--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest…" description: "\"“The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet also, like most things, so very simple—was ho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg" --- # The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing… ![“The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet also, like most things, so very simple—was how few choices I had and how often I had to do the thing I least wanted to do. How there was no escape or denial. No numbing it down with a martini…” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg) > ““The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet also, like most things, so very simple—was how few choices I had and how often I had to do the thing I least wanted to do. How there was no escape or denial. No numbing it down with a martini or covering it up with a roll in the hay. As I clung to the chaparral that day, attempting to patch up my bleeding finger, terrified by every sound that the bull was coming back, I considered my options. There were only two and they were essentially the same. I could go back in the direction I had come from, or I could go forward in the direction I intended to go.”” [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When faced with limited options, we must confront discomfort and keep moving toward our intended path. **In simple terms:** Limited choices force us to act despite fear. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort and keep moving forward. Themes resilience adventure decision‑making Mood determined reflective Type personal adventurous When to use this quote - long‑distance hiking - personal crisis - career change - relationship conflict Key Concepts existential choice psychological endurance Questions to Reflect On - What uncomfortable task are you avoiding? - How can you reframe fear as a guide? A Different Perspective The quote ideal the mental toll of isolation and danger, which can overwhelm resolve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crest Trail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crest-trail-3123191/) [Hiking Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hiking-pacific-3123190/) [Thing Hiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-hiking-3123192/) [Trail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trail/) [Trail Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trail-thing-564126/) ## Related quotes > [The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast, and you miss all you are traveling for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/the-trail-is-the-thing-not-the-end-of-the-trail-travel-too-fast-and/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Humans pull together in an odd way when they're in the wilderness. It's astonishing how few people litter and how much they help one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/humans-pull-together-in-an-odd-way-when-they-re-in-the-wilderness-it/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [It must be around forty, when you're "over the hill." I don't even know what that means and why it's a bad thing. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/it-must-be-around-forty-when-you-re-over-the-hill-i-don-t-even-know/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [There are very few things I've done just twice in my life, 40 years apart, and one is to backpack on the Pacific Crest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/there-are-very-few-things-i-ve-done-just-twice-in-my-life-40-years/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [“weren’t things that blazed dully past. They were long, intimate straggles of weeds and clumps of dirt, blades of grass and flowers that bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/weren-t-things-that-blazed-dully-past-they-were-long-intimate/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Every time I set foot on that trail, I feel grateful for the PCTA for doing the work it does to protect and preserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/every-time-i-set-foot-on-that-trail-i-feel-grateful-for-the-pcta-for/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“How fabulous down was for those first minutes! Down, down, down I'd go until down too became impossible and punishing and so relentless that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/how-fabulous-down-was-for-those-first-minutes-down-down-down-i-d-go/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [With our blogs and tweets, digital cameras, and unlimited-gigabyte e-mail archives, participation in the online culture now means creating a trail of always present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/with-our-blogs-and-tweets-digital-cameras-and-unlimited-gigabyte-e/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/the-toughest-trail-i-ever-ran-was-the-escarpment-in-the-catskills-of/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [“It had been years since Xan last walked this trail. Centuries, really. She shivered. Everything looked so different. And yet . . . not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-barnhill/it-had-been-years-since-xan-last-walked-this-trail-centuries-really/) [Kelly Barnhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-barnhill/) > [Our bodies are made to move, and moving down the trail is one of the oldest, natural ways people have used their bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-pharr-davis/our-bodies-are-made-to-move-and-moving-down-the-trail-is-one-of-the/) [Jennifer Pharr Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-pharr-davis/) > [The trail of dating sites relying heavily on Facebook is littered with failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/the-trail-of-dating-sites-relying-heavily-on-facebook-is-littered/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [It's the way you ride the trail that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-evans/it-s-the-way-you-ride-the-trail-that-counts/) [Dale Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-evans/) > [“It's like being lost, and coming on an old wagon trail. You don't know where it leads, how long or why it's been abandoned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-ross/it-s-like-being-lost-and-coming-on-an-old-wagon-trail-you-don-t-know/) [Sinclair Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-ross/) > [“The long distance hiker, a breed set apart, From the likes of the usual pack. He’ll shoulder his gear, be hittin’ the trail; Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-eberhart/the-long-distance-hiker-a-breed-set-apart-from-the-likes-of-the-usual/) [M.J. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-eberhart/) ## More by Cheryl Strayed > [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It's the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) [Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More Trail quotes > [“The long distance hiker, a breed set apart, From the likes of the usual pack. He’ll shoulder his gear, be hittin’ the trail; Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-eberhart/the-long-distance-hiker-a-breed-set-apart-from-the-likes-of-the-usual/) [M.J. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-eberhart/) > [“It's like being lost, and coming on an old wagon trail. You don't know where it leads, how long or why it's been abandoned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-ross/it-s-like-being-lost-and-coming-on-an-old-wagon-trail-you-don-t-know/) [Sinclair Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-ross/) > [It's the way you ride the trail that counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-evans/it-s-the-way-you-ride-the-trail-that-counts/) [Dale Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-evans/) > [The trail of dating sites relying heavily on Facebook is littered with failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/the-trail-of-dating-sites-relying-heavily-on-facebook-is-littered/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Our bodies are made to move, and moving down the trail is one of the oldest, natural ways people have used their bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-pharr-davis/our-bodies-are-made-to-move-and-moving-down-the-trail-is-one-of-the/) [Jennifer Pharr Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-pharr-davis/) > [“It had been years since Xan last walked this trail. Centuries, really. She shivered. Everything looked so different. And yet . . . not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-barnhill/it-had-been-years-since-xan-last-walked-this-trail-centuries-really/) [Kelly Barnhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-barnhill/) > [The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-kardong/the-toughest-trail-i-ever-ran-was-the-escarpment-in-the-catskills-of/) [Don Kardong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-kardong/) > [With our blogs and tweets, digital cameras, and unlimited-gigabyte e-mail archives, participation in the online culture now means creating a trail of always present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/with-our-blogs-and-tweets-digital-cameras-and-unlimited-gigabyte-e/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Some games work well as straight patches, but 'The Trail' wasn't one of those.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-molyneux/some-games-work-well-as-straight-patches-but-the-trail-wasn-t-one-of/) [Peter Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-molyneux/) > [“Leaf, branch, vine, bramble. The rush of air in my ears. The rapid-fire scuffscuffscuff of my shoes on the trail. Shards of blue sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-yancy/leaf-branch-vine-bramble-the-rush-of-air-in-my-ears-the-rapid-fire/) [RIch Yancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-yancy/) > [In a word I was a pioneer, and therefore had to blaze my own trail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/major-taylor/in-a-word-i-was-a-pioneer-and-therefore-had-to-blaze-my-own-trail/) [Major Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/major-taylor/) > ['The Trail' on PC is far more challenging by nature. The flow of the game is completely changed, because I think that's what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-molyneux/the-trail-on-pc-is-far-more-challenging-by-nature-the-flow-of-the/) [Peter Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-molyneux/) > [“How fabulous down was for those first minutes! Down, down, down I'd go until down too became impossible and punishing and so relentless that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/how-fabulous-down-was-for-those-first-minutes-down-down-down-i-d-go/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Mistress to these footprints, Lover to the wake of where He has just passed, for the path he wanders is between us all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/mistress-to-these-footprints-lover-to-the-wake-of-where-he-has-just/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [“Don't fight the trail. Take what it gives you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/don-t-fight-the-trail-take-what-it-gives-you/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) [Browse all 180 Trail quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trail/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet also, like most things, so very simple—was how few choices I had and how often I had to do the thing I least wanted to do. How there was no escape or denial. No numbing it down with a martini or covering it up with a roll in the hay. As I clung to the chaparral that day, attempting to patch up my bleeding finger, terrified by every sound that the bull was coming back, I considered my options. There were only two and they were essentially the same. I could go back in the direction I had come from, or I could go forward in the direction I intended to go.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cheryl Strayed" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest-trail-the-thing-that-was-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Trail" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest-trail-the-thing-that-was-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d53/cheryl-strayed-605_trail_the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest_334584.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer—and yet…” — Cheryl Strayed", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cheryl Strayed", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The thing about hiking the Pacific...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest-trail-the-thing-that-was-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-thing-about-hiking-the-pacific-crest-trail-the-thing-that-was-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```