Wild: Strayed Deletes Own Epic Diatribe

In a move which is sure to arch some eyebrows, Cheryl Strayed has deleted an epic diatribe she posted to her Facebook page on February 1st. 

The post created quite a stir when it appeared without warning late last Sunday, generating hundreds of comments both positive and negative.In fact, the post was the impetus behind my starting this blog was the subject of my first post. 

In her free-from, often rambling composition, Strayed appeared to be lashing out at unnamed critics of her tale who suggested she was ill-prepared for her now famous Pacific Crest Trail hike. Strayed countered this notion with confusing statements about what she truly knew about hiking/backpacking and went on to compare herself to Muir and Thoreau; implying that any criticism against her is based in misogyny and not on actual facts. The real target(s) of Strayed's post remains a mystery. 

The post created quite a stir, as the only person known to have written about Strayed's lack of preparation and experience was Strayed herself. As such, she appears to be calling out her own work as "wildy overstated;" a notion many of us have been putting forth recently. 

Why she chose to delete the post also remains clouded in mystery. 

Was she compelled to do it by sponsors? Recently she's begun promoting her new podcast, which revives her controversial "Sugar" persona providing advice to those with relationship problems. During her time at the Rumpus, where she wrote as "Sugar," Strayed often had to defend herself against allegations she was manufacturing the questions she was answering. Her Facebook rant probably looks to some as uncharacteristic of Strayed's alternate personality.

Was she tired of monitoring the post? Strayed obsessively reviews her Facebook account throughout the day and selectively deletes posts which raise any questions about her statements or otherwise contradict the narrative she strives to convey. The post in particular certainly required hourly monitoring; so perhaps editing it just got to be too much of a hassle. 

We'll probably never know. We'll have to file this away as just another oddity in the story of Strayed's PCT misadventures.