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Before anything negative comes up, I applaud both your adventuresome spirit, and the inspiration that you have given to millions.  Personally, your book left me depressed, but only because my achievements are so much less than yours.

As you know by now, many have labeled you foolish for your poorly arranged hike.  Some question your morals and “first world problems”.  To me the important points are that your hike got you to where you wanted to be and led to an inspirational book.  I’m glad that you are a fellow Portlander (I’m really an Oswegan, but close enough).

Your example led me to restart writing, first with four “Wild” related stories and then revisiting writing from fourteen years ago.  Two pieces of short fiction have been accepted so far.  Some of my works are memoirs, inspired, but much less interesting than “Wild”.   In order to write one piece, I finally found out why I was dumped by my former love forty-nine years ago.  If my elderly joints would cooperate, I would try some grand physical adventure such as yours.

I’m curious about several things not covered in the book.  What are Paul, Joe and all the relatives up to now?  Where do you hike?  Have you / will you ever finish the PCT?  Do you have “people” who filter you email?  I wonder if any of my cyber pestering ever reached you.

Your association with Oprah is a negative for me.  She may be a wonderful person, but the nation’s acceptance of advice from any television personalities on matters in which they have no expertise is folly.  There isn’t anybody on the tube that I would trust to tell me what to read or how to live in general.  This is why I wrote “How To Write An Oprah Book”.

A big plus is the fact that a friend of mine tells me that you volunteer at your children’s school.

If you did get my cyber foolishness you already know that earlier this year the toll taker at the Bridge Of The Gods said that she was in “The Movie” when she saw me reading “Wild” and that a bunch of PCT through hikers at Timberline Lodge cheered when I mentioned “Wild”.

There were three interesting responses to this essay.  Black Heart said it was looking for letters to authors.  My interest, bordering on obsession with Strayed and “Wild” made this a natural.  Black Heart rejected in 256 days.  At that point I withdrew my second sub to Black Heart and put it on the ignore list.  The subsequently closed Beechwood took it in 0 days.  I was jolted when Bread & Beauty accepted it after 1285 days (not a misprint) and it was picked up by Medium.  I had to check my records to see that I had submitted it to B & B 3 to 4 years ago.