It’s a very snowy weekend here. We’re sitting inside reflecting on a recent winter experience: cross country skiing! Chris helped code the Home Ranch’s new website and as an extra thank you, they gave us a complimentary two-night stay.
Our favorite part was that we could borrow gear and ski as much as we wanted on their 20 miles of groomed trails. Strangely enough, we’d each cross country skied exactly once before — both many years ago, both in Michigan, and each with an aunt. Those trips happened so long ago that we had to re-learn everything. It felt like a totally new experience. Trying something for the first time, like kids do, is so much fun! We fell a few times, but smiled a lot.
The movie Wild will soon draw many new day hikers, section hikers, and thru hikers to the Pacific Crest Trail. With the release of the movie, we decided to compare Cheryl Strayed’s hike to an actual Pacific Crest Trail thru hike from Mexico to Canada. Here are 10 ways the movie was true to our PCT thru hiking experience, and 10 ways it strayed from the path.
Wild was right about:
Adventure. One reason thru hiking is so great is that it’s a big adventure. Every day on the trail there are unexpected moments, surprising encounters with animals and people, or incredible new landscapes. The movie got this right — a thru hike isn’t always easy, but it’s exciting and new.
Crossing a creek on the PCT
Trail angels. We’ve never received so much kindness from strangers as we did during our PCT thru hike. Called “trail angels” in the hiking community, these wonderful people offer free food, places to sleep, showers, rides to trailheads, and anything else a hiker might desire.
Timberline Lodge buffet
Hiker hunger. A thru hiker needs to eat about 4000 calories every day, which results in a ravenous appetite. Everything tastes good, and more of everything tastes better. We even started calling peanut M&Ms “magic energy gems”. After eating lots of dehydrated food, fresh fruit is an object of special desire. A ripe peach, as Cheryl was seen eyeing in Wild, will blow your mind.
Trail registers. Thru hikers use trail registers to keep track of each other, share wisdom, and leave a bit of laughter for those who follow on the trail. Some hikers leave quotes like Cheryl did, while others write whatever comes to mind.
Hitchhiking. Thru hikers have to hitchhike occasionally in order to reach towns where they can resupply. When we hitchhiked we met all types of people. As with the Hobo Times scene in Wild, it’s true, people do mistake thru hikers for homeless people.
Wildlife. Spend enough time in the wilderness and you will encounter wild animals. Rattlesnakes are no joke, but their distinctive rattle makes their presence known so you can scoot by at a safe distance, just as Cheryl does in the film. On our thru hike, we also saw several bears, many eagles and hawks, elk, mountain goats, a scorpion, a marten, and much more — but not a single fox, sorry Cheryl.
Free Pacific Crest Trail calendar included with the first 15 PCT photo book orders received, starting right now!
Pacific Crest Trail book and calendar
The calendar features images from our coffee table book, Pacific Crest Trail: A Journey in Photographs. We’re honored to work with Shapco (the same company that printed our book) to create this calendar. Based in Minneapolis, Shapco prints books and art exhibition catalogs for some of the top museums and galleries in the world. Their print quality is second to none. They also understand that sustainability is key, printing on environmentally friendly paper using wind-powered presses.
Having seen and loved our photographs while printing the book, Shapco approached us asking if they could print a calendar for their clients using some of the same photos. We just received the final result, and it’s beautiful. This calendar will make you feel like you’re out on the trail every day with its grand landscapes, subtle details, and perfect color fidelity.
Hanging PCT calendar
And of course, our book is of the same high quality as the calendar. It’s even 25% off for the holidays right now. For more information on the book, to view sample pages, and to order, please visit our Pacific Crest Trail: A Journey in Photographs book page. The 2015 PCT calendar is a great bonus that you can’t get anywhere else.
Thank you for doing your holiday shopping with us instead of at the big box stores!
Note: We aren’t selling this exclusive calendar individually. If you already have our PCT book, but want the calendar, now is the time to gift the book to your favorite Wild fan or hiking buddy.
Wandering the Wild 