Certain works of pop culture have a magic way of portraying the wilderness. Even when the hero is stranded in the woods after a plane crash, paddling dangerous rapids with criminals, or escaping grief on the Pacific Crest Trail, there鈥檚 something that makes you wish you were there, too. But what if you could go to those stunning places you鈥檝e only read about in books or seen on the big screen? Here鈥檚 how to get close.
Learn to Survive Like in 鈥楬atchet鈥
, the seminal 1987 young-adult novel by Gary Paulsen, is about a 13-year-old boy named Brian whose bush plane crashes somewhere in Canada鈥檚 North Woods. With his hatchet, he learns to survive alone in the unforgiving forest. Paulsen never states exactly where the book is set, but for a glimpse at what Brian鈥檚 life would have been like, sign up for a survival expedition with the Alberta-based . Its two-day intro to bushcraft course ($213) teaches survival skills like fire starting, shelter building, knot tying, and, yes, how to hunt with a hatchet.
Run Big Rapids Like in 鈥楾he River Wild鈥
Of course Meryl Streep makes raft guiding look good. In about a family who runs into armed robbers while on a river trip in Montana, Streep plays a former guide returning to her roots. The film was shot on a few rivers, including Montana鈥檚 Middle Fork of the Flathead, and it鈥檚 as gorgeous a stretch of water as you鈥檒l find anywhere. Sign up for a two-day rafting trip with ($429), and you鈥檒l paddle Class III rapids along the border of Glacier National Park.
Explore the Desert Like Edward Abbey
First published in 1968, documents Edward Abbey鈥檚 work as a summertime ranger in what is now Utah鈥檚 Arches National Park. 鈥淭his is not a travel guide but an elegy,鈥 Abbey famously wrote in his introduction, as a way to urge the protection of fading public lands. The easiest way to see what Abbey saw then? Join a ranger-led hike, held twice daily through the summer months, through the fragile, narrow sandstone walls of (from $10).
Backpack the PCT Like Cheryl Strayed
It鈥檚 no coincidence that after the release of , Cheryl Strayed鈥檚 2012 bestselling book and the subsequent film starring Reese Witherspoon, the Pacific Crest Trail Association reported a 137 percent increase in hikers attempting the trek. It鈥檚 a moving story about losing a parent, the dissolution of a marriage, and the transformative power of a walk in the woods. You don鈥檛 have to tackle all 2,650 miles to put yourself in Strayed鈥檚 boots. leads a nine-day backpacking trip ($1,795) on the PCT through Yosemite National Park, from Sonora Pass to Tuolumne Meadows, one of the most beautiful sections of the long-distance trail.
Fly-Fish Montana Like 鈥A River Runs Through It鈥
Published in 1976, Norman Maclean鈥檚 tells the story of the brothers Maclean, sons of a strict minister, and their devotion to fly-fishing. But it was the 1992 movie of the same name starring Brad Pitt that changed the sport forever. Even though the story is set on Montana鈥檚 striking Blackfoot River, the film was actually shot on the state鈥檚 Upper Yellowstone, Gallatin, and Boulder rivers. But go for the real thing: in Missoula offers half-day and聽multiday guided trips on the Big Blackfoot (from $460), where you鈥檒l catch cunning trout in remote, rugged canyons.
Float the Mississippi Like Huck Finn
If the Great American Novel exists, Mark Twain鈥檚 is it. The story follows the wild journey of a boy who fakes his own death, then flees his abusive father with help from a runaway slave by floating a log raft down a flooded Mississippi River. At in St. Louis, you can paddle a 29-foot voyager canoe down the Middle Mississippi or book a full-moon float to an uninhabited island, where you鈥檒l watch the sun set over Old Man River (from $45).