I love the idea of Chris realizing there is more to life. I just had no idea how much people idolized him for it. What is wrong with you people? There are people here saying he was stupid.. He was. It's true. If he were intelligent, he would not have died in the wild. It's not personal, so don't take it personal. The Truth, which he so sought after and you seem to be too, is that he was not smart enough to survive the conditions he went into. That is not taking away form the journey he had. It's a beautiful tale, but he is no different to any of you. He knows there is more to life, he was trying to discover this. The last words '' Happiness only real when shared'' was just that . A deep realization he had. He was likely trying to convince himself he was happy, like most people do. So he pushed away society and isolated himself and realized that didn't help. It's fun, people always are quick to say ''Society sucks.. fuck that''.. And yes it does, but does not mean you are not part of society. Like it or not, you are society. You do not break away from it, even if you go to a cabin and die alone just to learn that lesson. I think it better to share happiness with society and to influence it. I mean, we gonna run away form all our problems all our life? Or are we going to try fix these problems. Again, I really enjoyed Christopher's story and it moved me and I took lots of inspiration from it. But to idolize him? To get offended when someone says something bad about him. A person you have never met by the way but have created a concept of a perfect person in your head. Seek truth, not your concepts. After all, that is what his message was.
Are you saying how he died wasn't stupid? No, you will probably reply with a poetic beauty to it.. which it had.. I'll admit, but how he died, was stupid. And to think it smart, I'd have to question your judgment. But hey, nice assumption and very aggressive reply to me about others around my life whom I apparently poison lol. I might add, a reply from a person whom I'd have imagined was a peaceful loving person. Sorry I got you on a bad day! Your whole post was a huge hypocritical paradox though. I hope you see that. Peace brother/sister. And I hope you find the truth you seek.
I think that people may take issue with the way you characterized him as 'stupid'. He was actually a pretty smart guy and the fact that he was able to survive out there for so long is pretty impressive considering everything. I think it simply boiled down to his age. He was in his early twenties & like a lot of people his age he thought he was 'bulletproof'. He had actually met his goal of surviving in the Alaskan wilderness for 2 months & then some, (granted finding the bus probably played a huge role in that), but he didn't take into consideration that the river he crossed just 60 days ago would be flowing faster/deeper due to rains & melting snow. So maybe it's semantics, but I don't think 'stupid' is an accurate characterization, just too young & over confident, like most of us where at that age. I just don't think a 'stupid' person could've accomplished what he did by his age.
True point, perhaps it is the wrong word. He was naive for sure though. But aren't we all. I just don't understand why people would idolize that. Especially when you consider his final message to society. I think most people are truly in love with their own personal built-up concept of who and what he was (Anti society) and actually miss the poignant point of his story. Yes, stupid is the wrong word. Definitely not as smart as he thought he was though for sure. I take nothing from the man, incredible story and inspiring and motivational and a person who had the courage to do what he believed was right. Another lesson people can benefit from. I'm still not sure what he achieved at this age though apart from .. well..realizing he was wrong about society, or rather, how to adapt to society rather than try to run away from it. Anyway, thanks for your comment. Very rational and helpful on my own concept of how I looked at this situation. Hope you're having a great start to your week!
I've actually just discovered this story a couple of weeks ago & it's consumed me, partly to learn more about why he did what he did & why so many people are captivated by him & his story. If you read the post cards he wrote just prior to going 'into the wild', he acknowledges that this trip may prove fatal. He was definitely an idealist, a dreamer & a troubled young man. As for all the people who idolize him, I think it comes from the fact he gave the rest of his education fund away to a famine relief organization ($24000), set out on an adventure with no plan & none of the advantages that came from his family & if that wasn't a risk in & of itself, he took a huge risk & tested himself. He seemed to know it was extremely dangerous, even fatal, but he took a chance, something 99.99% of people don't (for better or worse) The people I feel sorry for are the ones who try to venture out to the bus, not just to see it, (like a cool road/hiking trip with some buddies), but thinking that somehow that journey is going to bring them some great insight into themselves. I think they are missing the whole point of the story, instead of finding & experiencing their own unique 'into the wild' journey, they just follow someone else's & are most likely not going to get what they hoped for. I watched a video of a young guy from the Netherlands, he idolized Chris, this was his big dream to camp out on the bus. He landed in Alaska, got a ride to the trail, got across both river & stopped for the night. He put his hiking boots by the fire to dry & running shoes in a bag up in the tree. He woke up to find the boots where badly burned, the shoes frozen solid. He had enough sense to turn around, but I wonder if that journey did far more harm than good. Sorry for the novel, but my point is, it's one thing to be inspired by the story & the ideals behind it & setting off on your own journey, & quite another to do a scaled down, 'tourist version' of his journey, thinking the results will be the same. In my opinion they've missed the whole point of the story. Thanks, your post & discussion has given me a lot to think about. Cheers 🇨🇦
Oh Definitely an idealist and dreamer for sure. However, this is not always a good thing. In this case I actually think it is. He lived free and did his thing. Yeah, I think we see it the same. People idolizing someone being himself. And instead of going being themselves, they go try to be someone else. I sincerely do not think they see his point on society though. I mean, even Eddy Vedder's song used in the movie, 'Society' which I love that song, and I love Eddy Vedder, but I think he too missed the point. It's very easy for us to see ourselves detached from society. And many of us fantasize about leaving it.. running away and doing our own thing. But Fundamentally, it is impossible. It is similar to deciding to move to mars so you will not be a human being. You will always be a human being, just like we will always be a part of society. We run, hide, die, learn what it is when it is too late. Or we stay, help, influence society for the better. His last line simply screams it ''Happiness only real when shared''. You too mate, I wish nothing but the best on your own journey :) Best of luck to you and your family and loved ones.
It's interesting that they found that he had so much identification. Like Krakauer and Penn have said, Mccandless wrote his journal as if he was living out his own film. A lot of his experiences were romanticised, and obviously it's from those entries and the stories of others that they got the information to make the book/film. Finding hard evidence like this just reveals how genuinely human Chris was- to be so mindful of his journey back to civilisation, and not as reckless as was depicted.
I know that some people that experience childhood abuse adopt a hyper independence. At a young age they learn that they can only rely on themselves and not their parents. I think Chris took this to an extreme. He was out there in the wild all alone only relying on himself to survive and he thought that would make him happy. Only when he was left alone unable to move and be deep in though he realised he needed people and he was happiest with people.
A mysterious story. One version says he burned his last money. I dont think Cris would vandalize a cabin or try and steal a stove. Why not stay at a cabin with a working stove and wood to burn.
No way I believe Chris McCandless burglarized those two cabins, but they should check out that Hunter who in finding Chris’s backpack KEPT it for two years!
Why don't you think he would have vandalised a cabin or try to steal a stove?| Did you know him? Or are you going by what the film shows of him? You ask why not stay in the cabin with a working stove? Well, why would he? He wanted to be alone, that was not his cabin and if he stayed in there, the owners would not be happy.
I think that he had gotten to the point where he realized he was in too deep. that's why he tried to leave. when he departed that last guy's truck, he had no intention of coming out.
I don't think ppl pick the story apart too much, the facts are pretty relevant. Put himself in a bad situation is a huge understatement. This quote says it best, "His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune" True fool.
EJ Wrote this 8 years ago. I bet he is drowning in debt. Divorced. Bald and overweight by now 😂😂. But oh no some dude lived his dream and inspires others to do so!!
i watched the movie, documentaries and other video clips, this story touches me so much and the movie is great too, i always watch it time and again when i feel low, hope one good day i will visit that place , with love from Botswana
I still give him all my respects. He showed me and others who read or watched the movie that live isn't all about what society/college or school tells you, sometimes it's the simplest things in live that make you happy and take little things for granted for example clean drinking water. I don't blame the man for searching through the cabins and I also don't blame him for keeping the spare money and identity. I respect him for the fact that he made the decision to give up his future/career to start an adventure that consists of simple living and just enjoying life to the minimum, just remember. "What you may consider a nightmare, might be someone else's dream".. RIP SUPERTRAMP
@Danalou 83 very good point. People here are acting like he did this for attention. He did this for himself and himself only. It was personal. We only know about it because of the way his trek ended and because others found his story interesting. The way it ended was simple mistakes and misfortune. He had been doing well considering his ignorance of the situation up until that point. He would have been telling his own adventures to family and friends now had it not been for the river being too deep to cross and making a mistake about the wild plant he ate. Seriously, easy mistake to make, let me tell you. Before I get accused as a groupie of this guy, I’m not. I do know of his story. And yes, it is interesting.
I personally think chris wanted to experience a simple life style outside of the box. The wildness offers this and of course it’s free. I do think he had every intention to return back home after he had experience it first hand for himself. Unfortunately he underestimated the dangers involved. Equipment and more knowledge with some life experience in wildness survival and living skills would for sure have given Chris a better chance and probably a more enjoyable adventure. Still he did what he set out to do and walked into the Alaska wildness. It’s just a shame his story ended in tragedy.
@@openyoureyes3969 criminal minded?? Absurd. He had no fucking clue anyone would even know his story! It was the early 90s and he was doing what he wanted. Not exactly anarchy. You have issues.
I can relate to Chris trek, I grew up with a father who took the family into the most desolate wilderness to camp hike up mountains fish etc. He taught us a few basics of surviving ...using a compass , eating bark rationing food... Now as an adult I need,.. I crave it like a drug.... to visit the wilderness to decompress from the world. There's a healing component in myself that I only get by being detached from the word. I study plants and herbs while I go out into the woods. I even camp alone... I take pictures and samples of plants I come by .. I can sometimes identify edibles but I'm not always right. I definitely can see where he could mistaken a plant for an edible. I sure like to know the name and author of that book...
There's always three sides to every story . Yours, mine and what really happened. What to believe is the absolute truth may not ever going to to be truly known. Sad 😦
What surprised me was that I saw this documentary before Into The Wild and thought back and was amazed that one guy (Ron Lamothe) could so thoroughly outdo Sean Penn, Hollywood and millions of dollars. No disrespect to Sean meant, as his was a valiant effort, but Ron's work in this documentary is just supreme.
If Chris broke into the cabin that is not admirable at all. I still admire his selflessness and its possible he didn't break in or vandalize anything. He gave back to his community, and even donated 25,000 dollars before setting off. He didn't like being confined or trapped in what we call society, and his actions seem to reflect that. I believe he had a pure spirit and a good heart and made a few mistakes. He didn't hurt anybody, and I've gotta say he's still good in "my book"
It wouldn't surprise me if he did vandalize the place but only because he was desperate and literally starving. It's not hard to think in his desperation to find food that he'd get a little angry looking for it. Especially if the cabin was his last hope for any.
Nathan Wind agree with you. I also don’t buy the idea that he disassembled a wood stove just to carry it outside. To me that sounds exactly like what a curious bear would do, not a starving person.
John Howard Actually it's quite stupid and in no way reflects the character of Christopher. You and the op have predisposition you need to check yourselves on.
I was there, two years before Chris... It happened actually after two years on the road. Roaming around from Mexico City to Sonora, to Phoenix, to long life Grand Canyon, to Yosemite, thru Humboldt County and the Redwoods, thru Upqua´Oregon, to Yellowstone, to Glacier, thru BC, thru Yukon, to Haines and Kenai, to Fairbanks, to Talkeetna, and and finally up there, the footsteps of Denali... all by myself, all on my own, just with knife, compas, fire, and camping stuff... And I... me... also experienced the no-shit power of nature, fear of death, infinite smallness... a very strong experience... with a very cold and windy end-of-autumn rain storm that lead me lost in the tundra, close to a nervous mother bear and her cubs... very few blueberries and oatmeal left, almost none water tablets... So... one grey cold day I couldn't hang more on and felt on my knees, and cried out loud my humility and awareness of the no-good-no-bad powers of nature, and cried out our stupid human egocentric believes towards the infinite greatness of nature, life-death and universe... After a freezing night, the sun shined and a rainbow flew over the great Denali, right there, in front of me and my brothers caribou and moose... I knew it was time to go back to ol'good Mexico... Then I head back, found my feather, found my song, found my love... Now, 30 years after, I try to keep faithful to those visions, to those learnings... we humans are very wrong on our perceptions of life and nature, May love save the world from our ego... I found love. I work love. I try to praise love thru living it. Bless you Candle Chris Blessings to all...
Bestiario Musical ZH well aren’t u just the luckiest prick!!! Life, family, friends, none of them will ever have ur back like the one we cover ourselves or our pets r covering for us. To me, being alone is my biggest fear. I’ve known this for some time. I’ve had years to prepare. Slowly I’ve watched everyone come and go. Some I would never had believed. Fuck Em!!! I’ll be the dead one!!!!
"His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune
@Verda Yeah, I did understand what your point was and I agree with it. It's funny how all the comments are filled with "he was a dumbass", "he was an idiot" and so on. He wanted to prove himself that he could survive in the wild and so he did. Also, as you pointed, the moral of the story wasn't that he was an extreme survivalist and that is not what people respect him for. It was that he wanted to be free of basically everything. He didn't want to abide by society's rules for the rest of his life and wanted to experience ultimate freedom. The surviving was just something he had to do in order to accomplish his dreams. And he did survive long enough to experience what he wanted.
@@retepniffirg8853 I doubt that he would have considered his tragic end "complete freedom." It's great that he attempted to live solo, but unfortunately couldn't do so. I know I couldn't. Brave to try, but risking losing his life at 24 when he could have been an adventurer for possibly another 60 yrs or so doesn't seem like freedom.
Only just discovered this amazing story today after watching the film. God knows why i didnt watch it sooner. To be completely honest these "facts" or this video do not ruin the story one bit for me even if this guy isnt trying to make a name/money for himself, the fact that chris inspired the story behind the film is enough for me as its changed my outlook on life and i hope it can do the same for others. Happiness is only real when shared with others. Peace.
@Florida Dad I don’t think chris vandalized the cabins. Local authorities never even considered it. Plus all his photographs show him roaming downstream of the bus, when the cabins were upstream. Also, given Chris’s character I would have expected him to brag about it in his writing, seems like something he would be proud of if he destroyed the “encroachment of civilization” on the wild.
When he realized that he wasn't going to get out the way he got in, why didn't he go a live in the cabins which may have had some food? At least better warmed.
There is a quote from Chris in the book where he literally tells Carine he will "be gone for some time" and that he intends to go on an adventure "for a while". The only thing he was permanently leaving was his parents.
It was by design.. He didn't take what wasn't needed. And he died for it.. But never forget it was by design he did it. He wanted to see if he could do it. I don't know ANYONE that would try the things he did. Most people wouldn't, they are too afraid.
MrTirien why would you want to try that? It's not smart, do you think if it were the year 1850, the people then wouldn't want all the supplies they could take or needed? It was a foolish move. Mother nature is not forgiving! She can be a cruel bitch! I'll say this though, he was making it, if it wasn't for those dam seeds he probably would be alive and well today, but he chose incorrectly and died because of it.
He made ONE mistake and it cost him and us his life. The plant is identical nearly to the non poisonous version. The seeds plug ur digestive system so u cant eat
MJC Agree! You die if u r not prepared. People that live up there full time and have spent lifetimes there prepare all summer for the winter, because it is so cold 🥶. There are also the accidents that happen, especially if you are not familiar with what can occur.
I'm in the camp that had he found those cabins he would have chosen them over the bus for shelter. At the cabin there also would have been a greater chance of someone with better knowledge of the area returning.
+Hiker63 i agree with you .who ever wrecked them cabins was breaking the law burglary and criminal damage.chris wasnt no law breaker by the sound of it no way.and how did he find a backpack after police had been in looking ?
+Hiker63 If Chris had broken into the cabins he would have found topo maps and in the Park Service cabin a journal which described how rangers would hike in there from the south. So Chris then would have known that rangers would be there sometime that summer and he would have known that there was a way to walk out over the mountains to the south. A ranger did walk in there in early August, 1992 and found the damaged cabins. Then a helicopter flew 2 other rangers in to clean up the mess. They all agreed the damage was done by a human. Unfortunately for Chris the helicopter did not continue another 5 miles north to look for anyone staying at the bus...
For people accusing Chris for vandalism of cabins, the major flaw in that theory is that cabins were wrecked by sledge hammer, sth McCandless did not have. The suspicion is actually that locals did that and stole from cabin then bears got inside, trashing place even more.
I, like everybody else that was moved by Chris's story saw ourselves in him. That could have been us. And to say something to Chris looks like a direct hit on our part but the fact that Chris's last photo by which he holds a piece of paper means a lot. He tries to warn anyone who will try to walk the path that he had. He tells to value your life and your family more than grudges and hatred. And his quote "Happiness is only real when shared" solidifies his message.
It doesn't make sense. Why would he destroy something or someone else's property? In his past escapades, he does not have the habit of destroying something.
@sirraulo9002 I do not think for one minute that Chris destroyed anything in this cabin. I doubt he even knew it existed. I think it was just a bear or another animal on the rampage. It is easy to blame Chris just because he was in the area and was an outsider.
Interesting vid. It only suggests possibilities not certainties. For those who criticise Chris's actions, those who call him dumb, say he was not prepared have every right too. For me the reason his story resonates in so many is because of his journey. He saw a sickness in society, a sadness, a repetitive life devoid of life in it's purest sense. He highlighted the madness of it all and if you don't see or feel it yourself then you will never understand Chris. He had an energy and fearless nature that God I wish I had! That I admire truly. He set out to change the world, his world. He actually tried! More than most. He will always inspire to those who recognise what he saw. If the world had more Chris's then there would be pure life instead of the singaler, self obsessed, synthetic society that many are so oblivious too! Happiness is only real when shared....and I would like to live in that world.
Well, I will not deny the appeal to it, but you need to be mature enough to realize than you need others to survive. It is written in all chapter in history and even in the Bible. If you despise society it is fine, but the work to change it and no runaway from it. What I do not like is he is made into a „hero“ and youngsters like my daughter for example, who is tired of the incessant work to find and earn her own place on society, are looking into it as an easy life out of the burdens of society. I have tried to instill my daughter and my son about the responsibilities we have on the society through of attitudes. Nowadays with the churches in decline, you can find a one month stay in a monastery almost for free and find the peace and solitude. Of course, this is not the glamours path who brings you thousands of followers. What a waste for talent of this young man. I had to read the book, he could have bee.a great leader in the church and help people through it. So sad he put himself and nature as his teacher. He studied history so, I do not get how he though he could live only on plants without cultivating anything or small prey without actually wandering like the ancient humans did. Honestly I have no words to describe: other he was terribly naive, or he was overconfident and arrogant or he just despised society that much that he refused help or vomited all what he learned in the university..
True people acting over smart calling him stupid he just went to live his life but unfornutaley he made a mistake and it cost his life but I'll always admire his courage that something I'll always relate to him about him saying that society is fked up
Very interesting. Was the backpack ever given to the family? Maybe wherever they put the bus, the backpack should go too. If going by the bus was a trail used by dog mushers and snow machines, and it was basically summer, why didn’t other hikers run into Chris? Seems like a well known and used trail during the best time of year from the brutal cold and yet Chris was all alone. You would think the park ranger in this isolated area would have made a trek to the bus several times a month to make sure no one was stranded. If the ranger could check on the man’s cabin, why didn’t he check on the known bus? If Chris had wandered north and found the other cabins, he would have journaled about it. It doesn’t make sense to remove a stove from the cabin when it would have been easier to just live in the cabin. I think Chris lived in the bus because that was the only shelter he knew about. Too bad the owner had no cameras installed.
Good points, Rita. I agree that it's a stretch to argue that McCandless had done the breaking in at the cabins. Nothing that belonged to the cabins was found in the bus or the backpack. Why'd he break in and leave with nothing, e.g. maps, tools or anything else useful to life in the wild? Why would he inflict the described damage? (Why would anyone do that?) As you say, it's a pity there were no cameras and hence we'll never know what actually happened. There is probably lots of other information that is irretrievably lost. All we can do is speculate about the unknown elements.
Great video - one comment, just because the backpack was discovered in the bus by this gentlemen months after Chris died, does not mean the backpack was in the bus when they found the body. Maybe someone took it after Chris died, and then returned it after the police left.
If Chris had broken into the Park cabin he would have found the Journal there along with topo maps. In the journal he could have read about how the Rangers walk in and out of there from the south at the Park Road. So he would have known how to get out of there without having to cross the flooded river. But he may not have been able to walk that far over the mountains by the time he realized he was starving...
@Florida Dad this. plus, he had a map originally, and left it, and his watch, with the guy who gave him a ride, not wanting to know what time it was, what day it was, or even where he was. and, he probably found the cabins closer to his end, and wasn't thinking coherently anymore.
Well it changes the fact he did not actually left his wallet and burn all of his dollars. And dumbest part is the wallet was found out years after because the police left that bag.
Finding that out when he was too weak to walk out would give him a motive for destroying the cabins, would it not? It was clearly done by someone in a fit of rage. I'd definitely have a fit if I found the way out but I couldn't take it and knew I was dying. He already had the bus with a stove, and probably preferred to die there. It must have been in his last two weeks of life or so I think.
The only thing that bothers me about these details is that Chris didn't seem like the type of person to vandalize . Can see him possibly trying to stay in one of the cabins or maybe use something from one but not purposely destroying anything.....
People get blinded even by a guy. I support his decision to go into the wild, live a little, it's an amazing achievement and of great courage. But if someone talks something bad about him people seem to be ideologized, blind. It's so easy to manipulate people's mind, they are so easily influencial. It's a real shame.
Remember that this is only 5 minutes taken from a video that is 108 minutes long. You can download the whole video at the address above. From the videos, books and articles I've learned that Chris arrived at the bus in early May and only stayed a few days. Then he went exploring for about 2 or 3 weeks- wanting to continue west. But bad weather and high rivers forced him to turn back. He may have come across several trails which led up river to the cabins... This guy in the video has said that he thinks a bear got into his cabin first because the shutter on the door was broken into pieces- something Chris could not have done. The bear had destroyed any usable food. The trail continued to the other cabins where Chris could have found some food but that early in his trip maybe he just wanted to fend for himself. The Park Service cabin had a threatening, official looking sign on the door warning people of severe penalties for disturbing the cabin. Could that sign have ticked Chris off enough to make him go ballistic on the cabin? The Park Service ranger walked in there in mid-July and found the cabins. He was a specialist in bears and bear control. He deduced that a bear had been at one cabin but a person had also been there and vandalized stuff at 2 of the cabins. Ironically, if the Ranger had continued down the river about 5 miles he would found Chris at the bus and rescued him...
They definitely should return this backpack and its contents to his family, but maybe it's an old recording from several dozen years ago and maybe they kept his things in two that he was there
They probably did. This is an old interview and at the time that they found it the secret pocket wasn't known about. This wasn't some murder scene in a big city. It was a guy who died in the woods of Alaska. Keep that in perspective.
The Wild Truth Hardcover - November 11, 2014 by Carine McCandless (Author) But the real story of Chris’s life and his journey has not yet been told - until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed in The Wild Truth, written by Carine McCandless, Chris's beloved and trusted sister. Featured in both the book and film, Carine has wrestled for more than twenty years with the legacy of her brother's journey to self-discovery, and now tells her own story while filling in the blanks of his. Carine was Chris's best friend, the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled household, Carine speaks candidly about the deeper reality of life in the McCandless family. In the many years since the tragedy of Chris's death, Carine has searched for some kind of redemption. In this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth.
The only reason he had money on him was cause he came to the realization he could not accomplish his dream of living up in Alaska without some money. Thats why he worked on the wheat plantation up in Dakota. 300 dollars is probably what he had left after buying the supplies to get to Alaska or what he was saving for his trip home. He had no death wish but he definitely lived a better life than any of us have. He was a great man with great ideals and even though the movie/book might have been "Hollywooded", his ideals are all that matter and they help us all strive to try accomplish what this guy did on his adventure around North America.
To anyone that doesn't know: the bus was moved years and years ago. It is not there anymore, and hasn't been for over 3 years now. I watched them rig it up to a helicopter and fly it away.
He smoked a joint with a bunch of us at the foot of Pyramid mountain in Jasper Alberta on his way up north. He stayed in Jasper for few days. Nice dude. It was crazy when we heard the news about him. RiP
@@papabigjoe7914 up till the 2 days I met him, I had been living in the Canadian Rockies for almost 20 years. Im a decent climber and I have been immersed in the mountain culture half my life. Chris struck me as a bit green when it came to actual deep bush survival. He was traveling light for his Alaskan ambitions, a girl gave him a better roll tarp, but he was stoked to be on his adventure. You meet alot of dudes like him in the ski towns. Harsh how he died for sure.
@@sharktooth64 What a tragic way to die. Poor kid underestimated how harsh the Alaskan Bush was and went into it eyes closed. I just wish I could've known what exactly was going through his head when he did everything that he did. RIP Chris McCandless.
Doesn't really matter what people think of Chris. He did something that brought a lot of positive thinking in many people. Which is to me all that matters.
He selfishly didn't tell his sister where he was. Then risks his life being foolish and unprepared, which at some point would make others have to risk theirs to save him...
Im in the wild atm in oz . Just watched your omg hot spring vid that took me to here lol well , batterries about to die and solar charging is a bitch so goodnite
C'mon man, this is not the same thing as getting bitten by a rattle snake. That is something so random, you can't really plan ahead for it. This guy went to live in Alaska & planned on being fully self sufficient, only he didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know how to use his map! You are really stretching things by comparing this scenario to the others you mentioned.It's the fact that he made so many mistakes that makes him foolish. He did literally everything wrong. Not the same.
How can a man stand there and determine that Chris vandalized his cabin... I don't buy for a second!! Not only that... if Chris had done that then why did he sit still in the bus and not return to said cabin once he knew the river was too high and rough to cross... makes no sense at all and this man is shameful for pointing fingers... how can he keep that knapsack as well... GIVE IT BACK TO HIS FAMILY!! Brutal.
he did send the pack and wallet and money to Chris's sister, Carine. she wrote about it in her book. chris knew that hunters would be coming out the road to the bus in late august so he stayed there hoping for help.
+TheAmazingChristianBigot Yeah, you got it all figured out, don't you. You fat piece of shit who could never imagine to do what Chris did....You would have dropped dead at mile 3. You make me sick...."He was a jerk"...and you, well, ya know. Never mind.
+TheAmazingChristianBigot You're "completely unimpressed", yet here you are commenting on a thread about him...?? That says more about you than Chris, don't you think? Tell ya what, why don't you create a video about YOUR LIFE and let's see how many people give a shit.....Fucking troll.
I can understand why people would see McCandless as a hero, simply for being "authentic" to himself. However, what he did simply wasn't smart. With little to no knowledge of the terrain, he literally just...walked out there. I mean, he wasn't planning on dying, he wasn't suicidal (the money and the ID's seem to indicate that). He had a backup plan, kind of. I think, if anything, his story is an example of what being raised in a privileged home in modern society can do: it can create a reactionary, idealistic-to-a-fault, naive personality that can become irrational and dangerous to itself. The smarter thing would have been to ask "Well, how can I adapt to modern society?" Or "How can I change it?" Not a juvenile desire to return to some primitive state. I give McCandless props for being true to himself, or the self that his unique personality and situation created, but I think the way he died--alone, tired, starving, and in pain--speaks volumes.
The same could be said about anyone who has pushed themselves to limits and beyond- mountain climbers, astronauts, explorers, pioneers... if it wasn’t for this quality in some humans, we wouldn’t know or have the things we have today. There was a guy in France who made himself a pair of wings in order to fly. He gathered people to watch, so confident in his invention and jumped off the Eiffel Tower. His contraption never worked and he died in front of everyone, but failure and mistakes aren’t wasted. He inspired others to figure out how to fly and someone eventually succeeded. People do things all the time just to see if they could do it. Heck, a high schooler leapt off the Golden Gate Bridge for kicks and survived while that same jump kills hundreds of those committing suicide a year. All our lives are one inspiration after another.
It's supposed to be believable that this "adventurer" sets out to go into the wild and after 4 days decides to settle down in the first hint of permanent shelter he finds and spends more than 100 straight days there. He was not much of an adventurer given that story. He obviously ventured past the bus on the easy trail and found the cabins and looted them for supplies because when it came to living in the wilderness he was a moron. He started starving to death the second he stepped onto the Stampede Trail on his own. It's likely that he left the bus shortly after finding it to venture further, found the cabins, spent some time there. After using up the cabin supplies, he continually grew weaker because he couldn't fend for himself and decided to get out of there. On the way back he stopped at the bus for some rest, then continued on out, was too stupid to find his way out and had to go back to the bus, all the while continually starving until he could no longer help himself.
It’s hilarious how you interject a completely false story that you have no clue about. You watched a couple videos so I’m sure you know exactly what happened 😂
@NO La seems like your projecting your hate and impatience on us. Not sure why, doesnt really accomplish much except people being hostile right back, and they wont remember your opinion just the hostility.
So he didnt burn his ss card and drivers license as depicted in the movie. I guess that was just speculated since it could not be found. Im not convinced he vandalized the cabins. Doesn't appear to be his style. Other people used that trail.
in the book it said that a possible theory is that chris found the cabins and because of his frustration noticing human presence in his travel, he decided to break the cabins (sorry for my english)
it took two years and starving to death in the wild for him to figure out what any homeless person could have told him. Dying alone sucks and there is nothing romantic about being desperate and hungry. Life is as happy or unhappy as you perceive it to be. People built civilizations and cities because we are meant to be social. Seems to me all he did was commit suicide in the slowest possible way you can. I think people get wrapped up in the romantic notion of his journey and forget the reality is he died cold alone hungry and afraid.
+david sandlin true, I suppose many people simply ignore the truth of his death. However, to acknowledge the gruesomeness of his death and still admire his intention, commitment, and for lack of a better word - balls, is still possible. I still see the romantic side.
Banks Diggy i never said that his intentions werent pure just that they were misguided and quite obviously dangerous. Sometimes the reality and the perception of reality are different. In his mind this was a journey to free himself from societies constraints cast his die and let fate lead him to a deeper understanding. But the reality of the situation is that it didnt show him anything in the end. My point is that what he was seeking doesnt require a lonely ill prepared journey to the end of the earth it takes a painfully honest look into yourself. He could have found his happiness inside and then the world outside would have reflected that.
+david sandlin We are social, but people didn't build cities because we're meant to be social, they built them to gather and house labour for industry, many bi-products of which are unpleasant and we try to manage - squalor, disease, waste, bleak urban environments. I'd say the urge to escape that is something natural; just not necessarily into total isolation.
greedobob I believe cities are a by product of humans being social. If we were not social then industry would not exist. Industry by definition requires people to work together and stems from human interaction. Obviously there are downfalls to having overpopulated areas such as disease and filth but humans who strive in isolation are outliers and most people require some interaction with others. That is why they are finding solitary confinement causes mental illness in otherwise healthy prisoners. I still think that the only thing he learned was dieing alone cold and hungry sucks. There is a certain subset of people who read this story as a romantic way to die. This book has been found in the possessions of quite a few missing people.
+david sandlin Except we spent most of our existence as hunter gatherers in relatively small groups (they say around 150 individuals or so), one could argue that this better reflects our natural state. Once society shifts from that model, people have no choice but to head to populated areas for work, to put food on the table. Eating comes before socialising in our hierarchy of needs; and we may never come to terms with the consequences of that change in society that's seen population growth and consumption of resources explode and continue unchecked. Despite all that, I think we're on the same page regarding Chris McCandless, I recently watched the film and have been poking about to see if the reality was much different. As with many biographical films, it seems they omitted and added various things to build the romance.
To those who admire and try to emulate Chris McCandless's life style, listen up. He's dead. So his troubles are over. Mind yours. Don't be like him. I've been there and done that in my sort of ways. Let me tell you what you will find after spending the most productive part of your life seeking the way he did: indifference!
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 become a shark if you don't like being a part of the rat race. Or simply come to an understanding that with life comes suffering and accept the circumstances you have. Enjoy the loves one's in your life. That's Chris's last message, at least to me.
if this is a man who did not like civilization then maybe it is plausible when he saw the cabins he felt "free enough" to destroy them. This is a sick guy. edited to say: I'm sure Chris' family loved him dearly and want to think of the positive he did. But in their attempts they seem to want to make him larger than life and he isn't. He didn't have bushcraft skills and that is lack of intelligence to go do what he did.
If Chris had gone into the Park Service cabin he would have found the trail conditions journal and topo maps there along with food. (There wasn't much food left at the other cabin because it attracts bears.) The food from the Park cabin would not have lasted him all summer, though. And who knows if he really knew how to read a topo map. But the cabin log (journal) could have tipped him off to the route back over the ridge to the south and down to the Park road. The only evidence I've seen that makes me think Chris did go to the Park cabin is a picture he took of a stack of books which look exactly like the assortment of paperback novels which all the Park cabins are supplied with...the picture is in his sister's book "The Wild Truth."
Possibly the biggest mistake he made was throwing away his map. Then he was trapped by a river in spate and he didn’t know any other escape routes because, no map. I admire his bravery but I always make sure I have a map and Silva style compass at minimum and even a basic gps and spare map when going to the mountains. I get he was trying to test himself to see if he could survive but he made mistakes a seasoned mountaineer/hiker/backcountry explorer would not. Still it’s a real shame but he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last.
People take cheapshots at Chris and call him stupid because they don’t want to do real critical thinking of what his philosophy actually was. It’s easier to misrepresent and take shots at something you don’t understand.
Well done video and interview. I am impressed its filmed on location. I live in Alaska. It's nice to see someone covering Alaska topics onsite and getting details accurate. What this musher states is spot on and wasn't even covered in the book or movie. For example, the fact in winter/ late winter such as the time this guy headed toward Denali on the Stampede Trail, there is no "trail" -- buried in snow which is measured in several feet in that area, not inches. The trails he followed was made via dog mushing, which isn't the actual trail route
Why would he stay in the bus and not one of the cabins? Fear of being discovered by the owners, I guess? But why would he vandalize the cabins? Anger at being so wounded by his parents, and society, that he needed an outlet? I wish I knew. Such an unfortunate set of events. I do envy him for the places he saw, the great people he met, and the amazing experiences he had. True that his "divorcing" his parents, and leaving even Carine not knowing if he was alive or dead, was cruel.
He had gotten busted before for breaking into a government cabin in the lower 48 to get food. The Denali Park Service cabin had a big sign on the door that said it government property and not for public use on penalty of getting busted. Maybe he just got pissed off at the sign and the locked door and went all ballistic about it.
"Vandalizing" means he broke in and stole things. He was stuck at the bus for multiple reasons. One being the rivers had swelled to a point where he could not cross back. The other being that he was poisoned by eating the wrong plant. And was slowly dying by starvation.
I never understood the appeal of his story. A guy runs off into the wilderness with no survival skills or experience and it ends up getting him killed. The end
@Beef Twinkie you do know he despised his rich parents, also the only money he took from them was for his education, then donated what was left over to a charity right after he graduated then he set off on his travels with just a back pack full of supplies. Don't you think he wanted to get away from being a "spoiled rich kid" and live a different way? What would you say about a person that grew up poor and on the streets that came into a lot of money and wanted to live the opposite of what Chris chose, a rich spoiled life? I think we all have the right to make that choice, don't you?
I have the picture book the family put out a few years ago with a bunch of Chris’s photos. That is 100% the backpack he had on all his journeys. Not one he just picked up in Alaska before he died. It should probably go back to the family.
@@jeaniee.6283 well, I could imagine he was mad the cabins interrupted his sense of alone in the wilderness. He thought they were intruding on his journey from civilization.
Those cabins are on the trail, they are known by people who live around there, hunters, hikers and others. Anybody who knows them could have damaged them during the summer. But Christopher didn't know the area at all, he didn't have any map. 6 miles seems to be close when we walk on the lane, but in the wild, it's three hours far, or more. Hard to find for Christopher, who didn't even know which direction he should go. He sure didn't go hunting so far from the bus, thinking he could get lost or injured, and find himself unable to come back. If Christopher had found the cabins, he'd have stayed there, rather than writing his SOS message on the bus , hoping to be found and saved by someone, though he knew that nobody came to the bus during 100 days.
Chris followed a packed trail to the bus. You can see the trail in his own pictures. That same trail forked at the bus area and went up river to the cabins on one trail and on to the west on the other trail. The few locals who went out there back then had left before Chris got there because the snow was melting and ice opening up. Almost noone went out there in the summer and there was no trail to the cabins in summer. Chris wrote that he stayed 3 days at the bus and then continued walking for about 3 weeks before returning to the bus. He had plenty of time to follow the trail up to the cabins. If he damaged the cabins he wouldn't stay around there and get caught by Rangers walking in from the south. The pictures he took indicate he probably went about 12 miles west to the Toklat river which was flooding out. So he went back to the bus. Inside the bus at that time there was graffiti written on the walls by hunters with their names and the dates they were there. Chris would have read that graffiti and known that hunters would be coming in late August or early September so he stayed there waiting for help. He did have a road map with him which showed the Stampede road and the Denali Park road about 15 miles to the south. He could have walked south without crossing any big river and gotten help on the Park road but he either didn't figure that out or was too weak to try it.
Respect your opinion but very unlikely that Alex vandalized the cabin(s)...I know it's great fun for bored Alaskans to make him the villain , but the facts don't support their delusions (not to mention deductive reasoning and all that good, logical stuff).... We could sit down over a bottle of whiskey and debate this all night and for every reason you could give me for why you think he did it, I could give you two for why I think he didn't...And so it goes.....
Post Script: And as for your theory that he would have stayed at the bus waiting for hunters, moose season doesn't open till Sept. so there's no way he would have thought they would be there to help him in August...
There was writing on the walls of the bus from previous years when caribou hunting was opened in mid-august. Hunters would write their names and the animals they had hunted along with a date. Some of those were dated in August of previous years. Caribou was closed when Chris was there but he may not have known that. I suspect he knew hunters would be coming out there in the fall...that;s why he wrote a note asking for help and left it at the bus when he went out gathering berries. He didn't know he was going to die before they arrived. By mid-august he was too weak or injured to walk out or walk to the cabins even if he knew they were there. What I still don't understand is why he didn't do more to attract the attention of aircraft and get himself rescued? A Park helicopter flew in there to the Park cabin on August 9. Other aircraft flew over that area. A smokey fire would have attracted attention because the bus is in a high fire suppression zone. But then if he had vandalized the Park service cabin and he poached a moose and let it rot then maybe he didn't want to attract an "official" rescue.
Yes, Alex poached the moose but he certainly didn't "let it rot". He tried desperately to save the meat, and when he couldn't he went as far as to call it "one of the worst mistakes of my life"....His plan was to use all the meat, hardly your typical "poacher". (But yes he took it out of season and without a license).I agree completely re. your point about why he didn't do more to attract aircraft attention. In the dire state he was in I don't think he would have cared whether it was an "official" rescue or not, considering the other alternative was starving to death....I suppose it may just never have occurred to him, but that's hard to believe, especially if he could hear aircraft overhead. if he did make a conscious decision to not want an official rescue then I got to hand it to him - he went out holding strong to his convictions. Dare I say not many people can say that...Just another reason why I admire the guy so much.
I see a lot of nonsense spewed out in the comments, so here's the facts: there was food in these cabins, we always leave food in cabins in case someone in trouble pass by, I know that because I'm Canadian and I've been in the woods all my life, but according to Will Forseburg all the food in his cabin was thrown on the floor (by Chris), when Chris reached the cabins he was still trying to hike to the Bering Sea (he turned around later when he realized his plan was unfeasible and went back to the bus), he wasn't starving yet and he wasn't desperate, so this was a simple act of vandalism, why I have no idea, but the facts speak by themselves, he wasn't a hero, he took unnecessary risks because he thought of himself as indestructible, but he lacked preparation and foresight, and now we know he was seeking reclusion because he was angry at the world due to the abuse he suffered as a child, well only a Californian would think the Alaskan wilderness is a good place to do a catharsis, you guys simply don't get it
Yeh... that totally makes sense. You know how he broke into the cabins and decided not to look at the maps that told him how to leave without having to cross a huge river. And it totally makes sense how he chose to stay in a damp cold bus than in a fully furnished and insulated cabin.
@@doughminatrix I don't know any more than anyone else about Christopher, however he didn't want to die, as he left a note on the bus for possible passerbys while he went off to pick berries. His note mentioned his weakness and being close to death and wanting to be saved, and that if anyone read his note while he was out to wait for him to return. He also mentions being injured, a fact that seems to go unmentioned.
In my own understanding there is two theories that can explain the whole cabins fiasco 1.Christopher McCandless never found the cabin because did he found it he would have come back to it during his last days when he was in the brink of death in the hope that someone who was much familiar with the Alaska territory would have stumbled upon the cabin thereby increasing his chances of survival.Another supporting evidence is nothing that belonged to the cabin was found in the bus McCandless ws sheltering in not even the ma that showed a route other than the river was missing.This theory is further supported by the fact that McCandless wallets was found intact with all sort of identification documents together with some cash i presume in the case of absolute emergency meaning that he had all sorts of plans to come back alive and was never suicidal. 2.McCandless found the cabin in his last days of life where he was in a state of desperation due to nearly starving to death and as they say a hungry man is an angry man and i would like to think a starving man is a raging man and in act of rage McCandless took out his hopelessness on the cabin vandalizing it in the process. I personally lean on to the first theory because it is highly unlikely considering McCandless character of respecting his surroundings that he would just destroy a cabin just for the sake of it.It simply is not in him to do that.
+MrYezayeza Number 1 theory- It is much more likely that someone would have found Chris at the bus than at the cabin. Because the bus is right on the old road. The cabins are hidden in forest and almost never visited in summer. There was graffitti with dates inside the bus written on the roof left by hunters. Chris would have seen that graffitti and known that hunters would come out in the Fall...and they did...but too late. Theory 2- The Rangers who found the damaged cabins were certain that the cabins had been vandalized by a human and in the Spring or early Summer. In his last days Chris would probably not have been capable of walking up to the cabins. I think that someone walked out in the Spring on the dog trails and found the cabins. The Park Service cabin was locked up and had a threatening sign on it that said, "Government Property. Keep Out. No Trespassing. Violaters will be Prosecuted." That sign and the locked door may have pissed someone off so much that they broke in and vandalized both cabins. Later a bear also got into that guy's private cabin.
Lots of people regularly made it to the bus following the Stampede Trail without having to use the dog sled trails. It's doubtful that Chris McCandless ever ventured far off the Stampede trail at ail when going to the bus as he purportedly had no map or compass, along with little real knowledge of wilderness navigation. A trail or road would have been a lifeline. I find it very hard to believe Chris would not have taken refuge in one of the cabins on the Shushana had he known of their existence, especially considering the Ranger cabin had canned food stocked in it. Remember, Chris ended up starving to death. If one did not specifically know of the cabins upriver from the location of the bus, they would've been hidden from view to someone like Chris whom I seriously doubt ventured far at all from the bus the entire time he was there. The bus was refuge and shelter, but also an obvious place where people came through and knew about. If Chris had truly wanted to immerse himself in the wild far from civilization, he could've do so at any time by walking off into the woods far away from all trails. He never did that.
I disagree a bit, his first plan was to hike all the way to the Bering sea. Kinda like his Colorado river to the sea of Cortez adventure. So he initially went past the bus for a few days, then turned around and came back. So he could’ve found it then. I’d imagine it interrupted his sense of alone in the wilderness so he vandalized it. Then just became too weak to make it back to the cabin.
I don't understand why he kept for so many years his bag? and how is possible the strupid policemen forget that when they went to take Chri's body???? personally I don't think he vandalised the house into the wood
+Marketoromagnolo The police looked through his pack when they flew in to get his body but they didn't find the wallet in a hidden pocket. They left what they thought was an empty pack there in the bus. Chip Brown wrote in the New Yorker article that he saw the pack there when he flew in there in October that year. Brown didn't find the wallet either. The dude in this video found the pack on the floor in the bus. It looked empty other than some mushrooms in it. It was obviously abandoned so he took it and used it. He didn't know at that time that the Mccandless family was going to fly in there that next summer. After several years he found the wallet and mailed the pack and wallet to Chris's sister Carine. If the pack had been taken by the police when they came in to get Chris's body they would have given it to Chris's family and I doubt that they would have ever found the wallet hidden inside it...
+Alive and Kicking yes but I don't understand, every single objects police dfound had to be taken off, and given to the familly! also how is possible nobody found the wallet there? I mean every stupid policmen knows how to look for something hidden inside a pack
+Marketoromagnolo The bus had a lot of abandoned stuff inside which had been left behind by hunters, trappers and dog mushers. the police had no way to know exactly which things belonged to Chris. They had limited time there to investigate and limited space in the helicopter. So, they looked at everything and took the things which seemed important. The pack was open and seemed to be empty except for some mushrooms which voles or squirrels were storing inside the bottom pocket. If you look at the video at minute 4:04 it shows the inside of the pack where the hidden zipper closed an inner pocket which held the wallet. It is very hard to see the zipper. The guy in the video who took the pack did not find the wallet inside that zippered pocket for over 10 years. He only found it because he was cleaning dust dirt out of the big pocket with a rag and noticed the zipper. If the police had taken the pack and returned it to the family I wonder if they would have ever found the hidden pocket and wallet.
The man found an old pack from a dead man, thinks it was a good idea to steal it and to keep it as a memory, and suddenly, ten years later, he decides that the time has come to clean it, and find a wallet with 300 dollars? This is the kind of "truth" you want me to believe ? No way, all of this story is nonsense from the start to the end..
According to a lot of evidence, Chris didn’t go far enough from his base camp to encounter the Cabin plus it didn’t sound like his way to vandalize a local cabin even if he was hungry
That and inconsideration to his sister and others who would have to risk their lives to save him. Interesting that he acted just like his father. All drunks are that way. Whether or not he was that way himself. Considering total lack of preparation, that's something a drunk would do. He might not have drank at all, but it's consistent with that. Often, you'll see kids of drunks act the same as the alcoholics. Even with no booze. There was our story about a liquor store that might indicate heavy drinking. You should have several if that were true, but going there, they can be very mentally unstable and senseless violent. Maybe his plan was that cabins aren't "roughing it" enough? To keep others away from it/him?
You know, if the story of possible alcoholism is true (trying to break into a liquor store...?) Turn, you'd be dealing with a very unstable mind. Under DTs, they will hallucinate. His father was a lush. I'd venture to say their mother had codependency issues. They go together. So, odds of being a drunk, especially at such a young age (they tend to start early, usually teens, but childhood drinking isn't rare) are fairly high. At least 60%+ Tho I don't say one story makes evidence. Things also get misconstrued..
In hollywood cris is a great story. In canadas north we call him a vandal who went into the bush as a spoiled rich kid living off bush people's hard livings.
The book and movie are romanticized versions of the truth. I have read the book and watched the movie. This ‘myth’ is what draws similar young people to him. Any person from Alaska will tell you he basically committed suicide. Many people warned him and he ignored their advice. He was lucky he wasn’t attacked by a bear and eaten while he was still alive. Alaskan’s see thousands of stupid, young people try to do this every year and never see them again. The hero worship of this kid is absolutely sickening.
Chris did not get rid of his ID and money as written in Into the Wild. Krakauer just made that up. His wallet was hidden in his pack with lots of ID and money. The pack wallet and money were all returned to Chris's sister Carine many years ago. Carine writes about this in her new book.
Don't believe the police missed the bag. The guy in the video must have found it while CM was still alive but at that moment not near the bus. Strange he hasn't returned it to CM's family btw.
Alive and Kicking how do you know forsberg returned Chris’s backpack to his family?? Whats your source? Because I have reason to believe his backpack is still in Healy, Alaska.
I have no idea what happened out there and who vandalized any of those cabins. The place seems isolated but I have seen videos of groups driving to the bus in tricked out 4 X 4 so who knows what really happened. RIP
Locals are well known to have vandalized that bus after Chris's death and breaking windows, shooting at it, trashing the inside... I suggest this guy blame locals instead. And why wouldn't he turn that pack into authorities for lost and found. He basically stole a dead guys backpack. And still has it.
The same guy who found the pack and the wallet and returned it with the money to Chris's sister also had his cabin vandalized. The 3 Park rangers who found the 3 damaged cabins all agreed that the damage was done by a human. Chris was the only human known to have been out there when the vandalism took place. Maybe he did it or maybe not...there is no way to know really.
Well, he wanted out of this crappy world and he did what he needed to. My brother is doing the same thing. The only difference is we all grew up in the woods of Alaska and were taught many things. What to eat, how to hunt, what plants were edible, how to build shelters, start fires, etc. so just because u dont want to be a part of society does not mean you are stupid! They just dont want the same things out of life that others do! Thats all
He had clearly intentions on returning from the wild. He culminated the state of mind he was looking for, he wrote down things as "Family happiness" and "Happiness is only real when shared", and also when he wrote to his friends he said things as "when I come back from this adventure..." or as he said to Ronald Franz (not real name) that they will talk about his request (to be adopted as his child) once he came back from Alaska, and Chris was thinking about this adventure as the last. Then he left the bus. But it was summer and the rivers had grown and there was a heavy stream and the river was very wide, he couldn't cross. There was a kind of an old structure to cross the river that was from the forestal guards 2 km away, but he had thrown the map many time ago so he didn't know... and he returned to the bus again. Then as for the lack of food and the possible poisoning he died :(
+Beatriz Plana He didn't throw his map away. The police found it and brought it back with them. But it was a road map and didn't show the cable car location.
According to this article: www.adn.com/article/20150110/fiction-jon-krakauers-wild , the underlined passages in those books that Krakauer interpreted may not be from Chris. The books were put into the bus way before Chris got there and could have been from anyone. The whole article is a great read as to how the whole story of Chris has been mythologized and misrepresented, but the specific part I am referring to is the "Underlined passages in books" section of that article.
Chris went on an epic adventure and things took a bad turn. Really no mystery. Unfortunate. But no mystery. He was planning to return and to write about the adventure. I don't like this guy saying things he is not sure of. All speculation.
If this guy is going to accuse Chris for vandalizing his cabin he should of provided some real evidence. If not, he should not of made a video accusing Chris and making himself look as if he positively figured it out.
the river< maybe so maybe not, but god intended for him to die a natural being, to live the remainder of his life a free soul, and thats exactly what he did, and it is still free, and everlasting, forever living in the hearts of all of us. he is here, he lives through us, so much love chris, you have given me a life with something to look forward to
Do they think he wanted to die? He was a smart guy. He's obviously gonna keep something for an absolute emergency. He didn't know what he wanted to do after his adventure and was even quoted saying he might write a book which I think is the most possible if he would have lived.
A lot of people thought Chris was sort of suicidal. Krakauer wrote that Chris gave away all his money and burned his social securtiy card... that along with the fatalistic post cards Chris sent to friends made people think that Chris never wanted to return to civilization even if it meant dying in the wilds. But it turns out that Chris did not burn his money or his cards. He actually tried to return to civilization. The dude who found the wallet wanted to get the word out to everyone that Chris was not suicidal and that he was planning to rejoin society.
Alive and Kicking My take: he was not suicidal but his cognition betrayed him. All his actions/choices though led to his death. He was a Fool on a Fools errand. Money that should have gone to gear was tossed away!! What was he thinking?? Idealistic Ideation?? Issues of long ago with family and society?? Think we will never know. But we can try because there are lessons here in this death.
accordio13 I think you are right that Chris was not suicidal. He told people he was going to try and live off the land for as long as he could. When he realized this wasn't going to be practical any longer he tried to walk back in to the road but was turned back by the high water level in the river. He surely knew that hunters would be coming out in late August after moose because there was graffitti in the bus saying that from past years. I think that is why he put the sign on the bus asking for help...but help did not come soon enough. Ironically, Park rangers flew into the Park cabin to clean up the mess that had been discovered there on August 9. Had they flown 5 miles furthur down to the bus they might have rescued Chris...
so Chris doesnt have enough energy to cross the river to safety , yet has enough hike 5 miles up stream , only to climb up on a roof "pick axe" the roof then climb down break the door open , only to drag the stove outside and hike back to the MAgic bus .... hmmmmm , then a bottom feeder ( this guy that stole his back pack from a bus he didnt own shortly after his death ) finds Chris' wallet inside ....... WOW any1 else find this fish af?
quaxk- Will Forsberg did not leave food in his cabin then because it attracts bears. There was just one can of tomato paste in the cabin which was chewed up by a bear. He never said that "all the food in his cabin was thrown on the floor by Chris". The Rangers who investigated the trashing of the cabins wrote that the damage at all 3 cabins was done by a human and that food was scattered around in the Park cabin.
The people who has stayed at the bus just to shoot holes in it, making it deteriorate faster, tell us that there are persons who survived Chris and is still vandalizing in that area and probably surroundings as well.
In 2020 that bus was removed by helicopter for safety reasons. Rescuers had intervened in many dangerous and deadly situations created by inexperienced wilderness people visiting the bus like it was a tourist attraction.
Respect for this strange story. Seems to get a little more weird with each post I find. Why would anyone in their right mind poke holes in the roof of a cabin, especially if survival was an issue? Makes sense he might have found these cabins - but then I saw an interview with Krakauer talking about how there was a place to cross the river about 1/4 mile down the river, that Chris obviously missed. If he could walk 5 miles to these cabins, how could he have missed a crossing 1/4 mile away? Maybe. Admittedly, sometimes the peanut butter can be right in front of you on the shelf and still hard to find... and he hadn't given up on his original identity, as some stories maintain. Were drugs involved? No one has mentioned that possibility yet. How was his mental health?
He was obviously unprepared. Didn't have decent boots or a good knife or fish net. So we can assume the same mental illness as the bear guy who got killed by the bear he thought "was his friend."
pure speculation only that Chris ever went to, or did ANYTHING to these cabins. If he was willing to venture that far, it seems likely he would have ventured at least a mile or two up and down the river he could not cross, and found the cable crossing.
It was very difficult walking from the river crossing down to the cable which was downstream going into a steep canyon. He was already too weak to do that or it just didn't occur to him. If he had had a topo map he would have seen the words "gauging station" on the map .8 miles down river but he probably would not have known that meant a cable was there. He did have a road map which showed the Stampede Road which he was on and the Denali Park road about 10 miles to the south. He could have walked along the river to the south and found the Park road but that was not easy either. So either it didn't occur to him or he thought it more prudent to return to the bus.
ok yeah he worked for Wayne and said he was going back to work for him to make money! he even complained he paid him too much! he told him just to keep what was on the dash (his watch, maps, change etc) but I don't think he ever said it was everything, he was just maybe overcome with the Alaskan beauty perhaps. I've also heard/seen people tame this as he didn't really burn all his money as he showed in the picture he took, but as his letters indicate , he had to work his way through different places st different times in order to continue on, including an Italian Restaurant, and the work he did in South Dakota. Friends and letters also indicate he went back to South Dakota. I also don't get how police could have TOTALLY missed that backpack!! And I think if he had found that cabin, he one would not have starved to death, would have journals about it as he did everything else-even his failures-, he would have been respectful of it and taken only what be desperately needed, tried to navigate from it, and /or the bear guy would have said it looked like it was a bear. don't mean to sound generic just love Chris M..right on pal!!
I love the idea of Chris realizing there is more to life.
I just had no idea how much people idolized him for it. What is wrong with you people?
There are people here saying he was stupid.. He was. It's true. If he were intelligent, he would not have died in the wild. It's not personal, so don't take it personal. The Truth, which he so sought after and you seem to be too, is that he was not smart enough to survive the conditions he went into.
That is not taking away form the journey he had. It's a beautiful tale, but he is no different to any of you. He knows there is more to life, he was trying to discover this.
The last words '' Happiness only real when shared'' was just that . A deep realization he had. He was likely trying to convince himself he was happy, like most people do. So he pushed away society and isolated himself and realized that didn't help.
It's fun, people always are quick to say ''Society sucks.. fuck that''.. And yes it does, but does not mean you are not part of society. Like it or not, you are society. You do not break away from it, even if you go to a cabin and die alone just to learn that lesson.
I think it better to share happiness with society and to influence it. I mean, we gonna run away form all our problems all our life? Or are we going to try fix these problems.
Again, I really enjoyed Christopher's story and it moved me and I took lots of inspiration from it. But to idolize him?
To get offended when someone says something bad about him. A person you have never met by the way but have created a concept of a perfect person in your head. Seek truth, not your concepts. After all, that is what his message was.
Are you saying how he died wasn't stupid? No, you will probably reply with a poetic beauty to it.. which it had.. I'll admit, but how he died, was stupid. And to think it smart, I'd have to question your judgment. But hey, nice assumption and very aggressive reply to me about others around my life whom I apparently poison lol. I might add, a reply from a person whom I'd have imagined was a peaceful loving person. Sorry I got you on a bad day! Your whole post was a huge hypocritical paradox though. I hope you see that.
Peace brother/sister. And I hope you find the truth you seek.
I think that people may take issue with the way you characterized him as 'stupid'. He was actually a pretty smart guy and the fact that he was able to survive out there for so long is pretty impressive considering everything. I think it simply boiled down to his age. He was in his early twenties & like a lot of people his age he thought he was 'bulletproof'. He had actually met his goal of surviving in the Alaskan wilderness for 2 months & then some, (granted finding the bus probably played a huge role in that), but he didn't take into consideration that the river he crossed just 60 days ago would be flowing faster/deeper due to rains & melting snow. So maybe it's semantics, but I don't think 'stupid' is an accurate characterization, just too young & over confident, like most of us where at that age. I just don't think a 'stupid' person could've accomplished what he did by his age.
True point, perhaps it is the wrong word. He was naive for sure though. But aren't we all. I just don't understand why people would idolize that. Especially when you consider his final message to society. I think most people are truly in love with their own personal built-up concept of who and what he was (Anti society) and actually miss the poignant point of his story. Yes, stupid is the wrong word. Definitely not as smart as he thought he was though for sure.
I take nothing from the man, incredible story and inspiring and motivational and a person who had the courage to do what he believed was right. Another lesson people can benefit from. I'm still not sure what he achieved at this age though apart from .. well..realizing he was wrong about society, or rather, how to adapt to society rather than try to run away from it.
Anyway, thanks for your comment. Very rational and helpful on my own concept of how I looked at this situation. Hope you're having a great start to your week!
I've actually just discovered this story a couple of weeks ago & it's consumed me, partly to learn more about why he did what he did & why so many people are captivated by him & his story. If you read the post cards he wrote just prior to going 'into the wild', he acknowledges that this trip may prove fatal. He was definitely an idealist, a dreamer & a troubled young man. As for all the people who idolize him, I think it comes from the fact he gave the rest of his education fund away to a famine relief organization ($24000), set out on an adventure with no plan & none of the advantages that came from his family & if that wasn't a risk in & of itself, he took a huge risk & tested himself. He seemed to know it was extremely dangerous, even fatal, but he took a chance, something 99.99% of people don't (for better or worse) The people I feel sorry for are the ones who try to venture out to the bus, not just to see it, (like a cool road/hiking trip with some buddies), but thinking that somehow that journey is going to bring them some great insight into themselves. I think they are missing the whole point of the story, instead of finding & experiencing their own unique 'into the wild' journey, they just follow someone else's & are most likely not going to get what they hoped for. I watched a video of a young guy from the Netherlands, he idolized Chris, this was his big dream to camp out on the bus. He landed in Alaska, got a ride to the trail, got across both river & stopped for the night. He put his hiking boots by the fire to dry & running shoes in a bag up in the tree. He woke up to find the boots where badly burned, the shoes frozen solid. He had enough sense to turn around, but I wonder if that journey did far more harm than good. Sorry for the novel, but my point is, it's one thing to be inspired by the story & the ideals behind it & setting off on your own journey, & quite another to do a scaled down, 'tourist version' of his journey, thinking the results will be the same. In my opinion they've missed the whole point of the story. Thanks, your post & discussion has given me a lot to think about. Cheers 🇨🇦
Oh Definitely an idealist and dreamer for sure. However, this is not always a good thing. In this case I actually think it is. He lived free and did his thing.
Yeah, I think we see it the same. People idolizing someone being himself. And instead of going being themselves, they go try to be someone else. I sincerely do not think they see his point on society though. I mean, even Eddy Vedder's song used in the movie, 'Society' which I love that song, and I love Eddy Vedder, but I think he too missed the point. It's very easy for us to see ourselves detached from society. And many of us fantasize about leaving it.. running away and doing our own thing. But Fundamentally, it is impossible. It is similar to deciding to move to mars so you will not be a human being. You will always be a human being, just like we will always be a part of society. We run, hide, die, learn what it is when it is too late. Or we stay, help, influence society for the better. His last line simply screams it ''Happiness only real when shared''.
You too mate, I wish nothing but the best on your own journey :) Best of luck to you and your family and loved ones.
It's interesting that they found that he had so much identification. Like Krakauer and Penn have said, Mccandless wrote his journal as if he was living out his own film. A lot of his experiences were romanticised, and obviously it's from those entries and the stories of others that they got the information to make the book/film. Finding hard evidence like this just reveals how genuinely human Chris was- to be so mindful of his journey back to civilisation, and not as reckless as was depicted.
I know that some people that experience childhood abuse adopt a hyper independence. At a young age they learn that they can only rely on themselves and not their parents. I think Chris took this to an extreme. He was out there in the wild all alone only relying on himself to survive and he thought that would make him happy. Only when he was left alone unable to move and be deep in though he realised he needed people and he was happiest with people.
That's interesting...did he experience abuse?
@@tjburr1968yes he did
A mysterious story. One version says he burned his last money. I dont think Cris would vandalize a cabin or try and steal a stove. Why not stay at a cabin with a working stove and wood to burn.
No way I believe Chris McCandless burglarized those two cabins, but they should check out that Hunter who in finding Chris’s backpack KEPT it for two years!
He should have used his 25k savings to buy a cabin in Alaska and made it his life-long base.
Because you don't want to believe the story despite it's imminent plausibility
Why don't you think he would have vandalised a cabin or try to steal a stove?| Did you know him? Or are you going by what the film shows of him? You ask why not stay in the cabin with a working stove? Well, why would he? He wanted to be alone, that was not his cabin and if he stayed in there, the owners would not be happy.
Of course he intended to return. Isn't part of the story that he tried to walk out and couldn't because of the river?
Yes
I think that he had gotten to the point where he realized he was in too deep. that's why he tried to leave. when he departed that last guy's truck, he had no intention of coming out.
the Unrepentant he eat the seeds of potato root which shut down his digestive system. Also, building a raft is no easy task with no tools
Just eating lean meat will not be sufficient.
If he would have returned NOONE would even know who he was
I don't think ppl pick the story apart too much, the facts are pretty relevant. Put himself in a bad situation is a huge understatement. This quote says it best, "His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune" True fool.
Well you've never camped a day in your pathetic life alone kiddo.
EJ Wrote this 8 years ago. I bet he is drowning in debt. Divorced. Bald and overweight by now 😂😂. But oh no some dude lived his dream and inspires others to do so!!
@@CLTHIKER You clearly need help.
i watched the movie, documentaries and other video clips, this story touches me so much and the movie is great too, i always watch it time and again when i feel low, hope one good day i will visit that place , with love from Botswana
They moved the bus, so don't rush. Very dangerous place.
I still give him all my respects. He showed me and others who read or watched the movie that live isn't all about what society/college or school tells you, sometimes it's the simplest things in live that make you happy and take little things for granted for example clean drinking water. I don't blame the man for searching through the cabins and I also don't blame him for keeping the spare money and identity. I respect him for the fact that he made the decision to give up his future/career to start an adventure that consists of simple living and just enjoying life to the minimum, just remember. "What you may consider a nightmare, might be someone else's dream".. RIP SUPERTRAMP
He was a fool
@Anne Frank I'm sure you met Anne Frank in person
You do realize that the book and movie as it pertains to Alaska is mostly fiction, right?
@Danalou 83 very good point. People here are acting like he did this for attention. He did this for himself and himself only. It was personal. We only know about it because of the way his trek ended and because others found his story interesting. The way it ended was simple mistakes and misfortune. He had been doing well considering his ignorance of the situation up until that point. He would have been telling his own adventures to family and friends now had it not been for the river being too deep to cross and making a mistake about the wild plant he ate. Seriously, easy mistake to make, let me tell you.
Before I get accused as a groupie of this guy, I’m not. I do know of his story. And yes, it is interesting.
@Danalou 83 well said!
I personally think chris wanted to experience a simple life style outside of the box. The wildness offers this and of course it’s free. I do think he had every intention to return back home after he had experience it first hand for himself. Unfortunately he underestimated the dangers involved. Equipment and more knowledge with some life experience in wildness survival and living skills would for sure have given Chris a better chance and probably a more enjoyable adventure. Still he did what he set out to do and walked into the Alaska wildness. It’s just a shame his story ended in tragedy.
Self centered behavior
Doesn't anyone else think its messed up that this guy kept a dead mans personal effects for 15 years before Carine McCandless had it returned to her?
What s messed up is people treating Chris mccandless like a hero. He was a criminal minded anarchist.
@@openyoureyes3969 explain
@@openyoureyes3969 criminal minded?? Absurd. He had no fucking clue anyone would even know his story! It was the early 90s and he was doing what he wanted. Not exactly anarchy. You have issues.
@@user-cq8fk8ej4h vandalising property and trying to steal property is criminal minded.
Nope.
I can relate to Chris trek, I grew up with a father who took the family into the most desolate wilderness to camp hike up mountains fish etc. He taught us a few basics of surviving ...using a compass , eating bark rationing food... Now as an adult I need,.. I crave it like a drug.... to visit the wilderness to decompress from the world. There's a healing component in myself that I only get by being detached from the word. I study plants and herbs while I go out into the woods. I even camp alone... I take pictures and samples of plants I come by .. I can sometimes identify edibles but I'm not always right. I definitely can see where he could mistaken a plant for an edible. I sure like to know the name and author of that book...
There's always three sides to every story . Yours, mine and what really happened. What to believe is the absolute truth may not ever going to to be truly known. Sad 😦
Lesa Boo Truer words were never spoken.
Lesa Boo I thinkyou kind of have to accept that about life. You do your best to find clarity, but ultimately we are part of a great mystery.
Rashomon
What surprised me was that I saw this documentary before Into The Wild and thought back and was amazed that one guy (Ron Lamothe) could so thoroughly outdo Sean Penn, Hollywood and millions of dollars. No disrespect to Sean meant, as his was a valiant effort, but Ron's work in this documentary is just supreme.
If Chris broke into the cabin that is not admirable at all. I still admire his selflessness and its possible he didn't break in or vandalize anything. He gave back to his community, and even donated 25,000 dollars before setting off. He didn't like being confined or trapped in what we call society, and his actions seem to reflect that. I believe he had a pure spirit and a good heart and made a few mistakes. He didn't hurt anybody, and I've gotta say he's still good in "my book"
what selflessness was that then?
It wouldn't surprise me if he did vandalize the place but only because he was desperate and literally starving. It's not hard to think in his desperation to find food that he'd get a little angry looking for it. Especially if the cabin was his last hope for any.
Onizuma13 this is the only comment on this thread that actually makes sense, thank u kind sir.
Getting on the roof and punching holes in it with a pick axe doesn’t sound like looking for food.
Nathan Wind agree with you. I also don’t buy the idea that he disassembled a wood stove just to carry it outside. To me that sounds exactly like what a curious bear would do, not a starving person.
The pick axe to the roof of the Park Service cabin sounds more like a FU to a government building given his ideology.
John Howard Actually it's quite stupid and in no way reflects the character of Christopher. You and the op have predisposition you need to check yourselves on.
I was there, two years before Chris...
It happened actually after two years on the road. Roaming around from Mexico City to Sonora, to Phoenix, to long life Grand Canyon, to Yosemite, thru Humboldt County and the Redwoods, thru Upqua´Oregon, to Yellowstone, to Glacier, thru BC, thru Yukon, to Haines and Kenai, to Fairbanks, to Talkeetna, and and finally up there, the footsteps of Denali... all by myself, all on my own, just with knife, compas, fire, and camping stuff... And I... me... also experienced the no-shit power of nature, fear of death, infinite smallness... a very strong experience... with a very cold and windy end-of-autumn rain storm that lead me lost in the tundra, close to a nervous mother bear and her cubs... very few blueberries and oatmeal left, almost none water tablets...
So... one grey cold day I couldn't hang more on and felt on my knees, and cried out loud my humility and awareness of the no-good-no-bad powers of nature, and cried out our stupid human egocentric believes towards the infinite greatness of nature, life-death and universe...
After a freezing night, the sun shined and a rainbow flew over the great Denali, right there, in front of me and my brothers caribou and moose... I knew it was time to go back to ol'good Mexico...
Then I head back, found my feather, found my song, found my love...
Now, 30 years after, I try to keep faithful to those visions, to those learnings... we humans are very wrong on our perceptions of life and nature, May love save the world from our ego...
I found love. I work love. I try to praise love thru living it.
Bless you Candle Chris
Blessings to all...
Greatest. Troll. Ever.
Beautiful, Bestiario, very beautiful thoughts. Glad that you found a way to have peace through introspection.
Bestiario Musical ZH you said you did it alone yourself me? Then mentioned brothers?
ramble much
Bestiario Musical ZH well aren’t u just the luckiest prick!!! Life, family, friends, none of them will ever have ur back like the one we cover ourselves or our pets r covering for us. To me, being alone is my biggest fear. I’ve known this for some time. I’ve had years to prepare. Slowly I’ve watched everyone come and go. Some I would never had believed. Fuck Em!!! I’ll be the dead one!!!!
"His venture into a wilderness area alone, without adequate planning, experience, preparation, or supplies, without notifying anyone and lacking emergency communication equipment, was contrary to every principle of outdoor survival and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiasts, nearly certain to end in misfortune
@Verda lmao, Bear Grylls is fake
@Verda Yeah, I did understand what your point was and I agree with it. It's funny how all the comments are filled with "he was a dumbass", "he was an idiot" and so on.
He wanted to prove himself that he could survive in the wild and so he did. Also, as you pointed, the moral of the story wasn't that he was an extreme survivalist and that is not what people respect him for. It was that he wanted to be free of basically everything. He didn't want to abide by society's rules for the rest of his life and wanted to experience ultimate freedom.
The surviving was just something he had to do in order to accomplish his dreams. And he did survive long enough to experience what he wanted.
@Verda Yep, precisely!
@@retepniffirg8853 I doubt that he would have considered his tragic end "complete freedom." It's great that he attempted to live solo, but unfortunately couldn't do so. I know I couldn't. Brave to try, but risking losing his life at 24 when he could have been an adventurer for possibly another 60 yrs or so doesn't seem like freedom.
@@cindys9491 You don't know what freedom is then, society's sheep.
Only just discovered this amazing story today after watching the film. God knows why i didnt watch it sooner. To be completely honest these "facts" or this video do not ruin the story one bit for me even if this guy isnt trying to make a name/money for himself, the fact that chris inspired the story behind the film is enough for me as its changed my outlook on life and i hope it can do the same for others. Happiness is only real when shared with others. Peace.
I refuse to believe Alex vandalized this guys cabin
@@fishmonger6879 True Alex would not do that. But maybe Chris would. 😉
can you explain what is so amazing about the story?
Why would Chris vandalize those cabins? That doesn’t seem to reflect the person he was. He could have just lived in the cabin..
Clay Robert I don’t think it was vandalism, I think it was trying to get inside a closed up cabin. He had to try to force his way in.
@Florida Dad I don’t think chris vandalized the cabins. Local authorities never even considered it. Plus all his photographs show him roaming downstream of the bus, when the cabins were upstream. Also, given Chris’s character I would have expected him to brag about it in his writing, seems like something he would be proud of if he destroyed the “encroachment of civilization” on the wild.
Probably searching for food and things to use to survive. He might have done this when he got closer to the end.
We really dont know who he was though
Explain the backpack?
When he realized that he wasn't going to get out the way he got in, why didn't he go a live in the cabins which may have had some food? At least better warmed.
What is the cottage and not before the river?
he was poisoned by that plant he was eating and one of the symptoms are paralysis coupled with starvation he didn't have a chance
There is a quote from Chris in the book where he literally tells Carine he will "be gone for some time" and that he intends to go on an adventure "for a while". The only thing he was permanently leaving was his parents.
so whats the fucking mystery? he was not prepared.. so simple.
It was by design.. He didn't take what wasn't needed. And he died for it.. But never forget it was by design he did it. He wanted to see if he could do it. I don't know ANYONE that would try the things he did. Most people wouldn't, they are too afraid.
MrTirien why would you want to try that?
It's not smart, do you think if it were the year 1850, the people then wouldn't want all the supplies they could take or needed?
It was a foolish move. Mother nature is not forgiving! She can be a cruel bitch!
I'll say this though, he was making it, if it wasn't for those dam seeds he probably would be alive and well today, but he chose incorrectly and died because of it.
He made ONE mistake and it cost him and us his life. The plant is identical nearly to the non poisonous version. The seeds plug ur digestive system so u cant eat
@@MrTirien You mean "too smart." He went in exceptionally unprepared.
“HAPPINESS IS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED”. Amen Chris🙏
ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY WALK INTO ALASKA..
You can, but you may/probably won't walk out. I will say that Chris made it 2.5 months and that is a lot longer than I would likely last.
@MJC
*You can, if you hitch-hike around.*
a guy called George Meegan did....he started his walk in Argentina....19000 miles......georgemeegan.jimdo.com/longest-walk/
No you can fly!
MJC Agree! You die if u r not prepared. People that live up there full time and have spent lifetimes there prepare all summer for the winter, because it is so cold 🥶. There are also the accidents that happen, especially if you are not familiar with what can occur.
I'm in the camp that had he found those cabins he would have chosen them over the bus for shelter. At the cabin there also would have been a greater chance of someone with better knowledge of the area returning.
+Hiker63 i agree with you .who ever wrecked them cabins was breaking the law burglary and criminal damage.chris wasnt no law breaker by the sound of it no way.and how did he find a backpack after police had been in looking ?
Trainhopping is against the law. So is hunting without a license.
+Hiker63 If Chris had broken into the cabins he would have found topo maps and in the Park Service cabin a journal which described how rangers would hike in there from the south. So Chris then would have known that rangers would be there sometime that summer and he would have known that there was a way to walk out over the mountains to the south. A ranger did walk in there in early August, 1992 and found the damaged cabins. Then a helicopter flew 2 other rangers in to clean up the mess. They all agreed the damage was done by a human. Unfortunately for Chris the helicopter did not continue another 5 miles north to look for anyone staying at the bus...
+Ritchie Winters The police looked through the pack but didn't find the hidden wallet. They left the pack in the bus.
+Alive and Kicking chris did not want maps
For people accusing Chris for vandalism of cabins, the major flaw in that theory is that cabins were wrecked by sledge hammer, sth McCandless did not have. The suspicion is actually that locals did that and stole from cabin then bears got inside, trashing place even more.
I, like everybody else that was moved by Chris's story saw ourselves in him. That could have been us. And to say something to Chris looks like a direct hit on our part but the fact that Chris's last photo by which he holds a piece of paper means a lot. He tries to warn anyone who will try to walk the path that he had. He tells to value your life and your family more than grudges and hatred. And his quote "Happiness is only real when shared" solidifies his message.
It doesn't make sense. Why would he destroy something or someone else's property? In his past escapades, he does not have the habit of destroying something.
@sirraulo9002 I do not think for one minute that Chris destroyed anything in this cabin. I doubt he even knew it existed. I think it was just a bear or another animal on the rampage. It is easy to blame Chris just because he was in the area and was an outsider.
Interesting vid. It only suggests possibilities not certainties. For those who criticise Chris's actions, those who call him dumb, say he was not prepared have every right too. For me the reason his story resonates in so many is because of his journey. He saw a sickness in society, a sadness, a repetitive life devoid of life in it's purest sense. He highlighted the madness of it all and if you don't see or feel it yourself then you will never understand Chris. He had an energy and fearless nature that God I wish I had! That I admire truly. He set out to change the world, his world. He actually tried! More than most. He will always inspire to those who recognise what he saw. If the world had more Chris's then there would be pure life instead of the singaler, self obsessed, synthetic society that many are so oblivious too! Happiness is only real when shared....and I would like to live in that world.
Well, I will not deny the appeal to it, but you need to be mature enough to realize than you need others to survive. It is written in all chapter in history and even in the Bible. If you despise society it is fine, but the work to change it and no runaway from it. What I do not like is he is made into a „hero“ and youngsters like my daughter for example, who is tired of the incessant work to find and earn her own place on society, are looking into it as an easy life out of the burdens of society. I have tried to instill my daughter and my son about the responsibilities we have on the society through of attitudes. Nowadays with the churches in decline, you can find a one month stay in a monastery almost for free and find the peace and solitude. Of course, this is not the glamours path who brings you thousands of followers. What a waste for talent of this young man. I had to read the book, he could have bee.a great leader in the church and help people through it. So sad he put himself and nature as his teacher. He studied history so, I do not get how he though he could live only on plants without cultivating anything or small prey without actually wandering like the ancient humans did. Honestly I have no words to describe: other he was terribly naive, or he was overconfident and arrogant or he just despised society that much that he refused help or vomited all what he learned in the university..
True people acting over smart calling him stupid he just went to live his life but unfornutaley he made a mistake and it cost his life but I'll always admire his courage that something I'll always relate to him about him saying that society is fked up
Very interesting. Was the backpack ever given to the family? Maybe wherever they put the bus, the backpack should go too. If going by the bus was a trail used by dog mushers and snow machines, and it was basically summer, why didn’t other hikers run into Chris? Seems like a well known and used trail during the best time of year from the brutal cold and yet Chris was all alone. You would think the park ranger in this isolated area would have made a trek to the bus several times a month to make sure no one was stranded. If the ranger could check on the man’s cabin, why didn’t he check on the known bus? If Chris had wandered north and found the other cabins, he would have journaled about it. It doesn’t make sense to remove a stove from the cabin when it would have been easier to just live in the cabin. I think Chris lived in the bus because that was the only shelter he knew about. Too bad the owner had no cameras installed.
Good points, Rita. I agree that it's a stretch to argue that McCandless had done the breaking in at the cabins. Nothing that belonged to the cabins was found in the bus or the backpack. Why'd he break in and leave with nothing, e.g. maps, tools or anything else useful to life in the wild? Why would he inflict the described damage? (Why would anyone do that?) As you say, it's a pity there were no cameras and hence we'll never know what actually happened. There is probably lots of other information that is irretrievably lost. All we can do is speculate about the unknown elements.
Great video - one comment, just because the backpack was discovered in the bus by this gentlemen months after Chris died, does not mean the backpack was in the bus when they found the body. Maybe someone took it after Chris died, and then returned it after the police left.
If Chris had broken into the Park cabin he would have found the Journal there along with topo maps. In the journal he could have read about how the Rangers walk in and out of there from the south at the Park Road. So he would have known how to get out of there without having to cross the flooded river. But he may not have been able to walk that far over the mountains by the time he realized he was starving...
@Florida Dad this. plus, he had a map originally, and left it, and his watch, with the guy who gave him a ride, not wanting to know what time it was, what day it was, or even where he was. and, he probably found the cabins closer to his end, and wasn't thinking coherently anymore.
Well it changes the fact he did not actually left his wallet and burn all of his dollars. And dumbest part is the wallet was found out years after because the police left that bag.
Finding that out when he was too weak to walk out would give him a motive for destroying the cabins, would it not? It was clearly done by someone in a fit of rage. I'd definitely have a fit if I found the way out but I couldn't take it and knew I was dying. He already had the bus with a stove, and probably preferred to die there. It must have been in his last two weeks of life or so I think.
The only thing that bothers me about these details is that Chris didn't seem like the type of person to vandalize . Can see him possibly trying to stay in one of the cabins or maybe use something from one but not purposely destroying anything.....
I agree 100%
How do you know he wasn't the type of person to vandalise? Did you know him personally? Or are you going by the film?
People get blinded even by a guy. I support his decision to go into the wild, live a little, it's an amazing achievement and of great courage. But if someone talks something bad about him people seem to be ideologized, blind. It's so easy to manipulate people's mind, they are so easily influencial. It's a real shame.
Remember that this is only 5 minutes taken from a video that is 108 minutes long. You can download the whole video at the address above.
From the videos, books and articles I've learned that Chris arrived at the bus in early May and only stayed a few days. Then he went exploring for about 2 or 3 weeks- wanting to continue west. But bad weather and high rivers forced him to turn back. He may have come across several trails which led up river to the cabins...
This guy in the video has said that he thinks a bear got into his cabin first because the shutter on the door was broken into pieces- something Chris could not have done. The bear had destroyed any usable food.
The trail continued to the other cabins where Chris could have found some food but that early in his trip maybe he just wanted to fend for himself. The Park Service cabin had a threatening, official looking sign on the door warning people of severe penalties for disturbing the cabin. Could that sign have ticked Chris off enough to make him go ballistic on the cabin?
The Park Service ranger walked in there in mid-July and found the cabins. He was a specialist in bears and bear control. He deduced that a bear had been at one cabin but a person had also been there and vandalized stuff at 2 of the cabins.
Ironically, if the Ranger had continued down the river about 5 miles he would found Chris at the bus and rescued him...
Why keep his backpack? I think that sound have been returned to his family.
They definitely should return this backpack and its contents to his family, but maybe it's an old recording from several dozen years ago and maybe they kept his things in two that he was there
They probably did. This is an old interview and at the time that they found it the secret pocket wasn't known about. This wasn't some murder scene in a big city. It was a guy who died in the woods of Alaska. Keep that in perspective.
And anyway.....His birthday was two days ago! Happy birthday Chris! R.I.P.
Nice of you.🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹
The Wild Truth Hardcover - November 11, 2014
by Carine McCandless (Author)
But the real story of Chris’s life and his journey has not yet been told - until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed in The Wild Truth, written by Carine McCandless, Chris's beloved and trusted sister. Featured in both the book and film, Carine has wrestled for more than twenty years with the legacy of her brother's journey to self-discovery, and now tells her own story while filling in the blanks of his. Carine was Chris's best friend, the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled household, Carine speaks candidly about the deeper reality of life in the McCandless family. In the many years since the tragedy of Chris's death, Carine has searched for some kind of redemption. In this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth.
The only reason he had money on him was cause he came to the realization he could not accomplish his dream of living up in Alaska without some money. Thats why he worked on the wheat plantation up in Dakota. 300 dollars is probably what he had left after buying the supplies to get to Alaska or what he was saving for his trip home. He had no death wish but he definitely lived a better life than any of us have. He was a great man with great ideals and even though the movie/book might have been "Hollywooded", his ideals are all that matter and they help us all strive to try accomplish what this guy did on his adventure around North America.
To anyone that doesn't know: the bus was moved years and years ago. It is not there anymore, and hasn't been for over 3 years now. I watched them rig it up to a helicopter and fly it away.
Europeans
04:32 In the movie this social security card was burned. Movie was wrong. Chris meant to return.
yeah his last stop was on Alaska.. its sad that he never came back.
At least in his final days he died happily in nature
He could of apllied for another one as seen as he did work on his travels
@@thebluemorpho2962 I don't think he died happily, he clearly was starving and desperate
He smoked a joint with a bunch of us at the foot of Pyramid mountain in Jasper Alberta on his way up north. He stayed in Jasper for few days. Nice dude. It was crazy when we heard the news about him. RiP
What was he like? Did he seem suicidal or anything or was he just a normal dude?
@@papabigjoe7914 up till the 2 days I met him, I had been living in the Canadian Rockies for almost 20 years. Im a decent climber and I have been immersed in the mountain culture half my life. Chris struck me as a bit green when it came to actual deep bush survival. He was traveling light for his Alaskan ambitions, a girl gave him a better roll tarp, but he was stoked to be on his adventure. You meet alot of dudes like him in the ski towns. Harsh how he died for sure.
@@sharktooth64 What a tragic way to die. Poor kid underestimated how harsh the Alaskan Bush was and went into it eyes closed. I just wish I could've known what exactly was going through his head when he did everything that he did. RIP Chris McCandless.
That’s crazy that you met him man
You're a fookin liar
Doesn't really matter what people think of Chris. He did something that brought a lot of positive thinking in many people. Which is to me all that matters.
He selfishly didn't tell his sister where he was. Then risks his life being foolish and unprepared, which at some point would make others have to risk theirs to save him...
Haha I have that same old school Nevada library card...got it the day after I moved to Vegas back in 2000 ❤️❤️❤️
You are the one who brought me here!
Hey Sarah! Your trip to Oh My God Hot Springs inspired me to research McCandless
Right on, he was a very interesting person
Im in the wild atm in oz . Just watched your omg hot spring vid that took me to here lol well , batterries about to die and solar charging is a bitch so goodnite
Howdy! From England Lboro
C'mon man, this is not the same thing as getting bitten by a rattle snake. That is something so random, you can't really plan ahead for it. This guy went to live in Alaska & planned on being fully self sufficient, only he didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know how to use his map! You are really stretching things by comparing this scenario to the others you mentioned.It's the fact that he made so many mistakes that makes him foolish. He did literally everything wrong. Not the same.
Clearly he tried to go home, by that time the wilderness he’d romanced claimed him for her own.
@@nunyabidness4946 bro what??😭😭
How can a man stand there and determine that Chris vandalized his cabin... I don't buy for a second!! Not only that... if Chris had done that then why did he sit still in the bus and not return to said cabin once he knew the river was too high and rough to cross... makes no sense at all and this man is shameful for pointing fingers... how can he keep that knapsack as well... GIVE IT BACK TO HIS FAMILY!! Brutal.
he did send the pack and wallet and money to Chris's sister, Carine. she wrote about it in her book. chris knew that hunters would be coming out the road to the bus in late august so he stayed there hoping for help.
Clearly there were other people around who not only vandalised the cabins but also didn't help chris
Wow,wish he could have made it back.
Unless I missed something, I saw no evidence that Chris McCandless vandalized those cabins.
Yeah ok you've got issues with a greenie who effs up. Yeah it was him, who the hell needs evidence other than proximity?
***** So why not take any supplies? Hm?
+TheAmazingChristianBigot
Yeah, you got it all figured out, don't you. You fat piece of shit who could never imagine to do what Chris did....You would have dropped dead at mile 3.
You make me sick...."He was a jerk"...and you, well, ya know. Never mind.
***** They barely knew him and he quit in just a few days.
+TheAmazingChristianBigot
You're "completely unimpressed", yet here you are commenting on a thread about him...?? That says more about you than Chris, don't you think?
Tell ya what, why don't you create a video about YOUR LIFE and let's see how many people give a shit.....Fucking troll.
Sounds like bigfoot got in the cabin its not the first time i've heard story sounding exactly the same...
I can understand why people would see McCandless as a hero, simply for being "authentic" to himself. However, what he did simply wasn't smart. With little to no knowledge of the terrain, he literally just...walked out there. I mean, he wasn't planning on dying, he wasn't suicidal (the money and the ID's seem to indicate that). He had a backup plan, kind of. I think, if anything, his story is an example of what being raised in a privileged home in modern society can do: it can create a reactionary, idealistic-to-a-fault, naive personality that can become irrational and dangerous to itself. The smarter thing would have been to ask "Well, how can I adapt to modern society?" Or "How can I change it?" Not a juvenile desire to return to some primitive state. I give McCandless props for being true to himself, or the self that his unique personality and situation created, but I think the way he died--alone, tired, starving, and in pain--speaks volumes.
The same could be said about anyone who has pushed themselves to limits and beyond- mountain climbers, astronauts, explorers, pioneers... if it wasn’t for this quality in some humans, we wouldn’t know or have the things we have today. There was a guy in France who made himself a pair of wings in order to fly. He gathered people to watch, so confident in his invention and jumped off the Eiffel Tower. His contraption never worked and he died in front of everyone, but failure and mistakes aren’t wasted. He inspired others to figure out how to fly and someone eventually succeeded. People do things all the time just to see if they could do it. Heck, a high schooler leapt off the Golden Gate Bridge for kicks and survived while that same jump kills hundreds of those committing suicide a year. All our lives are one inspiration after another.
It's supposed to be believable that this "adventurer" sets out to go into the wild and after 4 days decides to settle down in the first hint of permanent shelter he finds and spends more than 100 straight days there. He was not much of an adventurer given that story. He obviously ventured past the bus on the easy trail and found the cabins and looted them for supplies because when it came to living in the wilderness he was a moron. He started starving to death the second he stepped onto the Stampede Trail on his own.
It's likely that he left the bus shortly after finding it to venture further, found the cabins, spent some time there. After using up the cabin supplies, he continually grew weaker because he couldn't fend for himself and decided to get out of there. On the way back he stopped at the bus for some rest, then continued on out, was too stupid to find his way out and had to go back to the bus, all the while continually starving until he could no longer help himself.
It’s hilarious how you interject a completely false story that you have no clue about. You watched a couple videos so I’m sure you know exactly what happened 😂
@NO La seems like your projecting your hate and impatience on us. Not sure why, doesnt really accomplish much except people being hostile right back, and they wont remember your opinion just the hostility.
@NO La I hear that alot lol :)
That's what I figured too.
So he didnt burn his ss card and drivers license as depicted in the movie. I guess that was just speculated since it could not be found. Im not convinced he vandalized the cabins. Doesn't appear to be his style. Other people used that trail.
in the book it said that a possible theory is that chris found the cabins and because of his frustration noticing human presence in his travel, he decided to break the cabins (sorry for my english)
Movies aren't real. They are to make money and sometimes embellished when the storyline becomes dull.
it took two years and starving to death in the wild for him to figure out what any homeless person could have told him. Dying alone sucks and there is nothing romantic about being desperate and hungry. Life is as happy or unhappy as you perceive it to be. People built civilizations and cities because we are meant to be social. Seems to me all he did was commit suicide in the slowest possible way you can. I think people get wrapped up in the romantic notion of his journey and forget the reality is he died cold alone hungry and afraid.
+david sandlin true, I suppose many people simply ignore the truth of his death. However, to acknowledge the gruesomeness of his death and still admire his intention, commitment, and for lack of a better word - balls, is still possible. I still see the romantic side.
Banks Diggy i never said that his intentions werent pure just that they were misguided and quite obviously dangerous. Sometimes the reality and the perception of reality are different. In his mind this was a journey to free himself from societies constraints cast his die and let fate lead him to a deeper understanding. But the reality of the situation is that it didnt show him anything in the end. My point is that what he was seeking doesnt require a lonely ill prepared journey to the end of the earth it takes a painfully honest look into yourself. He could have found his happiness inside and then the world outside would have reflected that.
+david sandlin We are social, but people didn't build cities because we're meant to be social, they built them to gather and house labour for industry, many bi-products of which are unpleasant and we try to manage - squalor, disease, waste, bleak urban environments. I'd say the urge to escape that is something natural; just not necessarily into total isolation.
greedobob I believe cities are a by product of humans being social. If we were not social then industry would not exist. Industry by definition requires people to work together and stems from human interaction. Obviously there are downfalls to having overpopulated areas such as disease and filth but humans who strive in isolation are outliers and most people require some interaction with others. That is why they are finding solitary confinement causes mental illness in otherwise healthy prisoners. I still think that the only thing he learned was dieing alone cold and hungry sucks. There is a certain subset of people who read this story as a romantic way to die. This book has been found in the possessions of quite a few missing people.
+david sandlin Except we spent most of our existence as hunter gatherers in relatively small groups (they say around 150 individuals or so), one could argue that this better reflects our natural state. Once society shifts from that model, people have no choice but to head to populated areas for work, to put food on the table. Eating comes before socialising in our hierarchy of needs; and we may never come to terms with the consequences of that change in society that's seen population growth and consumption of resources explode and continue unchecked.
Despite all that, I think we're on the same page regarding Chris McCandless, I recently watched the film and have been poking about to see if the reality was much different. As with many biographical films, it seems they omitted and added various things to build the romance.
To those who admire and try to emulate Chris McCandless's life style, listen up. He's dead. So his troubles are over. Mind yours.
Don't be like him. I've been there and done that in my sort of ways. Let me tell you what you will find after spending the most productive part of your life seeking the way he did: indifference!
What do you think would be productive? Working for someone else and following the path most advantageous to them, that they TELL you to do?
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 become a shark if you don't like being a part of the rat race. Or simply come to an understanding that with life comes suffering and accept the circumstances you have. Enjoy the loves one's in your life. That's Chris's last message, at least to me.
if this is a man who did not like civilization then maybe it is plausible when he saw the cabins he felt "free enough" to destroy them. This is a sick guy. edited to say: I'm sure Chris' family loved him dearly and want to think of the positive he did. But in their attempts they seem to want to make him larger than life and he isn't. He didn't have bushcraft skills and that is lack of intelligence to go do what he did.
If Chris had gone into the Park Service cabin he would have found the trail conditions journal and topo maps there along with food. (There wasn't much food left at the other cabin because it attracts bears.) The food from the Park cabin would not have lasted him all summer, though. And who knows if he really knew how to read a topo map. But the cabin log (journal) could have tipped him off to the route back over the ridge to the south and down to the Park road. The only evidence I've seen that makes me think Chris did go to the Park cabin is a picture he took of a stack of books which look exactly like the assortment of paperback novels which all the Park cabins are supplied with...the picture is in his sister's book "The Wild Truth."
LOL at all the people butthurt because McCandless wasn't the saint they make him out to be.
LOL all the people squealing with delight so that they can put a dead man down.
Possibly the biggest mistake he made was throwing away his map. Then he was trapped by a river in spate and he didn’t know any other escape routes because, no map. I admire his bravery but I always make sure I have a map and Silva style compass at minimum and even a basic gps and spare map when going to the mountains. I get he was trying to test himself to see if he could survive but he made mistakes a seasoned mountaineer/hiker/backcountry explorer would not. Still it’s a real shame but he wasn’t the first and he won’t be the last.
The biggest mistake he made was going there totally unprepared in the first place.
You wouldn't have GPS in 1992, and no internet there even if you did.
People take cheapshots at Chris and call him stupid because they don’t want to do real critical thinking of what his philosophy actually was. It’s easier to misrepresent and take shots at something you don’t understand.
Well done video and interview. I am impressed its filmed on location. I live in Alaska. It's nice to see someone covering Alaska topics onsite and getting details accurate. What this musher states is spot on and wasn't even covered in the book or movie. For example, the fact in winter/ late winter such as the time this guy headed toward Denali on the Stampede Trail, there is no "trail" -- buried in snow which is measured in several feet in that area, not inches. The trails he followed was made via dog mushing, which isn't the actual trail route
Why would he stay in the bus and not one of the cabins? Fear of being discovered by the owners, I guess? But why would he vandalize the cabins? Anger at being so wounded by his parents, and society, that he needed an outlet? I wish I knew. Such an unfortunate set of events. I do envy him for the places he saw, the great people he met, and the amazing experiences he had. True that his "divorcing" his parents, and leaving even Carine not knowing if he was alive or dead, was cruel.
He had gotten busted before for breaking into a government cabin in the lower 48 to get food. The Denali Park Service cabin had a big sign on the door that said it government property and not for public use on penalty of getting busted. Maybe he just got pissed off at the sign and the locked door and went all ballistic about it.
"Vandalizing" means he broke in and stole things.
He was stuck at the bus for multiple reasons. One being the rivers had swelled to a point where he could not cross back. The other being that he was poisoned by eating the wrong plant. And was slowly dying by starvation.
Ok the money and id is interesting but really anybody could have vandalized the cabins.
I never understood the appeal of his story. A guy runs off into the wilderness with no survival skills or experience and it ends up getting him killed. The end
Not only that but a spoiled rich kid who treated everyone around him like he was better than them.
@Beef Twinkie you do know he despised his rich parents, also the only money he took from them was for his education, then donated what was left over to a charity right after he graduated then he set off on his travels with just a back pack full of supplies. Don't you think he wanted to get away from being a "spoiled rich kid" and live a different way? What would you say about a person that grew up poor and on the streets that came into a lot of money and wanted to live the opposite of what Chris chose, a rich spoiled life? I think we all have the right to make that choice, don't you?
I have the picture book the family put out a few years ago with a bunch of Chris’s photos. That is 100% the backpack he had on all his journeys. Not one he just picked up in Alaska before he died. It should probably go back to the family.
He robbed their cabin, so it’s a pretty even exchange lol
agree. and I cant believe he wld ransack the cabins
@@jeaniee.6283 well, I could imagine he was mad the cabins interrupted his sense of alone in the wilderness. He thought they were intruding on his journey from civilization.
Those cabins are on the trail, they are known by people who live around there, hunters, hikers and others. Anybody who knows them could have damaged them during the summer.
But Christopher didn't know the area at all, he didn't have any map. 6 miles seems to be close when we walk on the lane, but in the wild, it's three hours far, or more. Hard to find for Christopher, who didn't even know which direction he should go. He sure didn't go hunting so far from the bus, thinking he could get lost or injured, and find himself unable to come back.
If Christopher had found the cabins, he'd have stayed there, rather than writing his SOS message on the bus , hoping to be found and saved by someone, though he knew that nobody came to the bus during 100 days.
Chris followed a packed trail to the bus. You can see the trail in his own pictures. That same trail forked at the bus area and went up river to the cabins on one trail and on to the west on the other trail. The few locals who went out there back then had left before Chris got there because the snow was melting and ice opening up. Almost noone went out there in the summer and there was no trail to the cabins in summer.
Chris wrote that he stayed 3 days at the bus and then continued walking for about 3 weeks before returning to the bus. He had plenty of time to follow the trail up to the cabins. If he damaged the cabins he wouldn't stay around there and get caught by Rangers walking in from the south. The pictures he took indicate he probably went about 12 miles west to the Toklat river which was flooding out. So he went back to the bus.
Inside the bus at that time there was graffiti written on the walls by hunters with their names and the dates they were there. Chris would have read that graffiti and known that hunters would be coming in late August or early September so he stayed there waiting for help.
He did have a road map with him which showed the Stampede road and the Denali Park road about 15 miles to the south. He could have walked south without crossing any big river and gotten help on the Park road but he either didn't figure that out or was too weak to try it.
Respect your opinion but very unlikely that Alex vandalized the cabin(s)...I know it's great fun for bored Alaskans to make him the villain , but the facts don't support their delusions (not to mention deductive reasoning and all that good, logical stuff).... We could sit down over a bottle of whiskey and debate this all night and for every reason you could give me for why you think he did it, I could give you two for why I think he didn't...And so it goes.....
Post Script: And as for your theory that he would have stayed at the bus waiting for hunters, moose season doesn't open till Sept. so there's no way he would have thought they would be there to help him in August...
There was writing on the walls of the bus from previous years when caribou hunting was opened in mid-august. Hunters would write their names and the animals they had hunted along with a date. Some of those were dated in August of previous years. Caribou was closed when Chris was there but he may not have known that. I suspect he knew hunters would be coming out there in the fall...that;s why he wrote a note asking for help and left it at the bus when he went out gathering berries. He didn't know he was going to die before they arrived. By mid-august he was too weak or injured to walk out or walk to the cabins even if he knew they were there. What I still don't understand is why he didn't do more to attract the attention of aircraft and get himself rescued?
A Park helicopter flew in there to the Park cabin on August 9. Other aircraft flew over that area. A smokey fire would have attracted attention because the bus is in a high fire suppression zone. But then if he had vandalized the Park service cabin and he poached a moose and let it rot then maybe he didn't want to attract an "official" rescue.
Yes, Alex poached the moose but he certainly didn't "let it rot". He tried desperately to save the meat, and when he couldn't he went as far as to call it "one of the worst mistakes of my life"....His plan was to use all the meat, hardly your typical "poacher". (But yes he took it out of season and without a license).I agree completely re. your point about why he didn't do more to attract aircraft attention. In the dire state he was in I don't think he would have cared whether it was an "official" rescue or not, considering the other alternative was starving to death....I suppose it may just never have occurred to him, but that's hard to believe, especially if he could hear aircraft overhead. if he did make a conscious decision to not want an official rescue then I got to hand it to him - he went out holding strong to his convictions. Dare I say not many people can say that...Just another reason why I admire the guy so much.
I see a lot of nonsense spewed out in the comments, so here's the facts: there was food in these cabins, we always leave food in cabins in case someone in trouble pass by, I know that because I'm Canadian and I've been in the woods all my life, but according to Will Forseburg all the food in his cabin was thrown on the floor (by Chris), when Chris reached the cabins he was still trying to hike to the Bering Sea (he turned around later when he realized his plan was unfeasible and went back to the bus), he wasn't starving yet and he wasn't desperate, so this was a simple act of vandalism, why I have no idea, but the facts speak by themselves, he wasn't a hero, he took unnecessary risks because he thought of himself as indestructible, but he lacked preparation and foresight, and now we know he was seeking reclusion because he was angry at the world due to the abuse he suffered as a child, well only a Californian would think the Alaskan wilderness is a good place to do a catharsis, you guys simply don't get it
Yeh... that totally makes sense. You know how he broke into the cabins and decided not to look at the maps that told him how to leave without having to cross a huge river. And it totally makes sense how he chose to stay in a damp cold bus than in a fully furnished and insulated cabin.
I have come to understand from the book that he probably chose to die
@@doughminatrix I don't know any more than anyone else about Christopher, however he didn't want to die, as he left a note on the bus for possible passerbys while he went off to pick berries. His note mentioned his weakness and being close to death and wanting to be saved, and that if anyone read his note while he was out to wait for him to return. He also mentions being injured, a fact that seems to go unmentioned.
They never will get it.
In my own understanding there is two theories that can explain the whole cabins fiasco
1.Christopher McCandless never found the cabin because did he found it he would have come back to it during his last days when he was in the brink of death in the hope that someone who was much familiar with the Alaska territory would have stumbled upon the cabin thereby increasing his chances of survival.Another supporting evidence is nothing that belonged to the cabin was found in the bus McCandless ws sheltering in not even the ma that showed a route other than the river was missing.This theory is further supported by the fact that McCandless wallets was found intact with all sort of identification documents together with some cash i presume in the case of absolute emergency meaning that he had all sorts of plans to come back alive and was never suicidal.
2.McCandless found the cabin in his last days of life where he was in a state of desperation due to nearly starving to death and as they say a hungry man is an angry man and i would like to think a starving man is a raging man and in act of rage McCandless took out his hopelessness on the cabin vandalizing it in the process.
I personally lean on to the first theory because it is highly unlikely considering McCandless character of respecting his surroundings that he would just destroy a cabin just for the sake of it.It simply is not in him to do that.
The first one is a possibility, but the second one isn't because he was so weak in his last days of life that he couldn't even leave the bus
+MrYezayeza Number 1 theory- It is much more likely that someone would have found Chris at the bus than at the cabin. Because the bus is right on the old road. The cabins are hidden in forest and almost never visited in summer. There was graffitti with dates inside the bus written on the roof left by hunters. Chris would have seen that graffitti and known that hunters would come out in the Fall...and they did...but too late.
Theory 2- The Rangers who found the damaged cabins were certain that the cabins had been vandalized by a human and in the Spring or early Summer. In his last days Chris would probably not have been capable of walking up to the cabins.
I think that someone walked out in the Spring on the dog trails and found the cabins. The Park Service cabin was locked up and had a threatening sign on it that said, "Government Property. Keep Out. No Trespassing. Violaters will be Prosecuted." That sign and the locked door may have pissed someone off so much that they broke in and vandalized both cabins. Later a bear also got into that guy's private cabin.
Lots of people regularly made it to the bus following the Stampede Trail without having to use the dog sled trails. It's doubtful that Chris McCandless ever ventured far off the Stampede trail at ail when going to the bus as he purportedly had no map or compass, along with little real knowledge of wilderness navigation. A trail or road would have been a lifeline. I find it very hard to believe Chris would not have taken refuge in one of the cabins on the Shushana had he known of their existence, especially considering the Ranger cabin had canned food stocked in it. Remember, Chris ended up starving to death. If one did not specifically know of the cabins upriver from the location of the bus, they would've been hidden from view to someone like Chris whom I seriously doubt ventured far at all from the bus the entire time he was there. The bus was refuge and shelter, but also an obvious place where people came through and knew about. If Chris had truly wanted to immerse himself in the wild far from civilization, he could've do so at any time by walking off into the woods far away from all trails. He never did that.
I disagree a bit, his first plan was to hike all the way to the Bering sea. Kinda like his Colorado river to the sea of Cortez adventure. So he initially went past the bus for a few days, then turned around and came back. So he could’ve found it then. I’d imagine it interrupted his sense of alone in the wilderness so he vandalized it. Then just became too weak to make it back to the cabin.
I doubt McCandless ever found those cabins.
Why do you think that?
Evidence says otherwise
Azz Lazz true... but you never know what his mindset was like after being isolated and starving.
@@Lhansmeyer33 I think he would have mentioned it.
I don't understand why he kept for so many years his bag? and how is possible the strupid policemen forget that when they went to take Chri's body???? personally I don't think he vandalised the house into the wood
+Marketoromagnolo The police looked through his pack when they flew in to get his body but they didn't find the wallet in a hidden pocket. They left what they thought was an empty pack there in the bus. Chip Brown wrote in the New Yorker article that he saw the pack there when he flew in there in October that year. Brown didn't find the wallet either. The dude in this video found the pack on the floor in the bus. It looked empty other than some mushrooms in it. It was obviously abandoned so he took it and used it. He didn't know at that time that the Mccandless family was going to fly in there that next summer. After several years he found the wallet and mailed the pack and wallet to Chris's sister Carine. If the pack had been taken by the police when they came in to get Chris's body they would have given it to Chris's family and I doubt that they would have ever found the wallet hidden inside it...
+Alive and Kicking yes but I don't understand, every single objects police dfound had to be taken off, and given to the familly! also how is possible nobody found the wallet there? I mean every stupid policmen knows how to look for something hidden inside a pack
+Marketoromagnolo The bus had a lot of abandoned stuff inside which had been left behind by hunters, trappers and dog mushers. the police had no way to know exactly which things belonged to Chris. They had limited time there to investigate and limited space in the helicopter. So, they looked at everything and took the things which seemed important. The pack was open and seemed to be empty except for some mushrooms which voles or squirrels were storing inside the bottom pocket. If you look at the video at minute 4:04 it shows the inside of the pack where the hidden zipper closed an inner pocket which held the wallet. It is very hard to see the zipper. The guy in the video who took the pack did not find the wallet inside that zippered pocket for over 10 years. He only found it because he was cleaning dust dirt out of the big pocket with a rag and noticed the zipper. If the police had taken the pack and returned it to the family I wonder if they would have ever found the hidden pocket and wallet.
+Alive and Kicking ok.... but I still think policemen did, as Always, a very approximative work....anyway you look obsessed by Chris,,,, just like me
The man found an old pack from a dead man, thinks it was a good idea to steal it and to keep it as a memory, and suddenly, ten years later, he decides that the time has come to clean it, and find a wallet with 300 dollars? This is the kind of "truth" you want me to believe ? No way, all of this story is nonsense from the start to the end..
According to a lot of evidence, Chris didn’t go far enough from his base camp to encounter the Cabin plus it didn’t sound like his way to vandalize a local cabin even if he was hungry
People look at him as an inspiration, because he did what he wanted the most. His dream was to be in nature. But he was stupid in not being prepared
That and inconsideration to his sister and others who would have to risk their lives to save him.
Interesting that he acted just like his father. All drunks are that way. Whether or not he was that way himself.
Considering total lack of preparation, that's something a drunk would do. He might not have drank at all, but it's consistent with that. Often, you'll see kids of drunks act the same as the alcoholics. Even with no booze.
There was our story about a liquor store that might indicate heavy drinking. You should have several if that were true, but going there, they can be very mentally unstable and senseless violent. Maybe his plan was that cabins aren't "roughing it" enough? To keep others away from it/him?
People should look at him as an inspiration of what not do.
Nature doesn't care.😮
How could such a huge thing be missed. Why would he vandalize it? Utilize it maybe, but vandalism?
Why would he wreck a stovepipe? And break windows? -Doesn't fit the personality described by the people who knew him well.
You know, if the story of possible alcoholism is true (trying to break into a liquor store...?) Turn, you'd be dealing with a very unstable mind. Under DTs, they will hallucinate.
His father was a lush. I'd venture to say their mother had codependency issues. They go together. So, odds of being a drunk, especially at such a young age (they tend to start early, usually teens, but childhood drinking isn't rare) are fairly high. At least 60%+
Tho I don't say one story makes evidence. Things also get misconstrued..
The fact that he wanted to return and not lose his life there itself makes the story far even better and daring
In hollywood cris is a great story. In canadas north we call him a vandal who went into the bush as a spoiled rich kid living off bush people's hard livings.
What they dont want you to know is that the bus is actually a spaceship
The book and movie are romanticized versions of the truth. I have read the book and watched the movie. This ‘myth’ is what draws similar young people to him. Any person from Alaska will tell you he basically committed suicide. Many people warned him and he ignored their advice. He was lucky he wasn’t attacked by a bear and eaten while he was still alive. Alaskan’s see thousands of stupid, young people try to do this every year and never see them again. The hero worship of this kid is absolutely sickening.
Chris did not get rid of his ID and money as written in Into the Wild. Krakauer just made that up. His wallet was hidden in his pack with lots of ID and money. The pack wallet and money were all returned to Chris's sister Carine many years ago. Carine writes about this in her new book.
Did you watch the video? The shutters were closed, the windows were busted from the inside.
so he stiffed the driver by saying he only had 85 cents when in reality he had 300 hundreds. what a scoundrel
Don't believe the police missed the bag. The guy in the video must have found it while CM was still alive but at that moment not near the bus. Strange he hasn't returned it to CM's family btw.
The police found the bag in the bus but not the wallet. Forsberg found the pack and wallet later and eventually returned all of it to Chris's sister.
Alive and Kicking how do you know forsberg returned Chris’s backpack to his family?? Whats your source? Because I have reason to believe his backpack is still in Healy, Alaska.
"I have reason to believe, what is your source? How do you know?" Geez, don't be such a dick about it.
He did like 12 years after Chris died.
@@IcemanHLL His sister wrote about it in her book The Wild Truth.
Interesting read.
I have no idea what happened out there and who vandalized any of those cabins. The place seems isolated but I have seen videos of groups driving to the bus in tricked out 4 X 4 so who knows what really happened. RIP
Locals are well known to have vandalized that bus after Chris's death and breaking windows, shooting at it, trashing the inside... I suggest this guy blame locals instead. And why wouldn't he turn that pack into authorities for lost and found. He basically stole a dead guys backpack. And still has it.
Thanks marryskaz! The movie really changed my life. :-)
“…nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future."
How does a wallet with money in it have anything to do with a vandalized cabin
The same guy who found the pack and the wallet and returned it with the money to Chris's sister also had his cabin vandalized. The 3 Park rangers who found the 3 damaged cabins all agreed that the damage was done by a human. Chris was the only human known to have been out there when the vandalism took place. Maybe he did it or maybe not...there is no way to know really.
As the guy who was honest enough to hand in the 300$, explains. Only a human could have done it.
I had that exact same library card when I was a kid in the 90's.
Well, he wanted out of this crappy world and he did what he needed to. My brother is doing the same thing. The only difference is we all grew up in the woods of Alaska and were taught many things. What to eat, how to hunt, what plants were edible, how to build shelters, start fires, etc. so just because u dont want to be a part of society does not mean you are stupid! They just dont want the same things out of life that others do! Thats all
It's a problem to vanish on his sister and then have to wait for others to risk their lives to save you.
He had clearly intentions on returning from the wild. He culminated the state of mind he was looking for, he wrote down things as "Family happiness" and "Happiness is only real when shared", and also when he wrote to his friends he said things as "when I come back from this adventure..." or as he said to Ronald Franz (not real name) that they will talk about his request (to be adopted as his child) once he came back from Alaska, and Chris was thinking about this adventure as the last.
Then he left the bus. But it was summer and the rivers had grown and there was a heavy stream and the river was very wide, he couldn't cross. There was a kind of an old structure to cross the river that was from the forestal guards 2 km away, but he had thrown the map many time ago so he didn't know... and he returned to the bus again. Then as for the lack of food and the possible poisoning he died :(
+Beatriz Plana He didn't throw his map away. The police found it and brought it back with them. But it was a road map and didn't show the cable car location.
ooh didn't know that, thank you!... but sad that with this map he could not have crossed anyways :/
According to this article: www.adn.com/article/20150110/fiction-jon-krakauers-wild , the underlined passages in those books that Krakauer interpreted may not be from Chris. The books were put into the bus way before Chris got there and could have been from anyone. The whole article is a great read as to how the whole story of Chris has been mythologized and misrepresented, but the specific part I am referring to is the "Underlined passages in books" section of that article.
He also wrote to others he might not make it back alive.
The guy who dropped him off said he did throw his map on the dash. He was obsessed with being lost.
Chris went on an epic adventure and things took a bad turn. Really no mystery. Unfortunate. But no mystery. He was planning to return and to write about the adventure. I don't like this guy saying things he is not sure of. All speculation.
If this guy is going to accuse Chris for vandalizing his cabin he should of provided some real evidence. If not, he should not of made a video accusing Chris and making himself look as if he positively figured it out.
the river< maybe so maybe not, but god intended for him to die a natural being, to live the remainder of his life a free soul, and thats exactly what he did, and it is still free, and everlasting, forever living in the hearts of all of us. he is here, he lives through us, so much love chris, you have given me a life with something to look forward to
Do they think he wanted to die? He was a smart guy. He's obviously gonna keep something for an absolute emergency. He didn't know what he wanted to do after his adventure and was even quoted saying he might write a book which I think is the most possible if he would have lived.
A lot of people thought Chris was sort of suicidal. Krakauer wrote that Chris gave away all his money and burned his social securtiy card... that along with the fatalistic post cards Chris sent to friends made people think that Chris never wanted to return to civilization even if it meant dying in the wilds. But it turns out that Chris did not burn his money or his cards. He actually tried to return to civilization. The dude who found the wallet wanted to get the word out to everyone that Chris was not suicidal and that he was planning to rejoin society.
Alive and Kicking My take: he was not suicidal but his cognition betrayed him. All his actions/choices though led to his death. He was a Fool on a Fools errand. Money that should have gone to gear was tossed away!! What was he thinking?? Idealistic Ideation?? Issues of long ago with family and society?? Think we will never know. But we can try because there are lessons here in this death.
accordio13 I think you are right that Chris was not suicidal. He told people he was going to try and live off the land for as long as he could. When he realized this wasn't going to be practical any longer he tried to walk back in to the road but was turned back by the high water level in the river. He surely knew that hunters would be coming out in late August after moose because there was graffitti in the bus saying that from past years. I think that is why he put the sign on the bus asking for help...but help did not come soon enough. Ironically, Park rangers flew into the Park cabin to clean up the mess that had been discovered there on August 9. Had they flown 5 miles furthur down to the bus they might have rescued Chris...
so Chris doesnt have enough energy to cross the river to safety , yet has enough hike 5 miles up stream , only to climb up on a roof "pick axe" the roof then climb down break the door open , only to drag the stove outside and hike back to the MAgic bus .... hmmmmm , then a bottom feeder ( this guy that stole his back pack from a bus he didnt own shortly after his death ) finds Chris' wallet inside ....... WOW any1 else find this fish af?
He's honest enough to hand in the 300$. If someone else was there, they not only did the vandalism but left Chris to die.
quaxk- Will Forsberg did not leave food in his cabin then because it attracts bears. There was just one can of tomato paste in the cabin which was chewed up by a bear. He never said that "all the food in his cabin was thrown on the floor by Chris". The Rangers who investigated the trashing of the cabins wrote that the damage at all 3 cabins was done by a human and that food was scattered around in the Park cabin.
Stampede trail is a damn tough trail.
The people who has stayed at the bus just to shoot holes in it, making it deteriorate faster, tell us that there are persons who survived Chris and is still vandalizing in that area and probably surroundings as well.
In 2020 that bus was removed by helicopter for safety reasons. Rescuers had intervened in many dangerous and deadly situations created by inexperienced wilderness people visiting the bus like it was a tourist attraction.
Respect for this strange story. Seems to get a little more weird with each post I find. Why would anyone in their right mind poke holes in the roof of a cabin, especially if survival was an issue? Makes sense he might have found these cabins - but then I saw an interview with Krakauer talking about how there was a place to cross the river about 1/4 mile down the river, that Chris obviously missed. If he could walk 5 miles to these cabins, how could he have missed a crossing 1/4 mile away? Maybe. Admittedly, sometimes the peanut butter can be right in front of you on the shelf and still hard to find... and he hadn't given up on his original identity, as some stories maintain. Were drugs involved? No one has mentioned that possibility yet. How was his mental health?
He was obviously unprepared. Didn't have decent boots or a good knife or fish net. So we can assume the same mental illness as the bear guy who got killed by the bear he thought "was his friend."
pure speculation only that Chris ever went to, or did ANYTHING to these cabins. If he was willing to venture that far, it seems likely he would have ventured at least a mile or two up and down the river he could not cross, and found the cable crossing.
It was very difficult walking from the river crossing down to the cable which was downstream going into a steep canyon. He was already too weak to do that or it just didn't occur to him. If he had had a topo map he would have seen the words "gauging station" on the map .8 miles down river but he probably would not have known that meant a cable was there. He did have a road map which showed the Stampede Road which he was on and the Denali Park road about 10 miles to the south. He could have walked along the river to the south and found the Park road but that was not easy either. So either it didn't occur to him or he thought it more prudent to return to the bus.
ok yeah he worked for Wayne and said he was going back to work for him to make money! he even complained he paid him too much! he told him just to keep what was on the dash (his watch, maps, change etc) but I don't think he ever said it was everything, he was just maybe overcome with the Alaskan beauty perhaps. I've also heard/seen people tame this as he didn't really burn all his money as he showed in the picture he took, but as his letters indicate , he had to work his way through different places st different times in order to continue on, including an Italian Restaurant, and the work he did in South Dakota. Friends and letters also indicate he went back to South Dakota. I also don't get how police could have TOTALLY missed that backpack!! And I think if he had found that cabin, he one would not have starved to death, would have journals about it as he did everything else-even his failures-, he would have been respectful of it and taken only what be desperately needed, tried to navigate from it, and /or the bear guy would have said it looked like it was a bear. don't mean to sound generic just love Chris M..right on pal!!