"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed Book Club Final Project

SLA RADIO - DAY

EXTERIOR ESTABLISHING SHOT:

INTERIOR MEDIUM SHOT:

ZOE

Alright welcome back to SLA Radio. Today we bring you a story all the way from the west coast and specifically around 1050 miles into the Pacific Crest Trail.

ANTONIA

That’s… far.

ZOE

Let’s meet Cheryl Strayed, an aspiring long-distance hiker hailing from the Minneapolis area.

CUT TO CLIP OF CHERYL:

CHERYL is sitting in a forest eating dried fruits.

CHERYL

So… today is my 105th day on the trail. I think I overpacked a bit.

Many random items spill out of her nearby backpack

CHERYL

Just a bit.

CUT BACK:

ANTONIA
Cheryl is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2650 mile long trail that stretches from the Canadian border all the way to Campo at the Mexican border, right by San Diego.

ZOE

Holy [censored]. I could never do that.

ANTONIA

Yeah it takes most people who aren’t Olympic athletes about 5 months.

CUT TO CHERYL:

CHERYL

I think I just saw a moose?? I’m really bugging out over here.

CUT TO STOCK IMAGE OF LONGHORN BULL

REVERSE SHOT

CHERYL

I’m almost out of money too. The next pit-stop isn’t for another 130 miles so I don’t know if I’m gonna make it.

CUT BACK:

ZOE

Well we wish you luck.

Cheryl waves goodbye.

ZOE

Alright so now I think we’re going to let some callers phone in so if you have something to say just call in at 21SLARADIO. That’s 217-527-2346.

ZOE and ANTONIA sit in silence for about 3 seconds while easy listening music plays.

ANTONIA

Alright here’s our first caller phoning in now, welcome to the show!

CALLER 1

Hey I’m Paul from Tallahassee, long time listener first time caller. Just from what I’ve heard so far Cheryl doesn’t really sound prepared for this hike. Is that just me?

ZOE

No it’s not just you Paul. Honestly I’m afraid I have to agree. I’ve done a bit of backpacking myself and even I know that you’re not supposed to pack that much.

CUT TO CHERYL FALLING OVER

ANTONIA

Yikes. Yeah I’m looking at an article here and it says that the average backpacker should carry no more than 30 lbs of resources. Looking at Cheryl’s pack, I’m guessing she isn’t in that range at all.

ZOE

Yeah it’s important to only carry the necessities. But I mean, even the most experienced hikers always carry something that isn’t a necessity. Like a memento or a small book - something to remind them of home.

ANTONIA

That makes sense. Especially because the trail is so far away from civilization. There are actually some parts of the trail that are so remote, hikers don’t see any people for weeks.

ZOE
That’s insane! So what would you bring with you?

ANTONIA

Not sure. What’s so important to someone that they could carry it for over 2,000 miles?

ZOE

No idea.

PHONE RINGS

ZOE

Oh it looks like we have another caller! Antonia you want to get this one?

ANTONIA

Sure. Hey there you’re on SLA Radio. Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 2

Uh yeah. My name is Anna and I actually have a friend that hiked the PCT. She ended up losing a bunch of toenails and got a huge scar on her arm from falling on a sharp tree branch. I just wanna know if anything like that happened to Cheryl.

ANTONIA

Oh my god that sounds terrible. Cheryl can you answer that?

CUT TO CHERYL

CHERYL

Oh yeah. I lost at least two toenails and it hurt like [censored]. It ended up being because my shoes didn’t actually fit. To anyone of those listening GET THE RIGHT PAIR OF BOOTS. I can’t even go to nail salons anymore my feet are so messed up.

ZOE

Ouch. See that is why I would hike with someone. If I got really hurt, I would like to have someone nearby to help me out.

ANTONIA

Yeah but isn’t part of hiking the PCT the isolation? I mean, after something as terrible as losing your mom, I get why people would want to be alone.

ZOE

Well if you hiked with a stranger or an acquaintance, you would still get that same feeling of being alone - because you wouldn’t really know the person - but if you got attacked by a mountain lion, someone would still be there to call for help and patch you up.

ANTONIA

I guess that works. Honestly if I had to hike with someone, I would hike with someone I knew. There is basically no chance for hygiene on the trail and I wouldn’t want a coworker I barely know seeing me like that.

ZOE

Haha yeah I get it. I walk for just twenty minutes in the heat and I’m ready to take a 3-hour long shower!

ANTONIA

Oh yeah. And most hikers don’t even carry deodorant because of the extra weight.

ZOE

Ugh I wouldn’t even want to be near myself if I smelled like that!

…

Ok guys! We are going to take a quick break and then one more call before the end of the show! See you then!

(easy listening music ?)

ANTONIA

Okay everyone we are back! So Zoe, one last question -

ZOE

Yeah?

ANTONIA

What would you do if you saw a wild animal on the trail?

ZOE

Well what kind of animal are we talking here? Big, small, scaly, furry - I need some context.

ANTONIA

Hmm okay let’s say the wild animal was a bear. What would you do?

ZOE

I would run.

ANTONIA

...anything else?

ZOE

Nope. I would just run and try not to die.

PHONE RINGS

ANTONIA

Oh it looks like we have our last caller!

(antonia presses button on phone)

Hi there you’re on SLA Radio! Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 3

I’m calling because you people are dumb.

ZOE

Excuse me?

CALLER 3

If you saw a bear you wouldn’t run! You should back away slowly and maintain eye contact. If you ran it would see you as prey and you would be mauled to death.

ANTONIA

…

ZOE

…uh thank you?

CALLER 3

Psht - idiots. And as for my name - you don’t need to know.

DIAL TONE

ANTONIA

Okay then! That’s all we have for this show! Hopefully next week we will find a better way to block strange numbers.

ZOE

You got that right. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you then!