Saturday, May 3, 2014, 2:00 PM, San Leandro Main Library

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed was born in 1968 in Pennsylvania, and much of her biography was referred to in Wild, how her family moved to Minnesota when she was 5, how her mother divorced her abusive father and later married her hippie handyman stepfather and the family moved to the extreme boonies of Minnesota to live on a 40-acre in a hand-built house without electricity or running water. In Wikipedia, it also mentions that the young Cheryl was a track and cross-country runner as well as a cheerleader and homecoming queen. Knowing Wikipedia, this may or may not be true, but it fits my prejudices, so I'm going to go with it.

In the book, she details how her mother's diagnosis of lung cancer and subsequent rapid deterioration and death, which happened during Cheryl's senior year of college. This was the central crisis of her young life, which sent her into a self-destructive spiral which culminated in her sudden decision to put her life on hold and spend a summer hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the hike which forms the backbone of her memoir. I borrowed the two videos below from her official web site.



From 2010 to 2012, Cheryl Strayed also had another identity as "Dear Sugar," the advice columnist for "The Rumpus," which is an online literary magazine. Strayed revealed her secret identity in 2012 about the time that Wild was published.

A Scenic Tour of the Pacific Crest Trail 

Tehachapi Pass

This is where Cheryl Strayed began her trek.

Kennedy Meadows

This is the "gateway to the high Sierras," the place where Strayed picked up her first resupply box, was given lessons in lightening her pack and using an ice axe, and shortly after which she decided to bypass the high Sierras because of snow.

Sierra City

This is where she got back on the trail.

Belden Town

This is Mt. Lassen, the volcanic peak that Strayed describes as being visible from the trail as she neared Belden Town and her second supply box. It was on the stretch of trail right before Belden that she received her Bob Marley t-shirt from Paco the firefighter, and it was in Belden that she waited in vain for her new boots (a size larger) to arrive from REI. 

Burney Falls to Castle Crags

It was near Burney Falls that Cheryl lost one of her old, too small hiking boots down the side of a ravine and threw the other over after it. She was forced to make the next leg of the hike in sandals and duct tape until she arrived at Castle Crags where her new (one size larger) boots were waiting.

On a personal note, Castle Crags was just a few miles from the campground where I used to attend summer camp and youth retreats as a teenager. We had a great view of Mt. Shasta from there, as did Cheryl Strayed from the Pacific Crest Trail.

Seiad Meadows (near the Oregon border)

This is near where Cheryl met Miriam, Kyle, and "Shooting Star," the llama.

Ashland, Oregon

Lovely city in which Strayed took a break from hiking and got to have sex for the first time in weeks.

Crater Lake

Shelter Cove Resort on Odell Lake

Where she found she had failed to pack $20 in her resupply box and where whe met the "Three Young Bucks."

The Three Sisters

Mount Jefferson Wilderness

Three-Fingered Jack Mountain

It was shortly after passing this landmark that she encountered the creepy "slob-hunters."

Olallie Lake

Where she claimed her final resupply box along with the $20 that should have been in the box at Shelter Cove.

Cascade Locks

Cheryl Strayed (AKA the Queen of the PCT) reaches the Columbia River and the Bridge of the Gods, the endpoint of her hike.

UPDATE—The Poetry of Adrienne Rich

In Wild, Cheryl Strayed frequently refers to a poetry book she brought along and which survived the whole trek without being burned as it was read. That book was The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich. Beverly has thoughtfully provided us with some links to online resources related to Adrienne Rich.

1. Rich's biography page on poets.org.
2. A blog post on Not Your Mama's Bookshelf with the Adrienne Rich poem, "Power."
3. Rich's biography page on the Poetry Foundation's website (with bibliography).
4. A memorial column in The Nation, containing five of Rich's poems.