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Leaving Home
Christopher McCandless, an ambitious and smart young man, leaves home with a note to his parents saying that he will be spending the summer travelling in his Datsun. Evidence suggests that he had a poor relationship with his father due him fathering two children by two different women at nearly the same time: his first wife and McCandless's mother. After he leaves, he will never be heard from by his family again. He does not immediately go into the wilderness, but instead travels across the U.S. -
The Datsun
McCandless’s car is abandoned after a flash flood traps it somewhere near Lake Mead, Nevada. He underestimated the strength of the flood and lost most of his belongings. He simply shrugged it off and buried what was left in the mud. He burned the rest of his money: about $120 dollars. His car was discovered some years later and was used second-hand by police as an undercover vehicle since no owner could be found at the time. -
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Hitchhiking West
McCandless hitchhikes from California to Montana, where he meets Wayne Westerberg, a man from South Dakota who offers him a ride. After Westerberg is incarcerated at the Sioux Falls work-release facility, McCandless sends his friend postcards in his journey. He begins a journal complete with pictures. The journal entries are written in third person, most likely to chronicle his journey for others. He often sends these entries to Westerberg back in South Dakota. -
Mexico and Back
McCandless sneaks into Mexico on a rowboat, but a storm threatens him and he is forced to the shore. A couple of duck hunters give him a lift to the Gulf of California. He spends quite a bit of time "roughing it" on the way back to the United States after he breaks his canoe taking shelter on a cliffside. -
Caught
McCandless attempts to sneak back into the United States but is caught by U.S. Immigration officials and spends a night in jail. He manages to essentially talk his way out of any trouble and hits the road. He says that he is "uncomfortable in society" and must return to the road. He records in his journal that though his physical body has deteriorated, "his spirits are soaring." At this point, he has lost twenty-five pounds. -
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Not Quite Settled Down
McCandless returns to where he buried his belongings back in July 1990 and enters Las Vegas with no money and no ID. He stops recording his journal, making it even more difficult to track his path. He would not return to this practice until arriving in the Alaskan wilderness a year later. What is known is that he lived in Las Vegas and started a job at McDonald's to save money. He left Las Vegas for Oregon after three months. -
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Oregon and Arizona
Not much is known about McCandless's whereabouts. His nomadic lifestyle was so driven by movement that he could not stay in one place. It is believed that McCandless travelled around Oregon and Arizona, taking shelter with anyone who admired his cause enough to give him room with them. Everything that is known about where he went is based off of postcards he sent to people who he rode with along his journey. -
Ronald Franz
McCandless is hitchhiking to a place called Oh-My-God Hot Springs and is picked up by a man named Ron Franz. They hit it off instantly, McCandless a well-educated young man and Franz an army veteran with a drinking problem. Even after they depart, they exchange letters, and McCandless inspires the man with his talk of living a nomadic life and making each day a new horizon. McCandless's death strikes Franz hard, and he resumes drinking after hearing of it. -
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South Dakota
Wayne Westerberg, McCandless's good friend, owned a grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota. For about a month, MCandless worked diligently at Westerberg's elevator in exchange for a place to stay. Westerberg noted that McCandless was non-stop in his work and would did nothing but the best. Westerberg's family and McCandless bonded well during this time, and, just before leaving for Alaska, he gave Westerberg a copy of War and Peace. Westerberg never saw McCandless again. -
Into The Wild
Starts on his way to Alaska with the intent to “live off the land” for a few months, as he tells his drivers. Eyewitnesses say he seems very ill-prepared, though intelligent. He entrances everyone he comes across with his extraordinary wit, and outgoing nature. Many worry for his safety, as his boots are not waterproof and he doesn't have a gun suitable for large game. He ignores all advice to wait until the snow melts and the flowers to grow. He is over-confident despite his better interests. -
Magic Bus Day
Christopher McCandless is deep in the Alaskan bush when he comes across an abandoned bus. Having restarted his journal, he takes a picture and captions it "Magic Bus Day." He's intrigued by its charm and simplicity and decides to stay near it. The aesthetic qualities also come with easy shelter from the harsh wind. For the next month, he struggles with shooting small game for food. He gets the hang of it and soon routinely shoots squirrels and porcupines. -
The Fatal Mistake
Christopher McCandless's journey was coming to an end. He called the Alaskan bush his "final and greatest adventure" and was ready to move on. However, distaster struck. The route McCandless planned to take to leave the wilderness, a frozen over river, had thawed. Because he had no map, he did not realize he could easily cross just one mile upstream. He goes back to the bus, sealing his own fate. Had McCandless bought a map, he might have lived. -
Starvation Begins
McCandless begins hinting at his hunger in his journal long before this day, but on this day he scribbles in frantic capital letters: "EXTREMELY WEAK, FAULT OF POT. SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY." The author begins to theorize about what McCandless meant by "pot. seeds." He concluded that McCandless must've eaten potato seeds with a mold on them that poisoned his body and made him weak and, above all, starving. He does not have the strength to leave and find help. -
Day 100
"DAY 100! MADE IT! BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT." This is one of the last journal entries of Christopher McCandless. After this, he begins to quickly resign to the idea of death. He is very aware that the end is near and believes that there is not much he can do to prevent it. His last record of his life is an inscription on the back of the poem "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours": "I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL." -
Death
Christopher McCandless is believed to have died on August 18th or 19th. He passed away in his sleeping bag in the abandoned bus with a note taped to the windshield. His death was allegedly due to starvation. The note reads: "S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. 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?" -
The Discovery
In early September, a young couple from Anchorage on a hiking trip discovered an old bus with a nasty smell coming from inside. After reading the S.O.S. note, they were too distraught to investigate. Soon, three men riding ATVs show up and offer to help the couple. One of the men discover a body inside the bus. The police take over and find that the body weighs only 67 pounds. The body was that of Christopher McCandless. Outside magazine featured the story of the body, prompting many questions. -
Into The Wild is Released
Jon Krakauer, the author of Into The Wild and a journalist, became interested in Chris McCandless after receiving questions from readers about him. He was prompted to follow the young man's trail and discover how and why he found himself there in the first place. Into The Wild also includes interviews from people in Chris's life that give insight into his situation. The author asks readers to decide if he was just a reckless kid or a free soul with a mission. Some may even say he was both.
