Some of you may be more familiar with the title as it was adapted into a Sean Penn directed film a couple of years back, but the book itself was published over fifteen years ago. Written by Krakauer, it actually documents two years in the life of a young American man named Chris McCandless.
Astoundingly intelligent but growing up feeling stifled and disillusioned by society, McCandless sought refuge in the words of great writers such as Henry David Thoreau and Jack London. Both authors shunned what they believed were continually grotesque developments in society, instead developing the belief that in order to be truly happy and obtain the most out of life, we have to be at one with nature. His upper middle class family life did little to support this somewhat bohemian way of thinking and a poor relationship with his parents drove him further into himself. After graduating Emory University in 1990, McCandless donated the remainder of his college trust fund ($24,000) to OXFAM, dumped his car and without a word to anyone, left his life behind. Hitchhiking his way across North America and Mexico for two years, Chris changed his name to Alexander Supertramp and maintained basic jobs, most notably working on a corn farm, and developed good friendships with people he met along the way. Yet not once did he contact his family. In April of 1992, McCandless once again upped sticks and made his way to Alaska – the wilderness he had been aiming to get to all along. Trekking up the Stampede Trail into the forest, Chris took the mere basics. Rice, a fishing rod, an axe and a sleeping bag were amongst his possessions, yet a map was not. Chris previously argued with those who thought him a fool for not packing a map that he could not feel a proper connection with the wild if he knew where he was going. Besides, the people who had plotted the maps in the first place hadn’t had anything to go by so there was no reason why he should have to either.
McCandless in front of the 'Magic Bus'
A few days into his journey, Chris happened upon a bus, which had been left there by workers on the trail some twenty five years beforehand. McCandless was overjoyed by this discovery and referred to it as, ‘The Magic Bus’. It provided a good base for him and a decent means of shelter. For three months Chris survived in the wilderness, living off a diet of berries and whatever animals he managed to poach (usually squirrels and porcupines but a crowning moment came in the form of a moose – though he regretted killing this animal immediately after). Towards the start of August, Chris planned to leave the forests and attempted to cross the river he had passed without trouble a couple of months earlier; but the change in seasons meant the water had risen too high and he was forced to retreat back to the bus. Around this point, it is believed that McCandless injured himself, though due to the scant details in his journal, nobody is exactly sure what happened to him. Either way, he was unable to fend for himself.
McCandless' SOS note
At the end of August, two Alaskans hiking in the forest, and coincidentally, two Moose hunters happened across the bus at about the same time. Attached was a note from McCandless, pleading for help. Unsettled by the note, one of the hunters looked into the bus, and it was at this time they discovered McCandless dead in his sleeping bag. Weighing just four and a half stone, he had succumbed to starvation. One cannot help but think how much of a different story this would be if they had decided to go hunting just a few weeks earlier.
If you search on the internet, there is a very obvious divide in opinions on McCandless. Many treat him as a hero figure; he had the tenacity to follow his dream and turn his back on the rigidity of society. An equal amount, including many Alaskans, feel he was too arrogant and deserved his fate, particularly as he entered the wilderness so unprepared. Here is my opinion. I think that what McCandless did to his family was undoubtedly very selfish. The idea that his family had to live in such deep uncertainty for two years and then in great pain after his death was discovered is incomprehensible. The thought of an intelligent young guy trapped in the wild and facing such a slow death makes me incredibly uncomfortable, so for those who knew and loved him, the agony must be tremendous.
However, I do completely admire McCandless for what he did. The book makes you realise just how much every single person relies on materialistic goods to pull them through each day, when in reality a large proportion of these treasured objects are totally unnecessary. Humans previously survived and led a perfectly happy existence without them, yet we succumb to their charms and the attached rules of society. Chris, through personal accounts of people he met, and brief accounts in his diary, was seemingly the happiest he had ever been when on the road and fending for himself. Yes, we may think what he did was rather crazy and may not venture into such actions ourselves, but if he was truly happy, then who are we to deny him? Even in his final photo towards the very end of his life, he has a wide grin spread across his face.
Chris' final self portrait, holding a goodbye note
The debate could and will undoubtedly rage on for years, but in the meantime, the bus still remains in it’s Alaskan barrens. A surprising number of people make the hike there each year, whether it be out of curiosity, to pay their respects or feel that they too, even if only for a day, can experience the freedom that McCandless felt. His parents visited the site almost a year after his death and left a commemorative plaque in the bus, along with a suitcase holding Chris’ childhood Bible and some provisions that hikers might need in future should they happen across the bus. However, since the release of the film in 2007, visitor numbers have soared and in accompaniment so have incidents of vandalism. One youtube video shows some of the windows smashed in, the chests of drawers and shelving inside ripped apart and tipped over and the suitcase pulled apart and it’s contents strewn outside. I think it’s incredibly sad that people are prepared to make such a tedious journey out to the site only to ravage what has essentially become a memorial site. Perhaps even worse, visitors are now ripping out pieces of the bus and it’s contents, including pieces of the mattress he slept and died on, and selling them on ebay. Ironically in doing so, they are simply providing McCandless’ views of a debase and unconsecrated society with even more gravitas than many are prepared to accredit them with.
Thanks for the spoiler warning, whoever you are.
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