McCandless survived for approximately 113 days in the Alaskan wilderness, foraging for edible roots and berries, shooting an assortment of game-including a moose-and keeping a journal. In addition, he describes at some length the grief and puzzlement of McCandless's parents, sister Carine, and friends. Krakauer also relates the stories of some other young men who vanished into the wilderness, such as Everett Ruess and Carl McCunn. He explores the similarities between McCandless's experiences and motivations, and his own as a young man, recounting in detail Krakauer's own attempt to climb Devils Thumb in Alaska.

Krakauer interprets McCandless's intensely ascetic personality as possibly influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau and McCandless's favorite writer, Jack London. He spent time in Carthage, South Dakota, laboring for months in a grain elevator owned by Wayne Westerberg before hitchhiking to Alaska in April 1992. McCandless shed his legal name early in his journey, adopting the moniker 'Alexander Supertramp', after W.H. One year later, author Jon Krakauer retraced McCandless's steps during the two years between college graduation and his demise in Alaska. McCandless perished sometime around the week of August 18, 1992, after surviving for 113 days. He declined an acquaintance's offer to buy him sturdier clothing and better supplies. 22 caliber rifle, several boxes of rifle rounds, a camera, and a small selection of reading material-including a field guide to the region's edible plants, Tana'ina Plantlore. There he headed down the snow-covered trail to begin an odyssey with only 10 pounds (4500 g) of rice, a. On April 28, 1992, McCandless hitchhiked to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. After graduating in May 1990 with high grades from Emory University, McCandless ceased communicating with his family, gave away his college fund of $24,500 to Oxfam, and began traveling across the Western United States, later abandoning his 1982 Datsun B210 after a flash flood. Further information: Christopher McCandlessĬhristopher Johnson McCandless grew up in suburban Annandale, Virginia.

Into the Wild by Erin Hunter