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Description
Back to the main photo: - [link] -

Bus location:
63°51'36.13"N
149°24'50.62"O

"Happiness only real when shared"
Christopher Johnson McCandless
(12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the road (from Wikipedia)

After graduating in 1990, he gave $24,000 of the $42,000 bequest of a family friend for his last two years of college, to the charity Oxfam International and began traveling, using the name "Alexander Supertramp" (Krakauer notes the connection with WH Davies, Welsh author of 'Autobiography of a Super-Tramp' published in 1908). McCandless made his way through Arizona, California, and South Dakota, where he worked at a grain elevator. McCandless alternated between having jobs and living with no money and little or no human contact, sometimes successfully foraging for food. He survived a flash flood but lost his car (the car was not actually lost; because of McCandless' lack of knowledge of mechanics, he thought it was unrepairable) along with kayaking down remote stretches of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California. McCandless took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear and funds, and generally made little preparation.

For years, McCandless dreamed of an "Alaskan Odyssey" where he would live off the land, far away from civilization, and keep a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. In April 1992 McCandless hitchhiked to Fairbanks, Alaska. He was last seen alive by James Gallien, who gave him a ride from Fairbanks to the Stampede Trail. Gallien was concerned about "Alex", who had minimal supplies (not even a magnetic compass) and no experience of surviving in the Alaskan bush. Gallien repeatedly tried to persuade Alex to defer his trip, and even offered to drive him to Anchorage to buy suitable equipment and supplies. However, McCandless ignored Gallien's warnings, refusing all assistance except for a pair of rubber boots, two tuna melts, and a bag of corn chips. Eventually, Gallien dropped him at the head of the Stampede Trail on Tuesday, April 28, 1992.

After hiking along the snow-covered Stampede Trail, McCandless found an abandoned bus used as a hunting shelter parked on an overgrown section of the trail near Denali National Park ( 63°51′36.13″N, 149°24′50.62″W)[2] and began his attempt to live off the land. He had a 10-pound bag of rice, a Remington semi-automatic rifle, with plenty of .22LR hollowpoint ammunition, a book of local plant life, several other books, and some camping equipment. He assumed he could forage for plant food and hunt game. Despite his inexperience as a hunter, McCandless poached some small game such as porcupines and birds. Once he killed a caribou; however, he failed to preserve the meat properly and it spoiled. Rather than thinly slicing and air-drying the meat, like jerky, as is usually done in the Alaskan bush, he smoked it, following the advice of hunters he had met in South Dakota.[3]

His journal contains entries covering a total of 189 days. These entries range from ecstatic to grim with McCandless' changing fortunes. In July, after living in the bus for several months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the Teklanika River, which was then considerably higher and swifter than when he crossed in April. There was an easy method of crossing a short way down the river. Unfortunately, McCandless was unaware of this because the only navigational aid in his possession was a tattered road map he had found at a gas station, which did not contain the type of detailed topographical information which could easily have saved his life. [2]

On August 12, McCandless wrote what are assumed to be his final words in his journal "Beautiful Blueberries". He tore the final page from Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which contains an excerpt from a Robinson Jeffers poem entitled "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours":

Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
Something more equal to centuries
Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
The mountains are dead stone, the people
Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
The mountains are not softened or troubled
And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper.
On the other side of the page, McCandless added, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"

On September 6, 1992, two hikers and a group of moose hunters found this note on the door of the bus:

"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"[1]

His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus, weighing an estimated 67 pounds. He had been dead for more than two weeks. His official cause of death was starvation.

Biographer Jon Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of starvation due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. However, Krakauer insists starvation was not, as McCandless' death certificate states, the primary cause of death. Initially, Krakauer claimed McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum alpinum). However, extensive laboratory testing proves conclusively there was no alkaloid toxin present in McCandless' food supplies. In later editions of the book, therefore, Krakauer has speculated a fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola could have grown on the seeds McCandless ate. However, there remains no evidence to support Krakauer's theory, and all forensic data suggest starvation.

His journal entry for that date reads, "Extremely weak. Fault of potato seed. Much trouble just to stand up. Starving. Great Jeopardy." McCandless had been digging and eating the root of the wild potato—Hedysarum alpinum, a common area wildflower also known as Eskimo potato, which Kari's book told him was widely eaten by native Alaskans - for more than a month without ill effect. On July 14 he apparently started eating the pealike seedpods of the plant as well, again without ill effect.

Bus location:
63°51'36.13"N
149°24'50.62"O

"Happiness only real when shared"
Christopher Johnson McCandless
(12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992)

Description
Back to the main photo: - [link] -

Bus location:
63°51'36.13"N
149°24'50.62"O

"Happiness only real when shared"
Christopher Johnson McCandless
(12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the road (from Wikipedia)

After graduating in 1990, he gave $24,000 of the $42,000 bequest of a family friend for his last two years of college, to the charity Oxfam International and began traveling, using the name "Alexander Supertramp" (Krakauer notes the connection with WH Davies, Welsh author of 'Autobiography of a Super-Tramp' published in 1908). McCandless made his way through Arizona, California, and South Dakota, where he worked at a grain elevator. McCandless alternated between having jobs and living with no money and little or no human contact, sometimes successfully foraging for food. He survived a flash flood but lost his car (the car was not actually lost; because of McCandless' lack of knowledge of mechanics, he thought it was unrepairable) along with kayaking down remote stretches of the Colorado River to the Gulf of California. McCandless took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear and funds, and generally made little preparation.

For years, McCandless dreamed of an "Alaskan Odyssey" where he would live off the land, far away from civilization, and keep a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. In April 1992 McCandless hitchhiked to Fairbanks, Alaska. He was last seen alive by James Gallien, who gave him a ride from Fairbanks to the Stampede Trail. Gallien was concerned about "Alex", who had minimal supplies (not even a magnetic compass) and no experience of surviving in the Alaskan bush. Gallien repeatedly tried to persuade Alex to defer his trip, and even offered to drive him to Anchorage to buy suitable equipment and supplies. However, McCandless ignored Gallien's warnings, refusing all assistance except for a pair of rubber boots, two tuna melts, and a bag of corn chips. Eventually, Gallien dropped him at the head of the Stampede Trail on Tuesday, April 28, 1992.

After hiking along the snow-covered Stampede Trail, McCandless found an abandoned bus used as a hunting shelter parked on an overgrown section of the trail near Denali National Park ( 63°51′36.13″N, 149°24′50.62″W)[2] and began his attempt to live off the land. He had a 10-pound bag of rice, a Remington semi-automatic rifle, with plenty of .22LR hollowpoint ammunition, a book of local plant life, several other books, and some camping equipment. He assumed he could forage for plant food and hunt game. Despite his inexperience as a hunter, McCandless poached some small game such as porcupines and birds. Once he killed a caribou; however, he failed to preserve the meat properly and it spoiled. Rather than thinly slicing and air-drying the meat, like jerky, as is usually done in the Alaskan bush, he smoked it, following the advice of hunters he had met in South Dakota.[3]

His journal contains entries covering a total of 189 days. These entries range from ecstatic to grim with McCandless' changing fortunes. In July, after living in the bus for several months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the Teklanika River, which was then considerably higher and swifter than when he crossed in April. There was an easy method of crossing a short way down the river. Unfortunately, McCandless was unaware of this because the only navigational aid in his possession was a tattered road map he had found at a gas station, which did not contain the type of detailed topographical information which could easily have saved his life. [2]

On August 12, McCandless wrote what are assumed to be his final words in his journal "Beautiful Blueberries". He tore the final page from Louis L'Amour's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which contains an excerpt from a Robinson Jeffers poem entitled "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours":

Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
Something more equal to centuries
Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
The mountains are dead stone, the people
Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
The mountains are not softened or troubled
And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper.
On the other side of the page, McCandless added, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"

On September 6, 1992, two hikers and a group of moose hunters found this note on the door of the bus:

"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"[1]

His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus, weighing an estimated 67 pounds. He had been dead for more than two weeks. His official cause of death was starvation.

Biographer Jon Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of starvation due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. However, Krakauer insists starvation was not, as McCandless' death certificate states, the primary cause of death. Initially, Krakauer claimed McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum alpinum). However, extensive laboratory testing proves conclusively there was no alkaloid toxin present in McCandless' food supplies. In later editions of the book, therefore, Krakauer has speculated a fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicola could have grown on the seeds McCandless ate. However, there remains no evidence to support Krakauer's theory, and all forensic data suggest starvation.

His journal entry for that date reads, "Extremely weak. Fault of potato seed. Much trouble just to stand up. Starving. Great Jeopardy." McCandless had been digging and eating the root of the wild potato—Hedysarum alpinum, a common area wildflower also known as Eskimo potato, which Kari's book told him was widely eaten by native Alaskans - for more than a month without ill effect. On July 14 he apparently started eating the pealike seedpods of the plant as well, again without ill effect.

Bus location:
63°51'36.13"N
149°24'50.62"O

"Happiness only real when shared"
Christopher Johnson McCandless
(12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992)