n the 2014 movie , Reese Witherspoon falls into a stream partway through her character’s 1,800-kilometre journey along America’s Pacific Crest Trail. Completing at least part of the track – the full length is almost 4,300 kilometres – is a rite of passage for hikers like author Cheryl Strayed, whose autobiography of self-discovery is the tale Witherspoon re-enacts. Like many who attempt the route, Strayed often finds herself burnt out, burdened not just by a backpack almost as big as she is,
