More PCT Media reviews…

Are You Ready to Hike the Pacific Crest Trail? by Jim Hill ★★★ Read on Kindle
I have already read (and reviewed) several chronicles of people who hiked the PCT. I selected this since it was highly recommended on Amazon.com, and was done by a person close to my age. Jim had already hiked the Appalachian Trail, and wrote a book on it. I presume he will next hike the Continental Divide Trail and write a book. Jim writes well, and it is fun to follow his story. He doesn’t talk much about planning the hike or decision making during the hike, and tends to lapse on details about the trail that would have been quite easy to chronicle. He spends minimal time describing how he approached various problems on the hike, such as water in the desert (just “toughed it out since I was from New Mexico”)  food issues, bear and critter issues, river fording, or issues of communication. You learn a lot about a dental problem half way through the hike, and other trivial problems that Jim deals with. The result is book that is not terribly helpful at helping one plan a complete hike. The story is fairly uneventful (which one would want when the thru-hike the PCT) and so lacks in those qualities which make a book a gripping tale.  It is nice to see that an old goat like myself can comfortably do the PCT, and for that, it was an inspiration.

Lip-Smackin’ Backpackin’, by Christine and Tim Conners ★★★★
This book is mostly a cookbook for trail food. Many of the recipes called for much home preparation, including using a food dehydrator, and a few expected a modest amount of attention to the stove while on the trail. Many of the recipes were not particularly appealing to me, but probably would do fine on a hike, as we all learn that one’s appetite changes quite extremely once one is in on a trail for more than a week. Thus, some of these recipes will definitely be worth trying out. The greatest value in this book is the first 42 pages, where the authors talk about planning and preparing meals for the “big” hike. With those concepts in mind, it would not be challenging to come up with a set of one’s own recipes for a successful trail gourmet.
Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon, based on the book by the same name, authored by Cheryl Strayed★★★
This is movie that Betsy and I watched on DVD, and is apparently based on a true story. Reese does a good acting job, and quite hilarious at times, such as her first attempt to put on her massively overweight backpack. I give the movie four stars for the acting and cinema photography, and one star for the story line itself. It  is not a book that I would be interested in reading. Cheryl apparently was living a rather screwed up life in Minnesota, and decided to take a long hike on the PCT to resolve issues such as problem marital and sexual relationships, the death of a mother, and drug addiction. In spite of very poor mechanisms for resolving problems (such as losing a shoe), she amazingly survives the trail, and completes the PCT from Mojave to Cascade Locks. I did not enjoy watching a pathological person behaving in a pathological fashion… it wasn’t cute. I did enjoy Reese’s acting, and the filming was phenomenal. It makes me want to do the trail some day before I get too old.