Wild (2014)

In June 1995, despite a lack of hiking experience, recent divorcée Cheryl Strayed leaves Minneapolis, Minnesota, to hike 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of the 2,650-mile (4,260 km) Pacific Crest Trail on a journey of self-discovery and healing. During the hike, Strayed reflects in flashbacks on her childhood in Minnesota and memories of her mother, Bobbi Grey. Bobbi’s death from cancer sent Cheryl into a deep depression that she tried to numb with heroin and anonymous sex, eventually destroying her marriage to her husband Paul. After finding out she was pregnant, she got an abortion and resolved to hike the trail to redeem herself.

Strayed begins her trek in the Mojave Desert in Southern California with her backpack. On the first night, she discovers she has brought the wrong type of gas for her stove and is therefore unable to cook food. After a few more days, Strayed meets Frank, a farmer and construction worker who takes her in for the night and with his wife offers her a home-cooked meal and a warm shower. Strayed meets a hiker named Greg who agrees to meet her at Kennedy Meadows, California. Upon arrival, she meets Ed, a camper who helps her strategically lighten her overweight backpack and replace her undersized hiking boots with a new pair, to be delivered to a future stop on the trail. Strayed continues her hike into the Sierra Nevada despite Greg’s warnings of deep snowfall