Wild

by

Cheryl Strayed

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Wild: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
As Cheryl makes her way towards Crater Lake—which, before a “cataclysmic eruption” 7,700 years ago, was known as Mount Mazama—she is excited to see the huge, beautiful landmark. She is using a new guidebook—The Pacific Crest Trail, Volume 2: Oregon and Washington, and slowly adjusting to the differences between the Oregonian landscape and the Californian one. Oregon is much more forested, and some PCT hikers refer to it as the “green tunnel.” Though it’s only mid-August, most of Cheryl’s days, weather-wise, feel closer to October, and she must constantly stay on the move in order to keep warm.
Being in Oregon at last makes Cheryl feel renewed and refreshed. She has traversed an entire state’s worth of mountains and valleys and can feel her goals growing closer and closer with each passing day.
Themes
Nature and Humanity Theme Icon
One morning, as Cheryl wakes, she realizes with a heavy heart what day it is: August 18th, her mother’s birthday. If she had lived, Cheryl thinks, her mother would be fifty years old. Cheryl is filled with a deep rage as she wishes her mother had lived to turn fifty. As she hikes onwards, Cheryl tries to think of all the mistakes her mother made while parenting Cheryl and her siblings—smoking marijuana in front of them, hitting them with a wooden spoon, and failing to help Cheryl explore different options for college. Cheryl begins telling herself that her mother failed her—but her anger turns to sadness, and soon she is weeping for how “awful” things have turned out. 
When confronted with a new wave of grief, Cheryl tries to stave it off by attempting to ruin her mother’s memory within her own mind and focus on rage and hatred rather than sorrow. This is still an effort to numb her grief—but Cheryl cannot get very far with these kinds of tactics anymore before breaking down and realizing she must confront the truth of what she’s actually feeling.
Themes
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
Healing vs. Redemption Theme Icon
After Cheryl’s mother died, Cheryl and her siblings had her cremated. The ashes were not what Cheryl expected—they were not fine like sand but instead gravely, with chunks of bone mixed in. Cheryl recalls placing some of the pieces of bone in her mouth and swallowing them whole during the process of spreading her mother’s ashes.
This passage speaks to the depths of Cheryl’s grief in the wake of her mother’s death, and how ravenous she remained for any connection at all to her mother in spite of the woman’s passing.
Themes
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
That night, as Cheryl makes camp, she has released her anger. She realizes that her mother was a “spectacular” mom, and for the first time in years, she allows herself to think of her mother’s name: Barbara, or Bobbi for short. As Cheryl thinks of her mother as Bobbi, she begins to understand that she was more than just a mother—she was a woman unto herself, and now, Cheryl mourns that loss as well.
This moment represents a huge breakthrough in Cheryl’s psychological journey. Up until now, she has been referring to her mother as only her mother—she hasn’t allowed herself to see Bobbi as a full, independent woman with a life that was rich in many ways independent from her status as a mother. Cheryl is beginning to accept her mother—and mourn her—holistically.
Themes
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
Healing vs. Redemption Theme Icon
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Cheryl hikes onwards for several more days, and at last she arrives at the large campground at the base of Crater Lake. Cheryl is taken aback by the deep, pure blue of the water and stunned by the “sacred” power the lake seems to radiate. After her visit to the lake, Cheryl returns to the campground for the night—it is Sunday, and she needs to wait until tomorrow to collect her package from the post office. That night, she spends time thinking about her mother—and how much of her life she has spent trying not to become like her.
Cheryl’s visit to Crater Lake soothes and inspires her, and helps her to think critically about her relationship with her mother for the first time in years. Cheryl is able to admit to her mother’s shortcomings—and her own—without condemning either her mother or herself. She can see that she and her mother are and were both simply women trying their best to survive.
Themes
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
Healing vs. Redemption Theme Icon
Nature and Humanity Theme Icon
The next day, Cheryl eats lunch and then sits on a long porch at the Crater Lake Lodge, overlooking the vast blue lake. Though she has 334 miles left to go until she reaches the Bridge of the Gods, she feels as if she has “arrived.” As she looks out at the lake, which was once Mazama—a mountain that had its “heart removed” and turned into a “wasteland”—Cheryl can’t picture any of the emptiness or barrenness that was once here, and can instead see only the “stillness and silence” of the beautiful water. 
Crater Lake serves as a metaphor for healing—how beauty, sacredness, and tranquility can come of massive destruction and seemingly endless barrenness.
Themes
Loss and Grief Theme Icon
Healing vs. Redemption Theme Icon
Nature and Humanity Theme Icon
Quotes