Chris Mccandless Journey In Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

The Stampede Trail is a beautiful expanse of land surrounded by lush forests and the creatures native to them. Following this path, one comes across a gurgling river and beyond that an expanse of land where a bus is located. This bus has been here for ages and serves as a resting place for hunters or hikers. In this serene picture, though, a young man tragically met his demise whilst on a journey of self-discovery. This man was Christopher McCandless, an enigmatic 24-year-old who gave up all he ever knew for a life of wandering. His story was told in a novel written by Jon Krakauer titled Into the Wild where we follow the last two years of Chris’ life before he ultimately perished in Alaska. Chris McCandless’ adventure, although foolhardy,

One could view him as brash and compulsive, but he did have a sort of genius to him as shown in the days he spent at Lake Mead National Park. Chris arrived at the park on July 6 and soon was forced to abandon his car due to a flash flood. Then, he proceeded to burn all his money, “...in a gesture that would have done Thoreau and Tolstoy proud, he arranged all his paper currency in a pile on the sand… and put a match to it” (Krakauer 29). It is a strange picture to imagine; a young man out in the middle of nowhere having just lost his car to a flood along with some of his belongings then decides to burn his money. Many would call him senseless for doing so but they did not know Chris. Setting fire to his currency and abandoning his car was a rite of passage into his journey, a noble quest for the truth. He recorded in his journal that hiking around the national park turned out to be a “tremendous mistake… In extreme July temperatures become delirious” (Krakauer 29). Not the brightest decision he’s made, he wound up suffering from heat stroke but managed to make it out alive. Under those conditions, a number of people would have been broken, but Chris was not. He surged forward and made it. Whether that be luck or coincidence cannot be said, but no ordinary fool could have just survived four days in the