There’s a documentary film that crept onto various streaming services earlier this month with very little fanfare, but we think it’ll be right up your street. After all, it features a trek up the entire Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), 2,650 miles through the USA, from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.
It’s called Black Outside and it chronicles the personal and literal journey of Gary Wilkerson, a black man from the deep south who’s never been backpacking before. He believes that his reticence to challenge himself in the great outdoors has its roots in the racism that’s part of our cultural background – and he doesn’t believe he’s alone in that feeling.
So to challenge himself and racial stereotypes (“black men don’t hike!”) he decided during lockdown to tackle the entire PCT with his friend Mary Jeanes, and film the results.
See the trailer below. Warning: it contains images of a man very happy he’s done a poo.
Talking to Gear Junkie, Wilkerson said the experience changed his life:
“I feel like I was supposed to do this. It grew me up in a way. It kind of kicked some of the kid dust off of me that was still kind of there.”
And that’s despite the fact that severe depression set in at one point.
So, a great personal story and some fantastic footage of the PCT that gives you a real insight into what it’s like to tackle the legendary trail.
Black Outside is available to buy or rent on iTunes, YouTube, Prime Video, Google Play and other on demand platforms.
- The best hiking shirts 2024: choose one of these great fitting active tops with bags of technical clout
- The best sunglasses 2024: for hiking throughout the year
