A chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.
With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthen, and ultimately heals her.—Fox Searchlight
1995. Cheryl Strayed - the surname to which she had recently legally changed, and chosen specifically to reflect her life at the time - has just left her Minnesota home to hike solo the over one thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, south to north, despite having no hiking experience, that inexperience which shows along the way. If she is able to complete the hike, it should take her approximately three months. She is doing so in an effort to find herself, her life which started to take a downward spiral following the premature death of her loving mother, Bobbi Grey, four years earlier. Bobbi long ago left her abusive husband, Cheryl and her younger brother Leif's father, struggling to eke out of life for the three of them, but always living their lives with love and support. Bobbi's death led to Cheryl trying to cope with the emotional pain by drug use - specifically heroin - and indiscriminate sex, which in turn led to the break up of her marriage. Paul, her now ex-husband, is still her biggest source of human support, along with her best friend, Aimee, who plans to send her additional provisions at various points along the trail. Beyond battling the elements, the physical pain and some unexpected other threats, Cheryl still has to emerge from the other side metaphorically to find something that will get her back on track in life.—Huggo
Cheryl was just 22 years old when her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) died of cancer in 1991. As children, Cheryl and her brother watched their mother endure intense suffering at the hands of their mentally and physically abusive father, and Bobbi was just getting her life together when she fell gravely ill. The loss was too much for Cheryl to take, and before long she sank so deeply into heroin addiction that it destroyed her marriage. Four years later, Cheryl has hit rock bottom. She knows that unless she makes a change, the future she had once hoped for will slip permanently out of reach. Later, as Cheryl begins her arduous journey through the wilderness, those painful memories come flooding back as she encounters numerous dangers and disheartening setbacks. However, the kindness of strangers helps her summon the courage and endurance she'll need to stay the path..
Left with nothing, and while still grappling with addiction, the grief-stricken twentysomething, Cheryl Strayed, plucks up the courage to embark on a cathartic journey of self-enlightenment. Having no prior experience, and with the bare-minimum equipment, Cheryl decides to begin the arduous, life-altering 1,000-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, utterly unprepared for the physical and mental hardships that lie ahead. Now, a woman alone before the rugged beauty of the untamed wilderness attempts to go above and beyond her limits, conquering the solitary trek to freedom one step at a time. Will the long and treacherous path bring redemption to Cheryl's pain?—Nick Riganas
In 1995, Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) decides to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone as a way to heal herself following her divorce, the death of her mother Barbara Grey (Laura Dern), and years of reckless, destructive behavior.The film presents a multi-linear narrative, presenting events from Cheryl's hike in chronological order, with frequent flashbacks to earlier points in her life, featuring her (as a child, teenager, and young adult), her mother and brother Leif (Keene McRae), her former husband Pual (Thomas Sadoski), and other people she has known.
Before starting the hike, Cheryl checks into a motel & provides her last known address as that to be of her ex-husband. At the motel she packs her gear, which gets really heavy & then hits the trail the next day, fully intending to cover 1000 miles in 3 months. On day 8 Cheryl runs out of food and fuel & has to take the highway to locate some place to have food and to restock. She meets Frank (W. Earl Brown), who is working in the wilderness & asks him for food. Frank takes Cheryl home, where his wife gives her a decent dinner. Cheryl already has bruises all over her body. She re-stocks & rejoins the trail the next day.
She then meets Greg (Kevin Rankin), who has been hiking alongside Cheryl & much faster. He tells her to avoid the Sierra Mountain range, which has witnessed the heaviest snowfall in a decade.
She remembers her youth when she was on drugs and had sex with boyfriend Joe (Ray Buckley) who got her pregnant, & Cheryl was so angry that she got an abortion. On day 14, Cheryl reaches Kennedy Meadows (100 miles from start point) where Greg is already waiting for her. Ed (Cliff DeYoung) is a helper at Kennedy Meadows and help Cheryl figure out that her boots are too tight & her backpack too heavy. She then remembers the time when her mother was diagnosed with spine cancer & given only a few months to live.
On the trail, she meets Jimmy Carter (Mo McRae) who interviews hobos. Day 32 & Cheryl is deep in snow covered mountains & lost for a while. She emerges out of snow & loses her toenail on the rugged mountain terrain. She loses her shoes & is angry as she is reminded of the time when her mother decided to donate her corneas before her death without telling or consulting Cheryl. Cheryl fashions temp boots out of sandals and duct tape & makes it to her next pit stop at 600 miles on day 49. She gets her new boots (the ones she ordered in Kennedy Meadows).
Cheryl meets Stacy (Cathryn De Prume) at the 2nd pit stop, who is also hiking the PCT. Stacy tells Cheryl that Greg quit the trail in the snow mountains. Cheryl is proud that she is still there.She then remembers her time in $10/hour therapy with her therapist (Randy Schulman) after her mum died. The therapist tries to counsel Cheryl out of drug use & from having sex with random strangers. Cheryl remembers that she was married to Paul at the time & Paul eventually found out about her sex & drug binges. Paul confronts her & when Cheryl refuses to change, he initiates divorce proceedings against her.
Cheryl enters a long desert & quickly runs out of water. The water tank in the middle of the trail, supposed to hold water, turns out to be empty. She finds a water body & meets TJ (Charles Baker) a threatening hunter. TJ leaves her alone in the day but stalks her & comes around just before nighttime & makes rude sexist remarks. Cheryl is scared & is saved by TJ's partner who comes around pulling TJ away back to the hunt. Day 62, she reaches Oregon. In Ashland she meets & sleeps with Jonathan (Michiel Huisman). In Ashland she received a package from her best friend Aimee (Gaby Hoffmann), which encourages her to enjoy a well-deserved rest. Eventually she moves on to cover the remaining 300 miles to her end point.
On the trail there is a store which has another package with fresh supplies waiting for Cheryl. The Ranger (Brian Van Holt) does a huge favor for Cheryl by opening the store after it was closed. She meets a few young men, who has been following Cheryl's notes on the trail books & is a huge fan. Cheryl enjoys a drink with his group for a night. She also meets Kyle (Evan Toole) a young boy trekking in the wood with his grandmother (Anne Gee Byrd).
On day 94, Cheryl completes the hike & walks across the Bridge of Gods.
