“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.”
Chris McCandless’ story is both inspiring and tragic. He was an American nomad in the 1980s; an itinerant traveler, a hitchhiker, and an avid outdoorsman. He accomplished several long distance wilderness hikes, and paddled portions of the Colorado River. By any account, he was an adventure traveler.
After graduating from Emory University in 1990, he hiked and hitchhiked across North America, ending up in Alaska. In April 1992, he set off on Alaska’s Stampede Trail where he eventually met his match. The last person to see McCandless alive considered him ill-prepared and inexperienced for the Alaskan wilderness. In September, his body was discovered in a shelter along the trail. It’s believed he had starved to death.
Writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer wrote an article on McCandless fate for Outside Magazine, based on his journal entries. Later, he wrote McCandless’ biography, Into the Wild. The book was then adapted for the 2007 film Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn, and starring Vince Vaughan and Emile Hirsch as McCandless.
Despite his tragic end – which itself is a reminder to be thoroughly prepared before embarking on adventure – we love this quote from Chris McCandless. It echos what we believe to be true. The core of our spirit is adventure.
A little bit more…
If you’re interested, the bus where McCandless sought shelter, and lived for some time, had become an attraction in the Alaska Outback. You can see it here:
Unfortunately, many who sought out the sight met a similar fate. The State of Alaska committed resources every year to rescue adventurers stranded at or in search of McCandless’ bus. Eventually (June 2020) the bus was removed:
An abandoned city bus, made famous by the book “Into the Wild” and the movie of the same name, was airlifted out of the Alaska backcountry.
The bus has long attracted adventurers to the area. Some have had to be rescued or have died. https://t.co/Sywx2tRlsA pic.twitter.com/KNhezFliuN
— ABC News (@ABC) June 19, 2020
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