Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Book 36 - Wild


I loved this book so much I want to give it a big hug. I was expecting to enjoy it, as I love stories about adventures in the wilderness such as "Into the Wild", "Into Thin Air", "In the Path of an Avalanche"  and now after reading this one, I will be sure to seek out more of these types of tales as they speak to a big part of me that really loves the outdoors.


"Wild" is the tale of Cheryl Strayed who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail  a long distance hiking trail that goes all the way from Mexico to Canada. Strayed hikes only a portion of this trail, bur still covers an impressive amount of miles for an inexperienced hiker. 

Devastated by the death of her mother, Strayed makes a series of poor choices which leads to the end of her marriage. Looking for a new perspective and some direction in her life, she decides to hike the PCT. She quits her waitressing job, sells many of her possessions and takes off on this momentous journey all alone. 

Although she meets many people along the way, she mainly travels alone as that is one of her main goals. She struggles every day with pain from her large back pack and her ill fitting boots. She considers quitting several times but manages to carry on. 

Strayed wrote this book in such a way that I felt that I was right there with her. I loved this book so much that I stayed up late to finish reading it last night. I had a 7 day superloan from the library but I read it in just 2 days. 

 "Wild" has really inspired me. I am now planning a canoe trip for next summer. Maybe some day I will take a long distance hike as well. There are so many beautiful places to see in this world and a lot of them are right here in my home province. 

When searching for the book cover above, I found these photos from Strayed's hike and some from her past as well. I wish these had been included in the book as it adds a lot to her tale to see some of the spots she is describing as well as shots of herself along her way.



No comments:

Post a Comment