Not sure how we got on to the thing but we have now both seen the DVD of 'Wild' three times and read the book one time. A solo walk, by a young woman, of a good chunk of the Pacific Crest trail, a trail which runs from the Mexican border through to the Canadian border. 1995 or so, twenty years ago, well before the internet is was it is now.
On which, this morning I found the rather flashy web site at reference 2. As well as some rather flashy photography, I also came across a section where you are strongly advised not to do it alone, that there is safety in numbers. I suppose the catch with that is that if you are planning on doing the whole thing, you need to get on with someone pretty well to shut yourself up with them for the duration, as it were. I remember another long distance walker, possibly Ffyona Campbell, who made it to the media, explaining that she and her partner used to walk a couple of hundred yards apart for some of the time just to give themselves a break from each other. And then there is the likelihood that you do such a thing to get away into the wilderness, to get away from the real world. That the whole point is to be by yourself.
Which brings me back to Cheryl Strayed. As far as I can make out she did her 1,000 miles or whatever her distance was, more or less by herself. She must have been some combination of very driven and very tough - an odd combination for someone who has dabbled in serious drugs. I think she must also have been lucky.
She appears to have started out with no prior experience of serious walking. She had not broken her feet and boots in and she did not know what to pack. Her pack, although she does not give a weight, appears to have been far too heavy. I did not run down any clear advice in google, reference 3 notwithstanding, but I would have thought that around 20kg was about as much as one would want to carry on such a jaunt, while the impression given was that she was carrying something closer to her own weight, which is far too much. She seems to have had trouble with her feet for pretty much the whole hundred days or so and I think she was lucky not to have broken down - or fallen down and damaged an ankle or something - and died on the trail. I guess there is sometimes a fine line to be drawn between the foolhardy and the brave.
Then there is the weighty question of water. In the course of what little serious hill walking I have done, one did not need to bother about water. One maybe carried a pint or so for use during the day but one always had potable water lying around at the end of the day, be that in pond or tap. Whereas on this trail you might have to walk (in considerable heat in this account) for several days between water holes - and then have to carry purification gear.
Altogether a strange business, but I can see the pull. I can see why one might want to do such a thing and admire the achievement of someone who has. And one does get an echo of that achievement from both film and book. Both now residing on my shelf of books about south poles, mountains and the far north.
PS: the long distance walkers that I don't care for are the ones who have themselves accompanied by an invisible camera crew and support truck. That. to my mind, is faking it. Whereas 'Wild' says film on the box.
Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/at-bake-two-flans.html.
Reference 2: http://www.pcta.org/.
Reference 3: http://www.backpacking.net/tips.html.
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