Christopher McCandless
Encyclopedia
Christopher Johnson McCandless (February 12, 1968 – August 1992) was an American hitchhiker who adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and hiked into the Alaska
n wilderness in April 1992 with little food and equipment, hoping to live for a time in solitude. Almost four months later, McCandless' remains were found, weighing only 67 pounds (30 kg; 4 st 11 lb); he died of starvation near Lake Wentitika in Denali National Park and Preserve
.
In January 1993, author Jon Krakauer
published McCandless' story in that month's magazine
issue of Outside
. Inspired by the details of McCandless's story, Krakauer wrote and published Into the Wild in 1996 about McCandless' travels. The book was adapted into a film
by Sean Penn
in 2007 with Emile Hirsch
portraying McCandless. That same year, McCandless's story also became the subject of Ron Lamothe
's documentary The Call of the Wild
.
, the first of two children to Walt McCandless and Wilhelmina "Billie" Johnson. He had one younger sister, Carine. In 1976, the family settled in Annandale, Virginia
, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
, after his father was employed as an antenna specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. His mother worked as a secretary at Hughes Aircraft
, and later assisted her husband with his successful home-based consulting company in Annandale. Despite the McCandless family's financial success, Walt and Billie were often fighting and sometimes would contemplate divorce. Chris also had six half-siblings living in California from Walt's first marriage. Walt was not yet divorced from his first wife when Chris and Carine were born, however Chris did not discover his father's affair until a summer trip to Southern California
.in 1986.
At school, teachers noticed McCandless was unusually strong-willed. In adolescence he coupled this with intense idealism and physical endurance. In high school, he served as captain of the cross-country team, urging teammates to treat running as a spiritual exercise in which they were "running against the forces of darkness ... all the evil in the world, all the hatred."
On June 2, 1986, McCandless graduated at Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School
in Fairfax, VA. On June 10, McCandless embarked on one of his first major adventures in which he traveled throughout the country in his Datsun
B-210, only to arrive at Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia
two days prior to the beginning of fall classes. McCandless graduated at Emory in April 1990 with a Bachelor's degree
in history
and anthropology
. His upper-middle-class background and academic success were drivers for his contempt of what he saw as the empty materialism
of society. In his junior year, he declined membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society
, on the basis that honors and titles were irrelevant. McCandless was strongly influenced by Jack London
, Leo Tolstoy
, W. H. Davies
and Henry David Thoreau
, and he envisioned separating from organized society for a Thoreauvian period of solitary contemplation.
author W. H. Davies
and his 1908 autobiography The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp
). Most people he had encountered regarded him as intelligent and one who loved to read. By the end of the summer, McCandless made his way through Arizona
, California
and South Dakota
, where he worked at a grain elevator
in Carthage
. He survived a flash flood
, but allowed his car to wash out (although it suffered little permanent damage and was later reused by the local police force as an undercover vehicle) and disposed of his license plate. In 1991, McCandless paddled a kayak down remote stretches of the Colorado River
to the Gulf of California
. He took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear and funds, and generally made little preparation. McCandless was, however, sometimes fed or otherwise aided by people he met on his travels.
" wherein he would live off the land of the Alaskan wilderness, far away from civilization, and "find himself". He kept a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked from Enderlin, North Dakota
to Fairbanks, Alaska
. He was last seen alive on April 28, 1992 by Jim Gallien, a local, who gave him a ride from Fairbanks to the head of the Stampede Trail
. Gallien was concerned about "Alex", who had minimal supplies (not even a compass
) and no experience surviving in the Alaskan bush. Gallien repeatedly tried to persuade Alex to defer his trip, and even offered to drive him to Anchorage
to buy suitable equipment and supplies. However, McCandless ignored Gallien's warnings, refusing all assistance except for a pair of Wellington rubber boots
, two tuna melt sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips.
After hiking along the snow-covered Stampede Trail, McCandless found an abandoned bus (about 25 miles west of Healy
) used as a hunting shelter and parked on an overgrown section of the trail near Denali National Park, and began to try to live off the land. He had a 10-pound bag of rice, a Remington
semi-automatic rifle with 400 rounds of .22LR
hollowpoint ammunition, a book of local plant life, several other books, and some camping equipment. He assumed he could forage for plant food and hunt game. McCandless poached
porcupine
s and birds. He managed to kill a moose; however, he failed to preserve the meat properly, and it spoiled. Rather than thinly slicing and air-drying the meat, like jerky
, as is usually done in the Alaskan bush, he smoked it, following the advice of hunters he had met in South Dakota.
His journal contains entries covering a total of 112 days. These entries range from ecstatic to grim with McCandless' changing fortunes. In July, after living in the bus for three months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the Teklanika River
, which was then considerably higher and swifter than when he crossed in April. Unknown to McCandless, there was a hand-operated tram that crossed the river only ¼ of a mile away from where he had previously crossed. In the 2007 documentary The Call of the Wild, evidence is presented that McCandless had a map at his disposal, which should have helped him find another route to safety. McCandless lived in the bus for a total of 113 days. At some point during that time, presumably very near the end, he posted an S.O.S. note calling on anyone passing by to help him because he was "injured" and "too weak". The full note read:
"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"
He tore the final page from Louis L'Amour
's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which contains an excerpt from a Robinson Jeffers
poem titled "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours":
On the other side of the page, McCandless added, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus by Butch Killian, a local hunter, on September 6, 1992. McCandless had been dead for more than two weeks and weighed an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg). His official, undisputed cause of death was starvation
. Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of a phenomenon known as "rabbit starvation
" due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. Krakauer also speculates that McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum
alpinum or Hedisarum mackenzii) or a mold that grows on them (Rhizoctonia leguminicola produces the toxic alkaloid swainsonine
).
However, an article in Men's Journal
stated that extensive laboratory testing showed there was no toxin present in McCandless's food supplies. Dr. Thomas Clausen, the chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department at UAF
said "I tore that plant apart. There were no toxins. No alkaloids. I'd eat it myself." Analysis of the wild sweet pea, given as the cause of Chris’s death in Sean Penn's film, turned up no toxic compounds and there is not a single account in modern medical literature of anyone being poisoned by this species of plant. As one journalist put it: "He didn't find a way out of the bush, couldn't catch enough food to survive, and simply starved to death."
article on him in January 1993. While Krakauer and many readers have a largely sympathetic view of McCandless, others, particularly Alaskans, have expressed negative views about McCandless and those who romanticize his fate.
The most charitable view among McCandless's detractors is that his behavior showed a profound lack of common sense. He chose not to bring a compass (which most people in the same situation would have considered essential). McCandless was completely unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the otherwise impassable river ¼ mile from where he attempted to cross. Had McCandless known this, he could easily have saved his own life. Additionally, there were cabins stocked with emergency supplies within a few miles of the bus, although they had been vandalized and all the supplies were spoiled. There has been some speculation (particularly in details given in the Lamothe documentary) that the vandalism may have been done by McCandless himself; however, Ken Kehrer, chief ranger for Denali National Park, denied that McCandless was considered a vandalism suspect by the National Park Service
. 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 enthusiast
s, nearly certain to end in an undesirable way.
Alaskan Park Ranger
Peter Christian wrote:
Sherry Simpson, writing in the Anchorage Press
, described her trip to the bus with a friend, and their reaction upon reading the comments that tourists had left lauding McCandless as an insightful, Thoreau
-like figure:
Jon Krakauer defends McCandless, claiming that what critics point to as arrogance was merely McCandless's desire for "being the first to explore a blank spot on the map." Krakauer continues that "In 1992, however, there were no more blank spots on the map—not in Alaska, not anywhere. But Chris, with his idiosyncratic logic, came up with an elegant solution to this dilemma: He simply got rid of the map. In his own mind, if nowhere else, the terra would thereby remain incognita." Others have pointed out that a map of the area (although apparently not including the location of the hand-powered tram) was found amongst McCandless's belongings, and refute the accusations that he intentionally discarded this map.
's film Into the Wild
, based on Krakauer's book, was released on September 21, 2007 to positive critical reviews and also earning several awards including a Golden Globe Award
for Best Original Song
by Eddie Vedder
. In October 2007, a documentary film on McCandless's journey by independent filmmaker Ron Lamothe
, The Call of the Wild
, was also released. McCandless's story also inspired an episode of the TV series Millennium
, the album Cirque
by Biosphere
, and folk songs by singer Ellis Paul
.
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n wilderness in April 1992 with little food and equipment, hoping to live for a time in solitude. Almost four months later, McCandless' remains were found, weighing only 67 pounds (30 kg; 4 st 11 lb); he died of starvation near Lake Wentitika in Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Denali , the highest mountain in North America. The park and preserve together cover 9,492 mi² .The longest glacier is the Kalhiltna glacier....
.
In January 1993, author Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer
Jon Krakauer is an American writer and mountaineer, primarily known for his writing about the outdoors and mountain-climbing...
published McCandless' story in that month's magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
issue of Outside
Outside (magazine)
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
. Inspired by the details of McCandless's story, Krakauer wrote and published Into the Wild in 1996 about McCandless' travels. The book was adapted into a film
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
by Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
in 2007 with Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...
portraying McCandless. That same year, McCandless's story also became the subject of Ron Lamothe
Ron Lamothe
Ron Lamothe is a director of documentary films and the founder of Terra Incognita Films.In 2000, Lamothe began pre-production on The Political Dr. Seuss, a documentary on the life and "political" works of Theodor Geisel. In 2004, the documentary aired nationwide on PBS as the season premiere of...
's documentary The Call of the Wild
Call of the Wild (2007 film)
The Call of the Wild is a 2007 documentary by independent filmmaker Ron Lamothe. The premise details the odyssey of Christopher McCandless,-Content:...
.
Early years
McCandless was born in El Segundo, CaliforniaEl Segundo, California
El Segundo is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on the Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is one of the Beach Cities of Los Angeles County and part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments...
, the first of two children to Walt McCandless and Wilhelmina "Billie" Johnson. He had one younger sister, Carine. In 1976, the family settled in Annandale, Virginia
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 41,008 at the 2010 census, down from 54,994 in 2000 due to the splitting off of the western part of it to form Wakefield and Woodburn CDP's.-Geography:...
, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, after his father was employed as an antenna specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. His mother worked as a secretary at Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft
Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Culver City, California as a division of Hughes Tool Company...
, and later assisted her husband with his successful home-based consulting company in Annandale. Despite the McCandless family's financial success, Walt and Billie were often fighting and sometimes would contemplate divorce. Chris also had six half-siblings living in California from Walt's first marriage. Walt was not yet divorced from his first wife when Chris and Carine were born, however Chris did not discover his father's affair until a summer trip to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.in 1986.
At school, teachers noticed McCandless was unusually strong-willed. In adolescence he coupled this with intense idealism and physical endurance. In high school, he served as captain of the cross-country team, urging teammates to treat running as a spiritual exercise in which they were "running against the forces of darkness ... all the evil in the world, all the hatred."
On June 2, 1986, McCandless graduated at Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School
Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School
Wilbert Tucker Woodson High School, commonly known as W.T. Woodson High School, is a high school located in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the east end of the city of Fairfax, opposite the shopping center on Main Street....
in Fairfax, VA. On June 10, McCandless embarked on one of his first major adventures in which he traveled throughout the country in his Datsun
Datsun
Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
B-210, only to arrive at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
two days prior to the beginning of fall classes. McCandless graduated at Emory in April 1990 with a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. His upper-middle-class background and academic success were drivers for his contempt of what he saw as the empty materialism
Economic materialism
Materialism is a mindset that views the consumption and acquisition of material goods as positive and desirable. It is often bound up with a value system which regards social status as being intrinsically linked to affluence as well as the perception that happiness can be increased through...
of society. In his junior year, he declined membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
, on the basis that honors and titles were irrelevant. McCandless was strongly influenced by Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, W. H. Davies
W. H. Davies
William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or vagabond in the United States and United Kingdom, but became known as one of the most popular poets of his time...
and Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, and he envisioned separating from organized society for a Thoreauvian period of solitary contemplation.
Travels
In May 1990, McCandless donated the remaining $24,000 of the $47,000, given to him by a family friend for his law degree, to Oxfam International, a hunger charity. Towards the end of June, he began traveling under the name "Alexander" McCandless until later adopting the last name of "Supertramp" (Krakauer notes the connection with WelshWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
author W. H. Davies
W. H. Davies
William Henry Davies or W. H. Davies was a Welsh poet and writer. Davies spent a significant part of his life as a tramp or vagabond in the United States and United Kingdom, but became known as one of the most popular poets of his time...
and his 1908 autobiography The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp
The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp is an autobiography published in 1908 by the Welsh poet and writer William Henry Davies...
). Most people he had encountered regarded him as intelligent and one who loved to read. By the end of the summer, McCandless made his way through Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, where he worked at a grain elevator
Grain elevator
A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
in Carthage
Carthage, South Dakota
Carthage is a city in Miner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 144 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Carthage is located at ....
. He survived a flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
, but allowed his car to wash out (although it suffered little permanent damage and was later reused by the local police force as an undercover vehicle) and disposed of his license plate. In 1991, McCandless paddled a kayak down remote stretches of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
to the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. He took pride in surviving with a minimum of gear and funds, and generally made little preparation. McCandless was, however, sometimes fed or otherwise aided by people he met on his travels.
Alaskan Odyssey
For years, McCandless dreamed of an "Alaskan OdysseyOdyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
" wherein he would live off the land of the Alaskan wilderness, far away from civilization, and "find himself". He kept a journal describing his physical and spiritual progress as he faced the forces of nature. In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked from Enderlin, North Dakota
Enderlin, North Dakota
Enderlin is a city in Cass and Ransom counties in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The population was 886 at the 2010 census. Enderlin was founded in 1891....
to Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
. He was last seen alive on April 28, 1992 by Jim Gallien, a local, who gave him a ride from Fairbanks to the head of the Stampede Trail
Stampede Trail
The Stampede Trail in Alaska was a mining trail blazed in the 1930s by Alaska miner Earl Pilgrim to access his antimony claims on Stampede Creek, above the Clearwater Fork of the Toklat River...
. Gallien was concerned about "Alex", who had minimal supplies (not even a compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
) and no experience surviving in the Alaskan bush. Gallien repeatedly tried to persuade Alex to defer his trip, and even offered to drive him to Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
to buy suitable equipment and supplies. However, McCandless ignored Gallien's warnings, refusing all assistance except for a pair of Wellington rubber boots
Wellington boot
The Wellington boot, also known as rubber-boots, wellies, wellingtons, topboots, billy-boots, gumboots, gummies, barnboots, wellieboots, muckboots, sheepboots, shitkickers, or rainboots are a type of boot based upon leather Hessian boots...
, two tuna melt sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips.
After hiking along the snow-covered Stampede Trail, McCandless found an abandoned bus (about 25 miles west of Healy
Healy, Alaska
Healy is a census-designated place in and the borough seat of Denali Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 971 at the 2007 census.-Geography:Healy is located at ....
) used as a hunting shelter and parked on an overgrown section of the trail near Denali National Park, and began to try to live off the land. He had a 10-pound bag of rice, a Remington
Remington Arms
Remington Arms Company, Inc. was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, as E. Remington and Sons. It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only U.S....
semi-automatic rifle with 400 rounds of .22LR
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...
hollowpoint ammunition, a book of local plant life, several other books, and some camping equipment. He assumed he could forage for plant food and hunt game. McCandless poached
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
s and birds. He managed to kill a moose; however, he failed to preserve the meat properly, and it spoiled. Rather than thinly slicing and air-drying the meat, like jerky
Jerky (food)
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then been dried to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt, to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat before sufficient moisture has been removed. The word "jerky" is a bastardization of the...
, as is usually done in the Alaskan bush, he smoked it, following the advice of hunters he had met in South Dakota.
His journal contains entries covering a total of 112 days. These entries range from ecstatic to grim with McCandless' changing fortunes. In July, after living in the bus for three months, he decided to leave, but found the trail back blocked by the Teklanika River
Teklanika River
The Teklanika River is a feeder stream to the Yukon River drainage and a tributary of the Nenana River in the central interior region of Alaska. Flowing northward from headwaters at the Cantwell Glacier in the Alaska Range and reaching to the Tanana River, it drains an area widely visited by...
, which was then considerably higher and swifter than when he crossed in April. Unknown to McCandless, there was a hand-operated tram that crossed the river only ¼ of a mile away from where he had previously crossed. In the 2007 documentary The Call of the Wild, evidence is presented that McCandless had a map at his disposal, which should have helped him find another route to safety. McCandless lived in the bus for a total of 113 days. At some point during that time, presumably very near the end, he posted an S.O.S. note calling on anyone passing by to help him because he was "injured" and "too weak". The full note read:
"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"
Death
On August 12, 1992, McCandless wrote what are apparently his final words in his journal: "Beautiful Blueberries."He tore the final page from Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
's memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, which contains an excerpt from a Robinson Jeffers
Robinson Jeffers
John Robinson Jeffers was an American poet, known for his work about the central California coast. Most of Jeffers' poetry was written in classic narrative and epic form, but today he is also known for his short verse, and considered an icon of the environmental movement.-Life:Jeffers was born in...
poem titled "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours":
- Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
- Something more equal to centuries
- Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
- The mountains are dead stone, the people
- Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
- The mountains are not softened or troubled
- And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper.
On the other side of the page, McCandless added, "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"
His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus by Butch Killian, a local hunter, on September 6, 1992. McCandless had been dead for more than two weeks and weighed an estimated 67 pounds (30 kg). His official, undisputed cause of death was starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
. Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of a phenomenon known as "rabbit starvation
Rabbit starvation
Rabbit starvation, also referred to as protein poisoning or mal de caribou, is a form of acute malnutrition caused by excess consumption of any lean meat coupled with a lack of other sources of nutrients usually in combination with other stressors, such as severe cold or dry environment...
" due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. Krakauer also speculates that McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarum
Hedysarum
Hedysarum is a genus of the botanical family Fabaceae, consisting of about 309 species of annual or perennial herbs in Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America.-Description:...
alpinum or Hedisarum mackenzii) or a mold that grows on them (Rhizoctonia leguminicola produces the toxic alkaloid swainsonine
Swainsonine
Swainsonine is an indolizine alkaloid. It is a potent inhibitor of Golgi alpha-mannosidase II, an immunomodulator, and a potential chemotherapy drug...
).
However, an article in Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....
stated that extensive laboratory testing showed there was no toxin present in McCandless's food supplies. Dr. Thomas Clausen, the chair of the chemistry and biochemistry department at UAF
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska System, and is abbreviated as Alaska or UAF....
said "I tore that plant apart. There were no toxins. No alkaloids. I'd eat it myself." Analysis of the wild sweet pea, given as the cause of Chris’s death in Sean Penn's film, turned up no toxic compounds and there is not a single account in modern medical literature of anyone being poisoned by this species of plant. As one journalist put it: "He didn't find a way out of the bush, couldn't catch enough food to survive, and simply starved to death."
Criticism
McCandless has been a polarizing figure ever since his story first broke following his death along with Krakauer's OutsideOutside (magazine)
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
article on him in January 1993. While Krakauer and many readers have a largely sympathetic view of McCandless, others, particularly Alaskans, have expressed negative views about McCandless and those who romanticize his fate.
The most charitable view among McCandless's detractors is that his behavior showed a profound lack of common sense. He chose not to bring a compass (which most people in the same situation would have considered essential). McCandless was completely unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the otherwise impassable river ¼ mile from where he attempted to cross. Had McCandless known this, he could easily have saved his own life. Additionally, there were cabins stocked with emergency supplies within a few miles of the bus, although they had been vandalized and all the supplies were spoiled. There has been some speculation (particularly in details given in the Lamothe documentary) that the vandalism may have been done by McCandless himself; however, Ken Kehrer, chief ranger for Denali National Park, denied that McCandless was considered a vandalism suspect by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
. 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
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
and, in the eyes of many experienced outdoor enthusiast
Outdoor enthusiast
An outdoor enthusiast is a person who enjoys sports and activities in nature and wilderness areas. Interests associated with outdoor enthusiasts include hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing, climbing and camping. The term outdoorsman has also been used.U.S. president Teddy...
s, nearly certain to end in an undesirable way.
Alaskan Park Ranger
Park ranger
A park ranger or forest ranger is a person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Different countries use different names for the position. Ranger is the favored term in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United...
Peter Christian wrote:
When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate... Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide.
Sherry Simpson, writing in the Anchorage Press
Anchorage Press
The Anchorage Press is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska and owned by Wick Communications.Established in 1992 by Bill Boulay, Barry Bialik, and Nick Coltman as the Anchorage Bypass, it was renamed the Anchorage Press in 1994. It is published and distributed every...
, described her trip to the bus with a friend, and their reaction upon reading the comments that tourists had left lauding McCandless as an insightful, Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
-like figure:
Among my friends and acquaintances, the story of Christopher McCandless makes great after-dinner conversation. Much of the time I agree with the "he had a death wish" camp because I don’t know how else to reconcile what we know of his ordeal. Now and then I venture into the "what a dumbshit" territory, tempered by brief alliances with the "he was just another romantic boy on an all-American quest" partisans. Mostly I’m puzzled by the way he’s emerged as a hero
Jon Krakauer defends McCandless, claiming that what critics point to as arrogance was merely McCandless's desire for "being the first to explore a blank spot on the map." Krakauer continues that "In 1992, however, there were no more blank spots on the map—not in Alaska, not anywhere. But Chris, with his idiosyncratic logic, came up with an elegant solution to this dilemma: He simply got rid of the map. In his own mind, if nowhere else, the terra would thereby remain incognita." Others have pointed out that a map of the area (although apparently not including the location of the hand-powered tram) was found amongst McCandless's belongings, and refute the accusations that he intentionally discarded this map.
Cultural legacy
Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, made Christopher McCandless a heroic figure to many. By 2002, the No. 142 abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail where McCandless camped had become a tourist destination. Sean PennSean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
's film Into the Wild
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
, based on Krakauer's book, was released on September 21, 2007 to positive critical reviews and also earning several awards including a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
by Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
. In October 2007, a documentary film on McCandless's journey by independent filmmaker Ron Lamothe
Ron Lamothe
Ron Lamothe is a director of documentary films and the founder of Terra Incognita Films.In 2000, Lamothe began pre-production on The Political Dr. Seuss, a documentary on the life and "political" works of Theodor Geisel. In 2004, the documentary aired nationwide on PBS as the season premiere of...
, The Call of the Wild
Call of the Wild (2007 film)
The Call of the Wild is a 2007 documentary by independent filmmaker Ron Lamothe. The premise details the odyssey of Christopher McCandless,-Content:...
, was also released. McCandless's story also inspired an episode of the TV series Millennium
Millennium (TV series)
Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Millennium aired on the Fox Network from 1996 to 1999. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were ostensibly set in or around Seattle, Washington...
, the album Cirque
Cirque (album)
Cirque is an album by ambient musician Biosphere, which was released in 2000.Miss Kittin used "Le Grand Dôme" on her mix album A Bugged Out Mix.- Track listing :# "Nook and Cranny" – 4:02# "Le Grand Dôme" – 5:36# "Grandiflora" – 0:48...
by Biosphere
Biosphere (musician)
Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...
, and folk songs by singer Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s...
.
See also
- Carl McCunnCarl McCunnCarl McCunn was an American wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually committed suicide when he ran out of supplies.-Early life:...
, wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually committed suicide when he ran out of supplies - Richard ProennekeRichard ProennekeRichard Louis "Dick" Proenneke was a naturalist who lived alone in the high mountains of Alaska at a place called Twin Lakes...
, who survived in the Alaskan wilderness for 30 years - Everett RuessEverett RuessEverett Ruess was a young artist, poet and writer who explored nature including the High Sierra, California Coast and the deserts of the American southwest, invariably alone...
, solitary wilderness traveler in American west - SurvivalismSurvivalismSurvivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
- Anarcho-PrimitivismAnarcho-primitivismAnarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
External links
- Christopher McCandless – The Official and Informative website on Christopher McCandless.
- Memorial Foundation – C J McCandless Memorial Foundation.
- Google Earth Community – Aerial photo of the bus, Google Earth Overlay of the region and downloadable KMZ file.
- Dispatches from the Wild – Excerpts of McCandless's own articles published in the Emory Wheel student newspaper.