Essay Questions

What does Cheryl's backpack symbolize?

Cheryl has put so much gear into her backpack that she can hardly stand at the beginning of her journey. The symbolism is that this is the weight that she is carrying in her life, but even deeper it is the weight that she is choosing to carry as she is the one who has packed every single item within it. And she must learn to lighten her load as she goes which she learns from a camper along the journey.

Why does the director use flashbacks throughout Cheryl's hike?

Vallee uses flashbacks from Cheryl's life, but they are used specifically as thoughts that Cheryl is having while she is walking the 1,000 miles on the PCT. These thoughts relate to the reason that she is taking this journey in the first place, which is to deal with the pain that she is stuffing away by having sex with strangers and using heroin. The pain of losing her mother and her marriage coming to an end. Every step is in through the pain she must travel in order to be set free.

What does the red fox symbolize in the film?

Cheryl is greeted by a red fox in the snow one morning during her journey. And as she carries on the fox is seen after she pulls her toenail off and as she enters the Bridge of the Gods. The fox represents the spirit of her mother who recently passed away. Her mother guided her in her life and without her Cheryl feels completely and hopelessly lost. The red fox symbolizes that her mother is walking through this journey with her, and when the fox turns and leaves when Cheryl walks on to the Bridge of the Gods it is a metaphor that it is now time for Cheryl to guider her own life and take control as she knows who she is once again.