Apparently you are never supposed to judge a book by it's cover. When I spotted Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed on the shelf of my local library, it caught my attention as soon as I saw the precariously laced hiking boot. I didn't even bother glancing at the back cover, and immediately started reading it, envisioning some sort of 127 Hours/Between a Rock and a Hard Place type story or at least a harrowing tale of survival, fit for Les Stroud's Will to Live. "How far off the beaten path could Cheryl actually stray?" I would joke to myself. Already, Wild is a choice in Oprah's Book Club 2.0, made it to #1 on the New York Time's Bestseller list, and is one of Heather's Picks here in Canada, and made me think that it might be a little less about "survival" and a little more about personal conflict. Turns out I judged this book entirely wrong, but at the same time, surprised at how much I enjoyed the story.

​Wild is a story written by the author about the 1,100 mile journey she takes to find peace on the Pacific Coast Trail after loosing someone in her family. She does mention that she had "roughed it" in the Minnesota north woods when she was younger, but she was not prepared to take on this enormous hike.

Paul asked if she should take a shorter trip. “Don’t you think I can hack it?”. I’d never actually walked into the wilderness with a backpack on and spent the night. Not even once.

Cheryl's bible for the trip was the Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 1 and 2​ (who's sales have probably gone up thanks to this book) which was an impulse buy and it continuously made me think of the Bruce Trail Guidebooks in the blue binders you see at outdoors stores. I enjoyed the 'real-life' elements that outdoor enthusiasts can appreciate such as shopping as REI (The U.S.'s version of MEC), whether or not she should bring her whistle as it might be too much of a burden (oh dear), to some of my favourite moments such as her putting her knapsack on for the first time and naming it. From there the story weaves very well from actually hiking the trail, to flashbacks of events leading up to her hike. The hike itself starts in the Mojave Desert and ends in Ashland, Oregon and I was astonished at its length after finishing the book and looking at the included map. Three months of hiking lead to some interesting tales that range from wildlife, the people she meets along the way, promiscuity, to the physical burdens of such a prolonged hike. There are some cringe-worthy moments in the book (that I'm sure you will want to chat with other readers about) and I think we can all relate to the aggravations of finding water and using water filtration while out in nature. I'm sure many readers (including myself) scorn some of her personal choices in life, but it makes her journey that much more interesting.

I completely recommend reading Wild, ​and I think you will enjoy it, no matter what your 'outdoors book' taste might be. Those that I've shared my copy with have all said that they enjoyed it more than they expected as well. It is 315 pages and is not a very 'heavy' read. Wild is available from most major bookstores, your local library and is on the iTunes iBookstore.​

As a side note, it seems fowl language is pretty common these days, but I wanted to mention that the F-word is used pretty often in this book.​

*Spoiler alert*

Come back and read the following after finishing the book

• ​I had a chuckle after completing the book and reminiscing about the part where her writing teacher was lambasting her choice in reading. While "Wild" isn't one of the classics that will go down in history, it was an enjoyable book to read and has made it to the New York Times' list, etc. It just goes to show that if you have an interesting story to tell, it doesn't matter about 'tastes'.

• The horse fiasco and the part where Cheryl was dealing with the 'remains' of her Mum floored me. Both were completely shocking moments that actually made me go back and re-read them.

• I was caught off guard at the end of the book where she was almost done the trail and was approached by the two men. That last chapter was starting the feel kind of quick and breezy and you could tell the book was wrapping up, so I wasn't expecting such a scary moment​ for Cheryl (and the poor water filter (ha!)). It just shows you that you always have to have your wits about you.

• This was my favourite except from the entire book and I just wanted to share it...​

"It had nothing to do with gear or footwear or the backpacking fads or philosophies of any particular era or even with getting from point A to point B.

It had only to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental."