Reading the original article in Outside magazine, I thought Chris was an idiot. But after reading the much more detailed and sympathetic book, I realized that Chris was not that different from a lot of long distance hikers I know who have chosen to leave the middle class lifestyle in which they were raised to live an alternate existence. Like us, he wanted to live a simple and adventurous life. How many multiple thruhikers come from homes that are not that different from Chris' and now live in near poverty as they raise money for their next hike? How many of us yearn for more adventure, more wilderness, living more on the edge?
I don't think Chris' note was proof that he was suicidal - simply realistic. When we went to Alaska, I had the same kind of thoughts - small plane through the mountains, backpacking in grizzly country, long drives on rough highways, yep better make sure the will is updated before we go. Same thing with the CDT. I am realistic/fatalistic enough to know that stuff happens in backcountry areas.
Not having a map was really not a good idea, but my impression of it was he wanted to get a feeling for being in real wilderness. Chris would never have done a thruhike, for example, because it is much too civilized, there is too much information and assistance out there for the hikers. We drove past the area where he died last summer and I was surprised that it was not far off the highway between Fairbanks and Denali -- in other words, in order to get a true wilderness feeling, he had to work at it a bit. Smart, no - but understandable to those of us who really yearn for the real thing.