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Detrital Wash, AZ - July, 1990
Chris Mccandless abandons his Datsun car. He did this because his car was caught in a flash flood and it wouldn’t start back up. He also burned his money and his social security card. He wrote in his journal that he did this because he has the most fun adventurous when he is broke. -
Orick, CA - August, 1990
Chris met a hippie couple during this time. He was hitching hiking when he got picked up by the couple. They described Chris as a nice kid but he was awfully hungry. Chris ends up staying with the couple for a few days on a beach and during that time he gets close to them. -
Carthage - September, 1990
Chris went to South Dakota with Wayne a man he meet and is hitch hiking with. Chris then works for him for several months in a grain elevator. Wayne says remembers him as being an incredibly hard working kid who did not even accept pay. Chris didn’t accept payment because he thought that hard work was worth more than material things. -
Topock, AZ - October, 1990
Chris uses a cheap kayak to cross the border between Mexico and the USA. He paddles around the Gulf for a little bit before getting lost. Some duck hunters help him out and take him back away from the Gulf. Chris is eventually caught and explains his situation to border patrol. And they allow him back into the States. -
Bullhead City, AZ - May, 1991
Chris finally settles down for a little bit. He gets trailer and a stable job at McDonalds. He doesn’t wear shoes and his Co-workers think he is pretty weird. He settles down because he got tired of the road and wanted to try a normal life again. After a few months he ends up leaving the job and hitting the road again. -
The Slabs - December, 1991
Chris, Jan, and her boyfriend go to a place called “The Slab”. This place is home to many drifters and refugees. Chris helped Jan run her stand which sold mostly books. During his time at “The Slab” he meet this girl and they both start having a thing for each other. Eventually Chris finds he can’t stay there any longer and leaves to continue his journey. -
Salton City, California - January, 1992
Chris is picked up by Ronald Franz who is an eighty year old man. Chris and Ron instantly become friends and they grow close to each other. Ron thinks of Chris like a grandson since he has no relatives of his own. Ron taught Chris craftsmanship and taught him how to make some things. Chris learned the value of family during his time with Ron. -
Teklanika River - May, 1992
After Chris crosses the Teklanika River once he got to the Stampede trail. Chris find an abandoned bus that he called “Magic Bus”. -
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Alaska - May-June, 1992
Chris has six good weeks of hunting. He tries to move up the stampede trail but instead makes the bus his base of operations. -
Alaska - June 9th 1992
June 9th, 1992 Chris kills a moose. He tries to preserve the meat by smoking it but after 3 days it was full of maggots. He writes in his journal about the moose saying. I now wish I had never shot the moose. One of the greatest tragedies of my life. After two months in Alaska he tried to go back to civilization but the river was churning and moving way too fast for him to pass. -
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Alaska - July-August, 1992
Chris survived by hunting everyday eating many different things from squirrels to plants. But this all came to a crazy on June 30th. When Chris ate the seeds of a poisonous plant. The seeds prevented his body from absorbing nutrients. One August 17th Chris died alone in the “Magic Bus”.