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04-27-2008, 03:52 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SE Alaska
1,178 posts, read 1,004,221 times
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he died of seasonal food poisoning
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04-27-2008, 04:06 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wasilla AK
10 posts, read 11,192 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyL
he died of seasonal food poisoning
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well, kinda...
i thought he died of starvation, caused by food poisoning...
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04-27-2008, 04:08 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wasilla AK
10 posts, read 11,192 times
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oh.. almost forgot...
to the original poster...
I was told that they have moved the bus and put it in storage somewhere...
once the book came out that area had a buuuunch of ppl out there trying to stay in the bus...
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04-27-2008, 04:12 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SE Alaska
1,178 posts, read 1,004,221 times
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" His journal entry for that date reads, "Extremely weak. Fault of pot[ato] seed. Much trouble just to stand up. Starving. Great Jeopardy." McCandless had been digging and eating the root of the wild potato—Hedysarum alpinum, a common area wildflower also known as Eskimo potato, which Kari's book told him was widely eaten by native Alaskans—for more than a month without ill effect. On July 14 he apparently started eating the pealike seedpods of the plant as well, again without ill effect. There is, however, a closely related plant—wild sweet pea, Hedysarum mackenzii—that is very difficult to distinguish from wild potato, grows beside it, and is poisonous. In all likelihood McCandless mistakenly ate some seeds from the wild sweet pea and became gravely ill.
" Laid low by the poisonous seeds, he was too weak to hunt effectively and thus slid toward starvation. "
- correct, but others here are saying he was just stupid, went out, and starved to death. If some people here are gonna speak ill of the dead, at least get your damn facts straight.
Death of an InnocentHow Christopher McCandless lost his way in the wildsBy Jon Krakauer-
"
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04-27-2008, 04:58 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southeast of the Northwest Territories
896 posts, read 937,373 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Helimx
oh.. almost forgot...
to the original poster...
I was told that they have moved the bus and put it in storage somewhere...
once the book came out that area had a buuuunch of ppl out there trying to stay in the bus...
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It's still there. The movie bus (a replica) is stored now in some guy's yard. Lots of folks have been out there...whether because of reading the book or because they needed a place to crash while hunting, etc.
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04-27-2008, 05:05 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
2,591 posts, read 1,568,685 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xa'at
Some people would be wrong, then.
Nothing I have heard about this guy would lead me to believe he was anything but an idiot who couldn't handle the realities of real life. I mean, he starved to death, but he wasn't even that far from civilization.
It's one of my pet peeves when people throw around the term schizophrenia as an all around term for any sort of mental illness. Schizophrenia is a serious disease that is caused by chemical imbalances. It is physically no different than a non-mental illness say, diabetes, with the exception that the imbalance is in the brain.
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I read the book and there does seem to be something wrong with this kid. It's presented as "marching to his own drummer" but I got a sense of someone who needed help. Whatever his "problem" was it made him more likely to do "idiot" things. He was definitely "tweaked".
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04-27-2008, 07:05 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Mar 2006
25 posts, read 22,216 times
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.... 'into The Wild' ....
..... Fair to middlin' book .... VERY dissapointed in movie ... NYC
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04-27-2008, 07:09 PM
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"Live with Intention"
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Juneau, AK
2,628 posts, read 2,051,618 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyL
correct, but others here are saying he was just stupid, went out, and starved to death. If some people here are gonna speak ill of the dead, at least get your damn facts straight.
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I'm sorry, but...
If he was totally in the middle of the wilderness, in the sort of place you can only get in or out of by plane or very long hike, then fine. But he wasn't. He was actually not too far from civilization. He knew he was dying but he still didn't seek help.
Hence, idiot.
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04-27-2008, 07:34 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
2,591 posts, read 1,568,685 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caliguy92832
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Thanks for that link. That whole article is what I've been saying and thinking about this kid ever since I read the book. I only got the thru a third of the movie because I could see Sean Penn was trying to clean him up and it was disgusting. I didn't know about adult-onset schizophrenia but that would make so much sense. I'd suggest reading the book if you haven't.
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04-27-2008, 07:45 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Palmer
1,098 posts, read 774,503 times
Reputation: 357
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I haven't read the book or seen the movie...and I'm not planning to do either.
But it was obvious that the guy didn't take advice from people, made his own decisions based on limited information, didn't seek out good information and this led to his demise.
It might have been a mental disorder, or just plain stubborness. Either way it did him in.
It's easy to lose your life in the wilds of Alaska even if you are prepared, and experienced.
I don't make him out to be a hero or a villian. It happens every year to perfectly normal people. But this guy kept a diary...that's the difference.
So, if you want your story to be told...keep a journal.
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