from lung cancer.