Anyone visit that bus from the movie "Into The Wild" (Fairbanks: to live, eat)

[Metlakatla]

Xa'at...I don't think he was physically able to seek help. He might not have lived even if he had been able to do so. He had eaten too much of this plant. What it does to the digestive system ain't pretty.

You're probably right about the movie, Danny. I'll rephrase it; I'm tired of the media inspired glorification of the North. Even though I didn't recognize Sean Penn when I saw him in Cantwell, I believe him to be one of the few in Hollywood who has much integrity at all.

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by pgvicar

..... Fair to middlin' book .... VERY dissapointed in movie ... NYC

Yes, I agree. Couldn't get thru the movie.

[cobolt]

He (Chris) had a false sense of security in that he survived during the time he was in Mexico and so he felt Alaska wouldn't be all that much different. He was warned by people that he was ill-prepared when it came to the gear and rations he took. The man who gave him a ride in his pickup truck to the area outside of Denali observed he wasn't well-prepared and offered him his own gear, which he declined. He had his own ideas about how he was going to survive. And that he survived as long as he did as ill-prepared as he was and with what little hunting skills and knowlege he had on how to cook the kill, is in itself, remarkable.

Backcountry isn't a joke and it isn't a book, or a movie, or a television "reality show" with camera crew and wildlife experts in tow.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by DannyL

" 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-
"

It is you who do not have your "damn facts straight."

Biographer Jon Krakauer suggests two factors may have contributed to McCandless's death. First, he was running the risk of starvation due to increased activity, compared with the leanness of the game he was hunting. However, Krakauer insists starvation was not, as McCandless' death certificate states, the primary cause of death. Initially, Krakauer claimed McCandless might have ingested toxic seeds (Hedysarium alpinum). However, extensive laboratory testing proves conclusively there was no alkaloid toxin present in McCandless' food supplies. In later editions of the book, therefore, Krakauer has speculated a fungus Rhizoctonia leguminicolacould have grown on the seeds McCandless ate. However, there remains no evidence to support Krakauer's theory, and all forensic data suggest starvation.

You would rather take the word of an author than the actual medical examiner that determined the cause of death. McCandles was a moron who improved the overall gene pool of the human race by starving himself to death.

[icarian]

People,

There ARE SO MANY other people that do "stupider" stuff than McCandless up here in Alaska (and everywhere else for that matter). Just look at the local hoodlums with their "Gats" doing drivebys down south...or the guys that get so drunk in town (Fairbanks for instance) that they fall asleep in -20 to -40 weather. About the meth/coke kiddies pretty much anywhere in the U.S. How "bright" are they? I am not-nor do I!-put McCandless on a pedestal. But there are people doing none rocket science type stuff everyday. Spread your wealth of dislike beyond the kid that starved/poisoned/whatever himself out on the Stampede Trail. No, I haven't seen the movie (nor do I plan to anytime soon).

On topic: yep, the Bus is still out there. It may or may not be a pilgrimage for some (even prior to the movie), but it isn't necessarily right "outside" Healy (not so easy that just anyone will stop by). Winter, it is relatively easy to get to by ground. I understand it is pretty doable mid-late summer after the melt. Right now, it would be positively horrendous with the spring melt.

Edit: Upon further reflection--the topic of the Bus normally creates such an acerbic reaction from Alaskans. It is understandable since it is what Alaskans are familiar with what not to do (ie common sense). Just remember that there are many other things that both your fellow Alaskans and other Americans do every day that are quite possibly more stupid (and in many cases just as terminal). Okay, off to work. Have a "Happy" Monday!

[Rance]

Why would I want to stop and see that junk bus?

[Xa'at]

Originally Posted by icarian

People,

There ARE SO MANY other people that do "stupider" stuff than McCandless up here in Alaska (and everywhere else for that matter).

Yes, but those people don't have bestselling books and major motion pictures about them that romanticize what is really a harsh reality.

[karfar]

Jeez you guys, what exactly are you so pissed off about? You're taking it way too personally. There was nothing wrong w/the kid, he went out & did something because he wanted to not because he had a chemical imbalance or a medical condition. There are millions of people who go out & do what they've always dreamed of doing, regardless if it's dangerous or not & regardless if they're prepared or not, it's just a fact of life. Maybe he was stupid but who cares? How does that reflect on the people that live in Alaska? Not negatively. Hollywood's not glorifying it, they told the story of it, period. If people watched it or read it & want to do the same, so be it. It seem that everyone on this post that lives in Alaska is taking this to heart, why?

[warptman]

Go Braves.

[Rance]

Because we don't need a bunch of copycats coming here trying to do what he did?