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Emory
Chris loved Emory very much his first year. He had cleaned up and even had perfect grades. during one of the summers between his stays at Emory, Chris found out his father had cheated with his mother on another woman. This enraged Chris and inspired his trips as well as his resentment towards his father. -
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Chris's Journey
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Atlanta, Georgia at Emory
Here, Chris figures out that he wants to go and hike to Alaska and survive in the bush. This is one of the turning points in Chris's decisions for the rest of his life. -
Annandale, Virginia
Annandale is Chris's hometown, it's where he learned that he hated to be told what he could and couldn't do, as well as how to make money for yourself and not rely on others to provide for you. Here, his family went on many vacations which led him to love the outdoors and inspired his huge journey to Alaska. Chris also learned that his father had cheated on his mother while they lived in California, which is why they moved to Annandale. -
Lake Mead National Recreation Area/The Wash
Chris realizes the human tie to money and decides to cut that tie, using his act of burning money as a symbol of this new found freedom. -
Carthage, South Dakota
Chris works in Carthage with Westerberg. Here he learns that he is a congenial person for Westerberg and befriends him, promising him work if he returns to Carthage. -
Colorado River/Canals of Mexico
Chris exhibited some extraordinary behaviors here. He survived on very little food and he pushed himself to face his fear of water while he canoed down the Colorado River and into the Mexico Canals. -
Grand Canyon
McCandless feels out of place when he enters society for only a couple of days. In the Grand Canyon, Chris recognizes that he isn't the same person as he was and that his spirit was "soaring" -
Las Vegas, Nevada
Chris tries to contribute to society and make some money for food. He doesn't really like being in society but he needs the money. His preference to be alone intensifies during this time. -
Bullhead City, Arizona
McCandless fell in love with the desert that surrounded the city. The city changes his perspective on how he wants to live his life. He even considered giving up his 'tramping life" to stay in Bullhead City. -
Carthage,South Dakota
Chris comes back to Carthage in order to make enough money and pay to go to Alaska. Chris grew really close to Westerberg and his girlfriend. During this stay, Chris worked for Westerberg and found out that he wasn't much of a mechanically minded person. He had an affinity for the bigger picture. -
Oh-My-God-Hot Springs/Salton City, California
In this part of California, Chris met a good friend of his Ron Franz. Franz taught Chris about the compassion of others. Franz even went as far as to ask Chris to be his grandson. Chris really like Franz and in doing so, he discovered more about the fact that in order to be truly happy, you must share your happiness with others. -
Enter into the Alaskan Bush.
Chris is alive and about to enter the Alaskan Bush. He is still confused about his life philosophy, however he has figured out that he likes to spend time with his self and also other, just for a short amount of time. -
Stampede Trail
Throughout McCandless's stay on the Stampede trail he learns a lot about himself. He learns that he is resilient and can stand days with little food, that he is a fairly decent hunter when there is game to hunt. He learns that he can bare through tough times and still love being in the wild. He realizes that being truly happy can only occur when you share it with someone else.He dies before he can exit the woods but he figured out who he is and that's exactly what he wanted to happen. -
Stampede Trail, Alaska
Chris realized that in order to truly be happy, you have to share your happiness with someone else. He realized this before he died on September 2nd, 1992.