Wild: Mojave to the Bridge of the Gods

In June 1995, aged 26 and with no hiking experience, Strayed starts alone in the Mojave Desert. Her mother had died of lung cancer in 1991, at 45, and the trail was her answer to that loss. In the film she nicknames her overstuffed pack Monster, and on the first night finds she bought the wrong fuel for her stove, so there is no hot food. The town of Mojave sits right on the trail, below the Tehachapi Mountains.

Location precision: Sources say only that the hike begins in the Mojave Desert; the pin marks the town of Mojave, which sits on the trail.

Visitor guidance: The trail passes through the town of Mojave; this is the dry desert section, so plan water carefully.

Kennedy Meadows, 703 miles from the trail's southern end, is the dividing point between the dry Southern California section and the high passes of the Sierra Nevada. In the film Strayed has arranged to meet a hiker named Greg here. A camper named Ed tells her that her boots are the wrong size and helps lighten her backpack. The settlement lies at about 6,200 feet.

Location precision: The film names only Kennedy Meadows; the pin marks the community, not a particular campsite.

Visitor guidance: The trail passes through Kennedy Meadows, usually reached by Sherman Pass Road from US 395 near Pearsonville.

Ahead lies the High Sierra and its snow. In the film Greg advises her to skip it: she takes a bus to Reno, which lies on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada about 23 miles northeast of Lake Tahoe, and rejoins the trail from there. To make up for the missed miles she decides to extend the hike to the Bridge of the Gods in Oregon. She still meets quite a bit of snow. Reno today is a casino and tourist city.

Location precision: The film names only the city; the pin marks Reno, not the place where she rejoined the trail.

Crossing into Oregon, the film's Strayed goes to Ashland. There she meets a man named Jonathan, who invites her to a tribute concert for the recently deceased Jerry Garcia, and they spend the night together. Ashland is a theatre town: the Oregon Shakespeare Festival grew from performances arranged during the Fourth of July celebration of 1935, and its season now runs from February to October.

Location precision: The film gives no venue for the concert; the pin marks the city centre.

Visitor guidance: The Oregon Shakespeare Festival season runs from February to October.

After Ashland the film's Strayed visits Crater Lake, one of seven national parks the trail passes through. The lake fills a caldera formed about 7,700 years ago when the volcano Mount Mazama collapsed. At 1,949 feet it is the deepest lake in the United States, and no river flows into or out of it: rain and snow keep it full.

Location precision: The film says only that she visits; the pin marks the lake, not her viewpoint.

Visitor guidance: The lake lies in Crater Lake National Park; campgrounds and lodges are open in summer.

In Mount Hood National Forest the film's Strayed meets a group of young male hikers who recognise her from the short quotes and poems she writes beside her signature in the trail registers. Later, on a rainy day, she finds an escaped llama and returns it to a boy hiking with his grandmother. He asks about her parents; when she mentions that her mother is dead, he sings "Red River Valley", and she weeps.

Location precision: The forest covers a large area and the film does not place these scenes; the pin marks the forest, near Mount Hood.

Visitor guidance: The trail crosses the flanks of Mount Hood; Timberline Lodge, built in 1937, stands high on the mountain.

The hike ends where the trail crosses the Columbia River into Washington. The memoir runs from the Mojave Desert to this steel truss bridge between Cascade Locks and Stevenson, and in the film Strayed finally makes it here. The trail's lowest point, 110 feet, lies about a mile north. After the film the toll rose to $2 because of the extra traffic, and to $3 in 2022. Hikers cross in the vehicle lanes.

Visitor guidance: A toll bridge; the trail crosses it on foot in the traffic lanes, so take care.