Woman dies trying to reach Chris McCandless bus

[John B]

For those who haven't read "Into the Wild," a young man died in an abandoned school bus. He gave himself the nickname "Alexander Supertramp, and he tended to be a loner. He hiked out into the bush, and the bus became his camp/home. I think that most would agree that he was somewhat delusional, ill prepared, and under supplied.
All that said, he was a tragic young person who died of starvation while living in an abandoned school bus in rural Alaska.
Over the years, it has become something of a magnet for adventuresome types.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/27/us/woman-dies-alaska-into-the-wild-bus-trnd/index.html

[Tipi Walter]

River crossings are usually dangerous and tough. (Most especially when wearing a heavy backpack).

Isn't drowning the main cause of death in the wilderness??

[Feral Bill]

The Teklanika is fast, freezing cold, and thick with glacial silt. Not something I would want to ford for any reason. Beautiful country, though.

[MichaelK7]

I thought McCandless did from eating some poison seeds?
Maybe a combination of that and starvation- it's been many years since I read the book.

It's sad to hear about the woman perishing.

[TNhiker]

I thought McCandless did from eating some poison seeds?
Maybe a combination of that and starvation- it's been many years since I read the book.




The way I recall it from the book---he was starving and figured he would eat the potatoes...

and thats what killed him...


i recently picked up a his sister's book but haven't had a chance to read it yet...

[Venchka]

Possibly tainted moose meat may also have contributed to his demise.
His gas station map didn’t help much. He apparently didn’t find the hand powered overhead cable basket across the river about 100 yards downstream.
Sad story.
Wayne

[HooKooDooKu]

I thought McCandless did from eating some poison seeds?
Maybe a combination of that and starvation- it's been many years since I read the book.

It's sad to hear about the woman perishing.
It's been a while since I read the book as well... what I do recall is that the 1st edition came to one conclusion (starvation?) and later follow-ups had some more information that wasn't solid, but suggested that he had been eating some local plant that was either confused with something that was thought poisonous, or that it was just being found out that it might be poisonous.

In either case, I don't think a rock solid conclusion was ever reached.

[Feral Bill]

Duplicate, sorry

[Feral Bill]

I thought McCandless did from eating some poison seeds?
Maybe a combination of that and starvation- it's been many years since I read the book.

It's sad to hear about the woman perishing.

It was starvation. The author, Jon Krakauer, was in error, as he explained later. It was a sad end for both lives.

[gpburdelljr]

It was starvation. The author, Jon Krakauer, was in error, as he explained later. It was a sad end for both lives.

Several theories have been proposed. See the section titled “Peril” in the following link.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_McCandless#Death

[Venchka]

He was dead when he left the pickup truck and walked into the Alaskan bush. In winter.
Wayne
PS: The Lewis and Clark expedition members suffered from a steady diet of elk and bison. Even after the indigenous population showed them how to prepare native greens and how to fish, they still preferred a high protein meat diet.

[gpburdelljr]

He was dead when he left the pickup truck and walked into the Alaskan bush. In winter.


He hiked in at the end of April, and died in August, not winter.

[4eyedbuzzard]

He was dead when he left the pickup truck and walked into the Alaskan bush. In winter.
Wayne
PS: The Lewis and Clark expedition members suffered from a steady diet of elk and bison. Even after the indigenous population showed them how to prepare native greens and how to fish, they still preferred a high protein meat diet.Well, actually, McCandless walked into the bush in late April and forded the knee-deep Teklanika River on May 1. He was found dead in early September, but probably died sometime in late August. After about 2 months, sometime in July, already starving, ill, and possibly injured, he realized his mistake and tried to get out, but couldn't cross the river as it was swollen and raging with rain and melt water. Having no map or local knowledge, he was ignorant of the location of an old hand tram cable only a mile or so downstream which might have saved him. Winter really didn't play into it, other than supplying melt water to the river.

A sad tale of misguided enthusiasm turned tragic by a dose of ignorance and arrogance.

[Tipi Walter]

He was dead when he left the pickup truck and walked into the Alaskan bush. In winter.
Wayne
PS: The Lewis and Clark expedition members suffered from a steady diet of elk and bison. Even after the indigenous population showed them how to prepare native greens and how to fish, they still preferred a high protein meat diet.

I think Stephen Ambrose in his Lewis and Clark book mentions them having to eat 9 lbs of meat per person per day. Wow.

[crazylegs76]

Not sure what the big mystery is. Can't fix stupid. And it tends to be fatal.

[OCDave]

Not sure what the big mystery is. Can't fix stupid. And it tends to be fatal.

You can but Texas has many laws restricting such fixes.

[Old Grouse]

Maybe it's time for the authority having jurisdiction to declare the bus an attractive nuisance and yank it out of there.

[Leo L.]

I think Stephen Ambrose in his Lewis and Clark book mentions them having to eat 9 lbs of meat per person per day. Wow.

"up to 9lb per person per day, when game was plentiful" - but other times, they ate poor roots and rotten fish, and starved.
As far as I read through their stories.

[Chair-man]

Maybe it's time for the authority having jurisdiction to declare the bus an attractive nuisance and yank it out of there.

What, and give up all those tourist dollars $$$$ https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g143022-d3343717-r182003841-Denali_Backcountry_Guides_Day_Tours-Denali_National_Park_and_Preserve_Alaska.html

I wonder how many people visit the bus every year.

[nsherry61]

. . . Isn't drowning the main cause of death in the wilderness??
Actually, I think falling and heart attacks are the top two. But drowning is right up there close.


The Teklanika is fast, freezing cold, and thick with glacial silt. Not something I would want to ford for any reason.
Now, that depends on the time of day and the day of the year and where you're crossing it. I've crossed it several times without much thought. I've chosen not to cross it a couple of times, once when riding my mountain bike down the stampede road/trail as it was in 1990, the year before McCandless, I think, maybe two.

[Odd Man Out]

You can actually starve eating only lean meat, even if you an unlimited supply (Rabbit Starvation). That is because you are eating a diet that is almost entirely made of protein, and in order to digest protein, you have to remove and excrete the nitrogen atoms as a waste product (Urea) and your body can't process nitrogen waste fast enough to sustain itself long term eating only protein. Fats and Carbohydrates don't have nitrogen atoms so at least one of the two are needed with the protein to keep you going.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Watched a few videos of Bus 142 hikes. Looks more like a 20 mile walk in and then out on an old muddy logging road to ford a river and see an abandoned bus. If I was going to spend $$$ to go to Alaska I think I'd find some nicer hiking terrain. And just an observation, but lots of the videos show many of these "bus hikers" wearing wet jeans. Makes one wonder [okay, not really].

[JG13]

Recreational Darwinism