Into The Wild Project

By ethan.cook

  • Chris Graduates

    Chris graduates from college. He tells his parents he is going to be travelling all summer.

  • Last Contact

    Chris mails his last college transcript and a note to his parents. This is the last time they will hear from him.

  • Lake Mead

    Chris arrives at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada.

  • Goodebye Datsun

    Chris abandons his car after a flash flood.

  • Travel

    Chris travels to California's Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada mountain range, Cascade mountains, Columbia River basin, and the Idaho panhandle. Jan Burres and Bob pick up Chris for a little while. Chris then meets Wayne Westerberg in Cut Bank, Montana.

  • Missing

    Chris' parents travel to Atlanta to see Chris but find out he has left.

  • Ticket

    Chris gets a ticket for hitchhiking in Willow Creek, California.

  • Datsun Found

    Chris' Datsun is found by a park ranger.
  • Period: to

    Canoe Adventure

    Canoes the Colorado River and travels through Lake Havasu, the Bill Williams River, the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. He then sends a postcard to Wayne Westerberg at the Sioux Falls.

  • Canoe

    Walks from Needles, California to Topock, Arizona and buys a canoe.

  • Private Investigator

    The private investigator hired by Chris parents discover he donated $24,000 to OXFAM.
  • Period: to

    More Travel

    Reaches the border and encounters dangerous waterfalls. REalizes he will not reach the Gulf of California and gets a ride with some duck hunters. He ends up camping in a cave for 10 days to get away from high winds.
  • Period: to

    Even more travelling

    Almost drown in his canoe because of a storm. He leaves his canoe at El Golfo de Santa Clara and travels northward.Gets caught by U.S. Immigration officials when he tries to enter the country from Mexico. Spends a night in jail. Afterwards he then travels to Houston and the Pacific Coast.
  • Period: to

    A lot more travel

    Applies for an ID and a job but changes his mind and begins travelling again. Camps in the Grand Canyon and notes in his journal that he has lost 25 pounds. He buries his backpack then hitchhikes to Las Vegas.
  • Period: to

    Coastal Oregon

    Sends a postcard to Jan Burres complaining about fog and rain.
  • Period: to

    Work

    Arrives in Bullhead City, Arizona and works at McDonald´s for 2 months and lives in an empty RV, befriending a man named Charlie.
  • Period: to

    Burres

    Sends a postcard to Jan Burres in California. The postcard includes a map so she and Bob can visit him in Bullhead City. Appears at Burres' campsite at The Slabs campground in Nilan, California.
  • Period: to

    Franz

    Chris meets Ronald Franz near California's Salton Sea. He mails Jan Burres a postcard telling her that he has been living on the streets in San Diego for a week.
  • Period: to

    Friends

    Sends postcards to Burres and Franz from Seattle. Calls Franz from Coachella, California and asks Franz to pick him up. He spends the night at Franz´s house. Franz drives him to Grand Junction, Colorado. Works for Wayne Westerberg's grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota. Eventually leaves for Alaska.
  • Period: to

    Alaska bound

    Stops at Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia, Canada, where he is stuck for two days before hitching a ride with Gaylord Stuckey. Hitchhikes north. He takes a photo of the sign that marks the official start of the Alaska Highway. Walking down the highway he is picked up by Jim Gallien. 3 hours later he is at the Stampede Trail.
  • Period: to

    Alaska

    He finds the bus. Hunts small game, forages for edible plants, and a crown falls off one of his molars.
  • Period: to

    Moose

    Kills, butchers, and attempts to preserve the meat of a moose.
  • Period: to

    Trouble

    Attempts to head back to the road but now the river is deeper and he can´t cross. Heads back to the bus. He writes in his journal, "EXTREMELY WEAK, FAULT OF POT. SEED. MUCH TROUBLE JUST TO STAND UP. STARVING. GREAT JEOPARDY."
  • Period: to

    Death

    Writes in his journal "DAY 100! MADE IT!" and "BUT IN WEAKEST CONDITION OF LIFE. DEATH LOOMS AS SERIOUS THREAT." Kills small game for food. Posts an S.O.S. note on the bus door. Dies of starvation in his sleeping bag in the bus along the Sushana River in Alaska.
  • Period: to

    Body is found

    His body is found by hikers and hunters.