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Wild Ideas Worth Living: Cheryl Strayed

Shelby Stanger|
Cheryl Strayed on hiking, getting outside, being kind and writing like a MOFO.

Cheryl Strayed is the author of #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild about her trek along the Pacific Crest Trail. The book was adapted into an Oscar-nominated movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.

In addition to writing Wild, Cheryl also wrote the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, as well as her first novel, Torch. She is the co-host of Dear Sugar, an advice column turned WBUR podcast, and a true force of nature.

Cheryl’s wild idea: To share her story of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, encourage others to get outside, share their stories, and embrace kindness.

On this episode, we talk about hiking, how to choose your best adventure, how to make better decisions about what to do with your life, the party she’d throw and so much more. I have wanted to interview Cheryl since I read her first book, so this was a real treat. I hope you enjoy this show. *Please note, we are taking next week off, which is important for living wildly.

Listen to this episode if:

  • You love Cheryl Strayed.
  • You want to go on a big adventure.
  • You’ve ever thought about being a writer of any kind.
  • You love hiking.
  • You think the world needs more kindness.
Shelby Stanger
Shelby Stanger

Shelby has paddled a remote portion of the Amazon River, surfed from Tofino to Tavarua, and interviewed countless CEOs, entrepreneurs and pro athletes on assignment for international brands and publications from Outside Magazine to Vans. Her Wild Ideas Worth Living podcast amplifies adventure narratives, and empowers others to live their passions and get outside. See more of Shelby on her website or follow her on Instagram. REI member since 1996.

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22 Comments

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    • Aer Parris

      Zach,

      Thanks for the question. We’ve fixed it now.

      Best,
      Aer, staff writer

      Reply
  5. Angie

    Cheryl Strayed still has not explained what she got out of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. And remember, she only hiked a portion of it. Shortly after publishing her book, she went on a book tour. Having met her on one of those, I asked if she still hiked. The answer was no. It is great that some people were inspired by her story, but she has also encouraged people to get outdoors and “wing” it. Not smart at all!!! REI is one of my favorite outdoor stores to shop at, and I find the staff to be more than knowledgeable and helpful. Don’t understand why Cheryl did not take their advice. Sometimes I wonder if Cheryl even stepped foot on the PCT. When reading her book, I felt that I was rereading A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson, and A Million Little Pieces by Stephen Frey. I felt that her book/story was not an original….fiction. I hope those looking for inspiration will look elsewhere.

    Reply
    • Alby

      Angie, I totally agree with you! Many times I have run across people backpacking that were inspired by Wild and have NO idea what they are getting into and are potentials for error. The backcountry etiquette requires us to help when someone is in need and there seems to be more people out there that may fall (no pun intended) into that category. Cheryl had NO idea what she was getting into as portrayed in the movie. Scary. REI offers beginning backpacking opportunities to learn how to be safe and have fun; that is where to start, or go with friends that really know what to do.

      Reply
      • Angie

        Totally agree! I spend a lot of time hiking and backpacking, and so often come across people who have no clue what they are doing. They put themselves in jeopardy and the ones that try to help them. Nature is a wonderful place to “heal”, stay healthy…mentally and physically…just do it right! Nature can be cruel…but only if you don’t know how to deal with the elements.

        Reply
      • Steve

        I actually took the book as a cautionary tale of what not to do at times. I was inspired by her effort but went to great lengths to learn all I could about the best practices.

        Reply
    • Ray

      I think you’re missing the point. Wild is not a book of advice about going outdoors, or tips to conquer the PCT – that is not why it was written. It’s a book about Ceryl Strayed’s journey dealing with grief and coming to terms with her life.
      I believe it’s a great book to seek inspiration, and if you want advice on backpacking, maybe stop searching for it in memoirs.

      Reply
      • Angie

        Never, ever, at any point in her book, did Cheryl admit that at the end of her time on the portion of the PCT that she hiked, did she ever comes to terms with her life or deal with her grief. Not once did she say that taking on this adventure helped her heal!

        Reply
    • Ike

      The Wild is not a guide book of PCT. I took fun, not info, out of reading it through. Like hiking, which shows same views of mountains and valleys over and over, yet fun to walk through and finish it, so the Wild was — almost same story over and over through the chapters (or as you may say, similar to other books), still it was fun to read through and finish it. I can respect her as a writer not necessarily a Queen of the PCT.

      Reply
      • Robert

        In case you haven’t already, LISTEN to the podcast. It is not about backpacking, rather THIS… Unfortunately, many of us “hear what we want to hear and disregard the rest.” (credit: Paul Simon)

        Reply
    • Sarah L

      I think she explained very well in her book what she gained from her experience. Regardless, it shouldn’t matter to anyone because everyone’s experience will be their own. You sound almost angry that she brought attention to the PCT and hiking in general. Her story IS inspiring people to go out and experience the outdoors. Which is a good thing. At no point did she hide the fact that she was unprepared or inexperienced. At no point did she claim to hike the entire trail. As a matter of fact she made these things abundantly clear. Everyone has to start somewhere. I doubt that you were birthed in the middle of a trail somewhere on the PCT. Anyone reading this book who gets it in their head to take up hiking would more than likely use it as a warning of what not to do as an inexperienced hiker. Point being, ignorant people will do what ignorant people do. Book or no book. You can hardly blame these people’s choices on this one woman’s experience. You literally just sound bitter that there may be more people on the trails disrupting your experience. The way your talking makes me wonder if maybe you actually read the book? Or maybe just watched the movie?

      Reply
      • Heidi

        Some people just have to be snobs and make themselves ‘experts,’ in order to sound like they’re somehow better. Don’t go around bashing others on trails or the outdoors because they don’t have your level of experience. Everyone has to start somewhere and for his or her own reasons. And that experience comes with time and making mistakes. Yes, nature can be unforgiving, but also a great teacher and healer, IF you let it. Cheryl Strayed was a brave woman for what she did on the PCT, AND for putting it on paper with all her honesty and self-deprecating humor and the pain that was in her, and no one has the right to question her motives and her story’s validity. Especially those trail snobs out there who think they stand above the rest, just because they remembered to bring extra socks or are wearing that pair of hiking boots that completes their high-end REI outfit (I love REI, btw.). Cheryl Strayed had other priorities, and I take her as a trail and trail camp companion over the haters ANYTIME.

        Reply
  6. Karen

    A lot of the discussion that I have seen around Cheryl’s journey both here and elsewhere reminds me of that around Elizabeth Gilbert and Eat Pray Love in which many derided her, stating that her experiences of travel was one that many of us could not experience due to a certain ease of access granted to Gilbert via class privilege and white privilege. Which, by the way, Gilbert acknowledged herself within the work itself, and these issues of access and equity are certainly in need of consideration. But does that reality automatically make her journey invalid as a learning experience? It seems an unfair route to take.
    In a similar vein, I have heard Strayed questioned and poked at my many of us in the outdoors community. I have read Wild a number of times and at no point do I recall her ever presenting herself as any sort of expert of the PCT. I don’t remember her presenting her decision to hike the trail alone as anything BUT a desperate (and experientially naive) attempt to come to terms with the death of her mother and consequential budding addictions and divorce. The trail was the means by which she sought to free herself and in no way has ever been presented as a trail guide of any kind. At least that has been my interpretation of her piece. It’s a memoir, not a trail guide.

    Reply
    • Sarah Grothjan

      Hi Karen,
      Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We’ve reuploaded the podcast, so it should work for you now.

      Best,
      Sarah Grothjan, News and Features Writer

      Reply