Wild Character Analysis

Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is a writer, advice columnist, and memoirist whose 1995 summer-long trek along the Pacific Coast Trail—or the PCT—became the basis for her breakout memoir Wild. In the wake of her mother Bobbi… read analysis of Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl’s Mother/Bobbi

Cheryl’s mother—whose name is revealed very late in the book to be Bobbi—is a “forty-five-year-old vegetarian-ish […] natural-remedy-using nonsmoker” when she is diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. Cheryl is devastated and perplexed by the… read analysis of Cheryl’s Mother/Bobbi

Paul

Cheryl’s ex-husband and best friend. Though Cheryl and Paul are divorced by the time she sets out on the PCT, they still have a deep affection for one another. Their marriage—full of love and… read analysis of Paul

Lisa

Cheryl’s best female friend. Lisa lives in Portland and is the one to organize and send Cheryl’s care packages to the various stops Cheryl is making along the PCT. Though Lisa is only glimpsed… read analysis of Lisa

Eddie

Cheryl’s stepfather. A kind, hardworking carpenter several years Bobbi’s junior, Eddie was the one to instill in Cheryl and her siblings a love of nature and the outdoors when they were still young… read analysis of Eddie

Leif

Cheryl’s younger brother. Something of a ne’er-do-well, Leif is in his late teens at the start of the story and deeply emotional. He’s unable to reckon with the fact that his mother is dying… read analysis of Leif

Karen

Cheryl’s older sister. A well-meaning but sensitive woman who is unable to confront or deal with their mother’s illness and death, and only visits Bobbi once in the hospital during her struggle with cancer… read analysis of Karen

Joe

Cheryl’s ex-boyfriend. A Portlander and heroin addict, the charismatic Joe talks Cheryl into snorting and smoking—then later on, shooting—his drug of choice. Joe is a bad influence on Cheryl, but she spends nearly a… read analysis of Joe

Greg

A hiker on the PCT who is a friend and source of inspiration and motivation to Cheryl. The two of them journey together to bypass the Sierras after Kennedy Meadows, but lose track of… read analysis of Greg

Albert

A man hiking the PCT with his younger son Matt. Albert and Matt cross paths with Cheryl for a while along the trail until they contract giardia around Kennedy Meadows and are forced to… read analysis of Albert

Doug

A hiker on the PCT. He and Cheryl become fast friends, and he gives her a raven feather as a symbol of their friendship—the symbol serves as a touchstone for Cheryl throughout her travels, and… read analysis of Doug

Stacy and Trina

Two close friends hiking the PCT together. Kind, funny, friendly, and helpful, the two women stick together throughout their travels until Trina leaves the trail before reaching Oregon. Stacy later gets off the trail just… read analysis of Stacy and Trina

Jonathan

A musician whom Cheryl meets while on a detour in Ashland, Oregon. There is an instant attraction between them, and they go on a date and eventually have sex during Cheryl’s layover. Jonathan is an… read analysis of Jonathan

The Three Young Bucks

A group of three young men named Rick, Josh, and Richie who are hiking the entire length of the PCT together. Cheryl loves their youthful energy and harbors tiny crushes on each of them—and is… read analysis of The Three Young Bucks

The Sandy-Haired Man

A creepy bow hunter whom Cheryl meets in the woods. While Cheryl helps him and his friend purify water from a lake, he begins hitting on her—and even after they part ways, he returns to… read analysis of The Sandy-Haired Man

Minor Characters

Aimee

One of Cheryl’s friends in Minneapolis.

Frank

A kindly miner who lets Cheryl spend the night at his and his wife’s home after she struggles with her stove and food supply on an early stretch of the PCT down in the Mojave.

Matt

Albert’s son.

Tom

Doug’s hiking partner on the PCT.

Christine and Jeff

A couple staying at the Packer Lake Lodge who offer Cheryl some hospitality and some food and express their admiration for her bravery in taking on the PCT. Avid readers, Christine and Jeff trade books with Cheryl so that she’ll have some new reading material on her journey.

Brent

A kindly hiker whom Cheryl meets and bonds with during her stopover at Belden Town at the foot of the Sierra Nevada.

Jimmy Carter

A bizarre man who claims to be a writer for a publication called the Hobo Times. He tries to interview Cheryl about her “hobo” lifestyle in spite of her repeated protestations that she’s a hiker, not a bum.

Spider

A tough-looking, sweet-talking biker who, along with his partner Lou, offers Cheryl a ride while she’s hitching on a detour from the PCT.

Lou

Spider’s fiancée. She and Cheryl bond over their shared losses, brief though their meeting is.

Rex

A hiker on the PCT who becomes one of Cheryl’s on-and-off companions. Gregarious, gay, and adventurous, Rex is an experienced hiker and the person to inform Cheryl about REI’s free boot exchange program—saving her feet and her spirit at a crucial point in her journey.

Susanna

A Swedish hippie in Ashland, Oregon who offers Cheryl a foot massage. Rather than being disgusted or upset by Cheryl’s battered feet, she commends Cheryl on her “animal” spirit and her hard-won bumps and bruises.

Clyde

A hippie who lives a rambling existence, spending a few months out of the year in a tent on the PCT and the rest of his time living out of a milk truck in Ashland, Oregon.

Guy

A ranger at the Olallie Lake Resort.

Sarah

A woman whom Cheryl meets while hiking the Pacific Coast Trail.

Wild Characters