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When I think about Chris, I think of the word naive. As he ran away from his problems, instead of seeking to solve them. No matter how you run from your problems, they will always be there. Though, I admire Chris was his dedication and willingness to give up everything to prove himself out venturing. That is something that I might not be able to do, as it is a tough decision. My only issue with how Chris acted was that he didn't bring essentials as he wanted to "live off the land." A map or anything else for that matter would've helped Chris immensely.

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Growing up, I didn't have that much vacations except going to Vietnam every couple years to see family. Outside of that, I just went to the mountains and lakes for the first first this new year, but I usually visit beaches. My future goals mainly consist of traveling and possibly seeing all the continents if possible. There are a lot of countries that I want to visit, specifically, Asian countries like Japan and Korea. I just want to see people's cultures and way of life. Outside of traveling, my other goals are just graduating college and being financially stable enough to be able  to do whatever that I want. As most of the things that I want to do require money, if not a lot of money at that. Traveling has always been such a privilege that few get to do for me. As such, I want to be able to travel and see the world with my own eyes.

#NewJourney #OutThere #NewPerspective

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Summary: His parents went to Alaska to see where Chris had passed away. They wanted to hike to that location, but the rivers were too high, so they had to take a helicopter (pg 200). The helicopter landed to let his parents wander the area before leaving. Billie states that the bus (pg 202) is smaller than what she thought it would be. Walt understood why Alaska appealed to Chris as it had a certain beauty (pg 202) to it. Billie was the first to enter the bus and inside she saw Chris's belongings. They wander the area before Walt installs a memorial (pg 202) in the door. His parents were glad that they came as it brought a little solace (pg 203) to them. Shortly before leaving the area, they stock the bus with supplies in case anyone ever needed it.

Analysis: I think that it was a good thing to visit the death site as it brought them closure and starts a new chapter in life. While I mourn for their lost, they can't always mourn forever.

#InMemories #Closure #NewBeginning

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Summary: After Chris returned to the bus, he passed time reading books and hunting. However, he burned more calories than he ate leading to a sizable caloric deficit (pg 188). He felt lonely during in journey so he wrote "Happiness only real when shared" in a book. Two days after finishing reading his final book, he wrote down starving (pg 189). One theory on starvation was that he ate potato seeds, but he didn't carry enough to poison himself. There are other theories about wild potatoes, but just as unlikely. There is a wild sweet pea that similar to wild potatoes, the only thing that is different are plant veins. These wild sweet peas or Hedysarum mackenzii is reported to be poisonous (pg 191). As Krakauer was looking a documented sweet pea poisoning, he found Richardson that journaled about an Indian women nearly dying from the sweet pea. After thinking about it, Krakauer thought this was false as Chris had ate wild potatoes after correctly identifying them. He believes that H alpinum, wild potatoes, killed Chris as they belong to a family that produces alkaloids. That plant family tends to have a concentrated alkaloid seed coat in late summer. After testing the seeds, there was proved to be no alkaloids. R Leguminicola is a fungus (pg 193) that grows on the seeds, which produces alkaloids, is what killed Chris. It was an innocent mistake that costed Chris his life. Swainsonine poisoning is neurological (pg 194), the effects being chronic and doesn't kill outright. This poisoning prevents food being eaten to turn into energy which causes you to starve. It binds to glucose and amino acids which is excreted by urine in normal circumstances. But, Chris was skinny and didn't have much of those to spare. Had Chris had a map he could have gotten to a cabin and use emergency supplies. However, the cabins were broken into and destroyed. The cabin owners said Chris had done it, but he would have noted it in his journey like authorities said. He couldn't start a forest fire either as not much planes fly overhead. He presumably passed away on August 18, taking a selfie before he did.

Analysis: Chris's mistake was an innocent one as no way could he have prepared for that. However, not bringing a map was the worst decision of his life.

#Fungus #SlowDeath #OneLastPic

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Summary: A year after Chris's death, Krakauer decides to retrace Chris step but with help. The Teklanika River was high, during Krakauer's trip to he ventures south to where a steel cable and basket is to cross the river. However, local hunters have placed the basket on the opposite side, forcing Krakauer to traverse (pg 175) the cable manually. Freeing the basket, he brought the rest of the group over to continue the journey. They travel miles through the thicket, even encountering bear tracks before reaching the bus. At the bus, they find the belongings of Chris as well as the remains of the animals he hunted. Many people believed that Chris mistook a moose (pg 177) for a caribou. Inside the bus, there was lots of graffiti that Chris left behind. When they were done exploring the surroundings, they cooked moose steaks using Chris's grill (pg 180). Many people called Chris arrogant and stupid, comparing him to John Franklin. Despite being ill-prepared, Krakauer believes that danger had a certain allure (pg 182) to it. Unlike Thoreau or Muir, Chris went to the wild to explore his own soul (pg 183). In his journey, Chris wrote mainly about food and not much else. He tried to demand more than he could accomplish, hence why people deemed him as suffering from a short man's complex. Roman, one of Krakauer's friend in the journey, had many feats but still admired Chris's adventure (pg 185). Chris probably reminded adventurers of their past selves, which is why he received harsh critics. Krakauer tried to make sense of Chris's life and death before his slumber.

Analysis: Chris was ill-prepared and confident as most new adventurers are. Which is why his fate was so tragic, his hubris brought about his end.

#Retrace #Pondering #Achievements

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Summary: Chris leaves Carthage on April 15 to depart on his "great Alaskan odyssey (pg 157)" as he describes it. After making it all the way to the Alaska Highway, Chris had no luck hitchhiking until he found Stuckey. Spending a few days together, Stuckey gets attached to Chris and brings him to Fairbanks. Chris was then dropped off at a university (pg 160), where he studied the region's edible plants. Shortly after, he finishes buying the last of his preparation (pg 161), a gun and some bullets. He then starts to hitchhike where he met Gallien and got dropped off at the Stampede Trail. This is where he makes it across the Teklanika River and lives off the land. He journeys into the Stampede Trail after awhile he finds bus 142. During his stay in the area, Chris had trouble hunting game (pg 164). During his time in the wild, he made goals for himself to achieve. Improving his hunting skills, he was able to kill a moose and smoked the meat to try and preserve it. That proved to be a fatal mistake as maggots appeared and killing the moose became his regret. After two months of living in the Stampede Trail, Chris decides it is time to bring a close to his adventure (pg 168). After packing everything, Chris reaches the Teklanika River that was deeper and stronger than before. After awhile Chris decides to head back to the bus.

Analysis: Had his preparations been a little more complete, I believe that he would have made it out alive. Chris had no way of knowing that he could have cross the river.

#Stuck #KillingGame #Studying

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Summary: So Krakauer makes it back to his tent, all butt hurt that he didn't achieve his goal of summiting Devil's Thumb.  In a genius move, he decided to smoke a joint to make himself feel better since he's a bit depressed.  Well, he ends up setting his tent on fire causing it to vaporize one of the walls so the temperature inside drops by 30 degrees or so.  Good job, Jon!  Anyway, this causes him to think about his reason for running away to climb:  his volatile (p. 147) history with his father!  They have a very similar relationship to Walt and Chris - dad is stubborn, treats his son poorly, pushes him away with his medical school expectations (p. 148) since he himself is a doctor.  Yeah, I know: we've heard this story before.  Jon uses these complicated (p. 147) family memories as motivation:  he's going to attempt to summit the Thumb to prove his disbelieving dad wrong!  He fixes his tent by packing it with snow and forges a plan to begin his final ascent on a slightly "easier" side of the mountain, the southeast side.  At sunrise, he summons ALL of his courage and overcoming all of the terrifying (p. 150) obstacles, he finally makes it to the top - YAY!  He enjoys the view for a minutes, snaps a few pics, and begins his descent.  When he finally makes it off the mountain, he tells a few people what he did.  They aren't extremely impressed.  This makes Jon think about what he did and why he did it, causing him to say, "I thought climbing Devil's Thumb would fix all that was wrong with my life.  In the end, of course, it changed almost nothing.  But I came to appreciate that mountains make poor receptacles for dreams. And I lived to tell my tale" (p. 155). Years later when writing this book, he realizes that his hubris (p.155) pushed him to his limits to achieve his goal, but that the impact his possible death had on those who loved him would've been catastrophic.  This is why he believes that Chris had NO intention to die in the wild, that he was only chasing his young, irresponsible dream.

Analysis: Krakauer and Chris share similar traits of stubborn, prideful youths that cause them to fail or almost fail in the end. The belief that a journey is to fulfill you with something is wrong, after all, it can only provide memories for you.

#Pride #Mistake #Realization

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Summary: To answer Billie McCandless' question at the end of Chapter 13 about why anyone would do what Chris did, Jon Krakauer flips the script and tells his own story of Alaska adventure.  At the age of 23, Krakauer decides to head to the great north to find himself not by living in the wild, but by climbing the major mountains in the 49th state.  He becomes obsessed with hiking Devil's Thumb, a very steep, challenging ascent on the glacier (p. 138) known as the Stikine Ice Cap.  Like Chris, completing this climb becomes the only important thing in Krakauer's life.  Chris obsessed over the bush, while Jon's obsession (p. 134) is this rare climbing achievement.  Much like he anticipated, the ascent is dangerous and potentially deadly.  Krakauer proceeds with caution during whiteout snow storms while crossing over delicate crevasses (p. 140) which could crack and send him tumbling down hundreds of feet.  On a beautiful May day, Krakauer decides that this is it, he must summon the courage and concentration (p. 142) he needs to summit this peak today or else...Even with the warm temps and sunny day, the ice is impenetrable and Krakauer panics (p. 143).  He can see the summit, but he can't reach it.  His only option is down.

Analysis: I get why they wanted to go away from their family as it's to prove that they are something and can achieve stuff. They didn't want to be told to do certain things and wanted to achieve things on their own.  Both of Krakauer and Chris's trip are deadly if even prepared enough.

#Ascent #Escape #North

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Summary: In a picture 10 ten years apart, Chris's expression was identical (pg 128) explained Carine. His family regrets not letting the dog, Buckley, accompany Chris which may have deterred his dangerous adventure. After all, Chris was attached to the dog and wouldn't want it in harms way especially after being hit by a car. While, he and his sister didn't like their parents working so much, Carine had a capitalist (pg 129) zeal to her. When her husband had broke the news of Chris's death to her, she became hysterical (pg 130) not believing that it was true. His family, especially his mother, refused to believe this until the conclusive (pg 131) dental records proved otherwise. Shortly after retrieving his belongs and ash, his family had differing reactions either gaining weight or becoming anorectic (pg 131).

Analysis: It is always hard and sad to hear about the death of a person close to you. Though the mom had it the hardest as she was the one who gave birth and raised him. His sister comes after the mom, after all, they were uncommonly close.

#Heartbreaking #Denial #Ashes

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Summary: During his high school graduation, his relationship with his parents began to improve. However, as he went on more trips and to college, he began to become cold (pg 120) to those around him. This was because of the deceptions (pg 121) that he uncovered about his father. He was having two families before his divorce was finalized. Chris held everyone to a strict moral code (pg 122) except for his inspirations that did much worse than those around him. During the summer of his college, he went on a road trip (pg 124) to Fairbanks, where he was mesmerized by the sights. Before and during his cross country journey, he avoided (pg 125) contact with his parents to avoid being brought home. During 1992, his mother swore that she felt Chris asking for help and was most likely dying.

Analysis: Had the divorce went clean and his dad didn't start a family before the divorce, Chris probably wouldn't have been cold. Though, it is hypocritical for Chris to not place some people to his moral code.

#Scenic #RoadTrips #Distancing

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Summary: When finding out about his son's death, he thought how can he cause his parents' so much pain (pg 104). Growing up, Chris's family would do road trips and hikes. Which sparked the wanderlust (pg 108) in Chris as he desired to adventure more. Chris and his sister shared their father's musical (pg 110) talent as they played in their high school band. Through trial and error, Chris found the perfect sport for himself, that is running (pg 111). He would rant about the problems of hunger and would try to help the homeless. The ironic part about Chris was his belief that money is evil despite him being a natural entrepreneur (pg 115). As his desire for more adventures came to be, no one thought that he would travel across the country. This left his many friends and family confused and sadness.

Analysis: I think what went wrong was the consistent arguing that went on in his household. Without this arguing, I believe that he would be alive today and share a great bond with his family.

#Sadness #Sports #HungerProblems

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Summary: When news of Chris's death started to appear in newspapers, many people called troopers about information. Overwhelmed, trooper (pg 99) Roger didn't believe anyone until they could actually give information. In the following weeks, the Alaskan State Troopers were swarmed with calls (pg 100) of information about the hiker. They were able to find actual information about Chris and were able to narrow their search. Chris's brother, Sam, saw an article (pg 101) about that hiker before receiving a call. He was able to confirm that it was Chris with a photograph (pg 101). He then rushed to Maryland to tell (102) his parents about their son's death.

Analysis: It was great that the state troopers were able to find the identity of Chris and tell his family about the death. Though, it would probably be the hardest moments in their lives to take in that information

#Found #CallsIn #Identified

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Summary: Another chapter about a dude who isn't Chris McCandless.  Everett Ruess shares many similarities with our main character though - he's a wanderer (p. 90), free spirit, well liked risk taker and lover of all things solitude and wilderness.  Everett is a bit younger than Chris when he begins his vagabond (p. 91) journey, dropping out of UCLA after only one semester to follow his dream (p. 96) of living a nomadic existence.  Unlike Chris, Everett focuses his travels in the southwest rather than north, but like Chris he also renames himself choosing the moniker Nemo after the character Captain Nemo in the Jules Verne classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. And yes, Nemo the fish we know today is named after that character, too!  While on a solo expedition in Utah, Ruess seemingly disappears, never to be heard from again.  A search party is sent to find him after he goes incommunicado (p. 93), but other than finding his donkey, some cave drawings/graffiti he made and pieces of his gear, Ruess was never seen again.  Stories vary on what happen to him - maybe he was a victim of his own reckless innocence (p, 97) and fell while hiking or possibly drown, but some speculate that he was murdered by Native Americans.  No one ever found him or his remains, so Everett's end remains a mystery.  Like Chris, Everett's passion for nature and adventure won out over a conventional life, yet neither man made it out of the wild...

Analysis: The author is trying to share another story of a man who shares the same passion as Chris. They both end up meeting their demise but Chris is the only one to be found while the other is still missing.

#Nature #Journey #Dead

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Summary: Jon Krakauer uses this chapter to show his readers that other men have come to their demise (p. 70) on Alaskan adventures, even if the circumstances are a bit different from those of Chris McCandless.  First up is Gene Rossellini, the modern day caveman!  Gene heads north from the lower 48 in the early 1970's.  He's a super intelligent guy looking to test himself in Alaska ...sound like anyone we know??  Well, "the mayor of Hippie Cove" as Gene is called lives a prehistoric existence, testing himself to see if modern day man can live in the same way as the cavemen did it back in the day. Gene tries his hardest, but sadly writes, "I learned that it is not possible for human beings as we know to live off the land" (p. 75) before plunging a knife through his heart when he realizes the true extent of his failure (p. 75).  Next up is crazy John Waterman.  Lots of similarities to Chris:  he's from the D.C. area, has MAJOR issues with his dad and is super smart.  John is an accomplish climber and alpinist (p. 79) before he starts losing his marbles, running for president of the United States on a platform to end hunger.  SPOILER ALERT:  He doesn't win the election!  Anywho, John comes unhinged, decides to climb the most difficult mountain in all of Alaska in the dead of winter and is never heard from again.  Alaska state troopers believe he probably fell down a crevasse (p. 80) to his death, although his remains were never found.  And last up is poor Carl McCunn.  Another transplant from the lower 48, Carl is the life of the party - just like Chris.  Good guy, fun to be around, charming, but lacks common sense & thinks someone will bail him out if he ends up in trouble.  Similar to Chris, he hatches a plan to go off into the wild for a few months BUT he fails to set up an Uber (think Uber plane!) to come back and pick him up.  The summer turns to fall and McCunn is starving and freezing.  But wait...a plane flies overhead and it looks like Carl is going to be rescued!!!  Unfortunately, Carl doesn't know that waving ONE hand in the air means you're good, no need to rescue you instead of throwing TWO hands in the air, the universal sign for HELP!!!  Carl is dying a slow and painful death by a mix of starvation and frostbite, so in his final diary (p. 81) he explains that he shot himself in the head to end his misery.  Guess Chris doesn't sound that crazy or unprepared after all, huh???

Analysis: John Kauker probably showed us these attempts to venture into Alaska because their circumstances and deaths can relate to Chris. They each have their own backstory but ultimately come to die in Alaska.

#Adventure #DeadInAlaska #Demise

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Summary: Awhile after Chris left, Westerberg was having a hard time with the harvest. When he talked about Chris, he accurately guessed his family dynamic and that he rebelled (pg 64). During Chris's stay in Carthage he was never intimate (pg 65) with others at the bar and such. Even when he was in college and high school, there wasn't much about his love life. Regardless, people who met him for a short while or knew him were affected by his death (pg 67). When Chris finally left Carthage, as he was saying his final goodbyes, Borah noticed him crying (pg 68). Perhaps they knew that this was the final time that they would ever see him again. After he reached Fairbanks, he sent Westerberg and Jan a postcard (pg 69). This was likely the last time that anyone would have heard from him when he was alive.

Analysis: I think that Chris most likely knew that he was going die in Alaska which is why he is crying. This is due to the knowledge the he lacked gear and the area he stayed didn't have much food.

#Family #LoveLife #Lonely

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Summary: Through Chris's travel or hegira (pg 48), he had left impressions on a numeral of people. On such person is Ron whom he was able to form a bond with. He went to Seattle after staying a while in California. His trip there was rather eventful as he encountered a bull (pg 53) that threatened to kill him. He then made his way back to California and contacted Ron. Ron and Chris journeyed together to Bullhead City where Ron had a camera (pg 54) for filming videos. Chris never wanted to form a lasting relationship with affection (pg 55) most likely due to emotional trauma. Ron soon went back to California to await Chris's return (pg 58) from Alaska. However, he soon found out after awhile that he had passed away.

Analysis: I could only imagine how heart wrenching it was for Ron to lose his family then Chris who he thought of as a grandson. It was sad to hear how he waited for so long without knowing. I'm sure that Ron wasn't the only person Chris met that was impacted by his death.

#Sad #NoReturn #Emotional

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Summary: During his travel along the wets coast, where he made stops at Oregon and Arizona. A location that would appeal (pg 39) to Chris was Bullhead City. During his stay there he was living out of his backpack, while working at McDonalds. He was lucky enough to encounter someone who offered him a trailer (pg 41) to live in. In an interview later on with a neighbor, Charlie, he would describe Chris as temperamental (pg 42). He would later meet with Jan Burres and help her at a swap meet. He was very into classics (pg 43) and try to convince others to read them also. During the swap meet, Jan received an organ that Chris would play. Jan would later say that he was a musical (pg 45) and could draw a crowd. Shortly after this, he would began his trip to Alaska.

Analysis: I think that Chris is quite hypocritical where he would receive help with somethings yet get annoyed with others helping him on other things. Him able to surround himself with people who wanted to help him during his trip was quite the skill. I don't get why he would be so annoyed with people helping him though.

#AlaskaSoon #ClassicBooks #Working

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Summary: As Chris made his way west in the United States, he stopped by Lake Mead. Due to a flash flood near the lake, Chris abandoned (pg 26) his car that didn't start up. Shortly after he made his way to California, where he was scammed of his work. Chris after finding out, stole (pg 30) a bike and continued his hitchhiking journey. He, however, got a ticket for hitchhiking where his parents found out and hired an investigator (pg 31). In Arizona, he impulsively bought a canoe (pg 32) that he used to row down the Colorado River. During his trip to the ocean, he encountered a near-death situation that brought him back to land. After this, he tried to sneak back into America where he was caught and put into custody (pg 36).

Analysis: His choices during this chapter are not the smartest. Despite his disgust towards authorities, he encounters them on his journey, which I think is quite ironic. His refusal to listen to rules or signs has led him to bad situations.

#Journey #Law #Rowing

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Summary: During his hitchhiking journey, he made a stop at Carthage where he felt connected to. His stay there consist of him working and forming bonds with people, which practically became his second family (pg 18). One of those people, Westerberg, provided him with shelter and a job. They often drank beer (pg 17) together when they weren't working.  Westerberg describe Chris as a moral (pg 18) person that would finish a job he started. Before this journey, he had a car (pg 21) that he loved. Around July of 1990, he began his journey into the wilderness to control his destiny (pg 23).

Analysis: I admire his work ethnic and how he won't quit once he started something. However, I think this trait also led to his downfall. His desire to abandon everything and try to control his own destiny is something that I wish I could do also. To not be bound by any rule would be an amazing feeling.

#SecondFamily #Work #Destiny

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Summary: As Christopher McCandless makes his way through the trail, he sets up camp at a bus (pg 10). The people who encounter Christopher next is a couple, Ken Thompson, his employee, and their friend. They all managed to reach that same bus by ATV (pg 12). By the time they reached that bus, it was too late. There was a note (pg 12) and in his sleeping bag, there lay his body that began to decay (pg 12). The coroner believed that Chris died (pg 13) of starvation. As he had not carried any identification (pg 14), police didn't know who he was or why he was there.

Analysis: I believed that had he been more prepared he would have been alive. He didn't have sufficient gear to hunt game and probably had to rely on berries. This food source wasn't enough for him which is why he most likely died of starvation.

#Bus #RIP #Found

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Summary: Into the Wild is a story about a hitchhiker (pg 3) called Christopher McCandless. He came to Alaska from the Outside (pg 4) with his rifle (pg 3) looking to explore the wilderness. His reasoning for his adventure stemming from controlling his fate and not listening to the rules (pg 6). The person whom dropped him off at the Stampede Trial could only describe him as gung ho (pg 6). After he was dropped off at the Stampede Trial, he offered all his money (pg 7) to Gallien, the driver.  This was due to Chris not wanting to owe (pg 7) him or anyone.

Analysis: I respect that Chris set off on an adventure to try and control his life, while ignoring the rules. However, at the same time, I feel that he isn't the brightest about certain choices that he has made. I feel that if he had ultimately made some better choices perhaps he would make it out alive.

#Dead #NoMoney #HateRules

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I don't have much experience about the wilderness. The most that I have gone on an adventure is going to the beach, lake, or the mountains. I have explored Vietnam, however I have not camped outside. Mainly looking about in the somewhat jungle landscape. The picture above is when I went to the beach and explored in the sand.