My favourite outdoor movies for when you're stuck inside
There are many reasons not to be able to hike when you wish you could. You've got a honking cold, you're healing from an injury, there's a blizzard outside or you're genuinely adulting up to your ears and spend all weekend sorting out those inescapable joys of life that are tax returns and getting a hair cut (note to self: book hair cut). Dear hikers: DO NOT DESPAIR. A part-time adult myself I can not only relate, but provide you with fresh air pink cheek bliss right from the comfort of your own sofa. Knock knock. Who's there? Umm the best friggin hiking blog in the world?!
4. Into the Wild
Emile Hirsch in Into The Wild. Image source: Amazon.com
The search for a simpler life is what drives Christopher McCandless across America and finally to Alaska, where he eats some poisonous plants and dies in a bus. More on the Walden-end of the outdoor movie spectrum, this true story is filled with musings of simpler living, forraging (wouldn't recommend taking notes on his forraging tips) and ends in the conclusion that for life to be beautiful it must be shared - a realization that came too late for McCandless. Bring tissues.
3. Wild
Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed in Wild. Ultralight not so much. Image source: Collider.com
Now this may be an obvious one (so much so it was parodied in Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life much to my shock and disgust) but it's a truly awesome story, and in fact *THE* thing that made me want to start hiking in the first place! I first watched Wild in bed in the dark on yet another hungover Sunday and bawled my brains out ALL. MOVIE. LONG. Literally. For those who haven't seen it, Wild tells the story of Cherly Strayed hiking over 1,000 miles on the the Pacific Crest Trail aged 26 after losing her mother to cancer and her marriage ending. It also started my full-on obsession with the PCT and everyone who hikes it. Fangirl alert!
2. Valley Uprising
Hey what's that deep-V waistcoat made of? Husband material. Image source: SenderFilms.com
Valley Uprising is a documentary about rock climbing in Yosemite Valley, where I have been and can tell you it is one of the coolest places in the world. There I said it. Rock climbing was shaped by different "schools" of climbers, from the old schoolers in the 70s to modern day superheroes/basket cases who climb vertical mountain faces without ropes no big deal. A total badass movie to ignite your sense of adventure, though it might have you climbing up the walls (honk honk) to get outside.
1. Grizzly Man
Easily three thumbs up from me. Image source: Amazon.com
My top stuck inside movie, and what a treasure it is. Grizzly Man is a documentary about Timothy Treadwell, who spent 14 summers living amongst grizzly bears in Alaska, documenting these massive animals to protect them and educate others. What followed was a unique relationship between man and wild animals that ultimately ended in tragedy. Directed and narrated by demi-God Werner Herzog and having won multiple awards it's no surprise this movie is an absolute knockout. But when I think of it it's actually the imagery of the Alaskan landscape that really sticks with me, how harsh and beautiful it is, and how on earth Treadwell lived there alone for so long. There's a moment Herzog highlights when Treadwell left the camera running alone in the wilderness, and the wind in the grass is filmed without interruption for over a minute. Seriously beautiful cinema, and the most raw and pure portrayal of nature I've seen.
If you enjoyed this post, any of the movies in it, or have ever eaten cereal please leave a comment below! Thanks!
