Into the Wild | Everything That Went Wrong for Chris McCandless
You may have seen the 2007 movie, or even read the 1997 book, but the real story of the man behind ‘Into The Wild’ and his untimely death in the Alaskan Wilderness is a lot more twisted and confusing than you’d probably ever think.
Chris McCandless’ death was far from straight-forward.
The book literally says his actions shouldn’t have been idolized.
Harmony Mitcham:
They just removed that bus because people kept going out there and needing to be rescued, lol
metfan099:
I never found him to be heroic. He was naive, too wrapped up in idealism, nothing and no one could ground him back to Earth. And it ended up costing him everything.
Just Sol:
At the end of he day, he wasn't a hero or a fool or an inspiration. He was just human.
ExxotikGaming:
Saw this guy’s bus 7 years ago when I visited Alaska, and took a small bush plane over the Denali Nat’l Park area. It was especially creepy considering I had read the book beforehand.
Scott Bradford:
Les Stroud, The Survivorman, summed it up perfectly. Chris was very underprepared and didn’t know what he was doing. He was ignorant, yet he was likely a very charming person and would’ve been a thrill to speak with, but Alaska doesn’t care if you’re charming.
Steve H:
Chris finding that bus was probably what killed him. If he walked around and saw nothing but wilderness then I'm sure he would've returned to civilization much sooner when it was still possible. Instead, that bus gave him a false sense of security like it was his home.
Flahg Doe:
I remember being 18, fresh out of the parents house, in a new city, going to college. I watched the movie at a coworkers house over some beer, and I was popping off about how great he was and how I wanted to do that and “escape this fake society man.” Now I look back 10 years later and I cringe my sack off.
Jerry Schneider:
If you don't know how to kill, butcher, and preserve a moose, stay home.
PunkExMachina:
I always found this a cautionary tale of romanticizing nature...
Leroy Jones:
Didn’t say he was breaking into peoples homes on his way to Alaska
Christopher Scott:
The Bus is Gone! The nearby town voted to have it removed and it was.
damkayaker:
He's lucky a damned bear didn't eat him alive.
drunken mother:
"People who say that don't know my brother"
you don't have to burn down a forest to signal for help, but I guess someone inexperienced like him wouldn't know how to send a signal without doing so
sgtpep5:
Chris would have probably died long before he did if he hadn't found the bus. That was his instant shelter with a wood stove, bed...kept him out of the harsh elements. ...He was a kid with no survival skills.. I believe the he was a little out there to think he could come to Alaska in the middle of the winter and live off the land. A 10LB bag of rice was all the food he brought with him.
Jeff Goza:
He wasn't a hero, he wasn't an inspiration. He went into the wilderness with no experience, no skills, no knowledge and he died because of it. It's a tragic story, no doubt. But he shouldn't be celebrated. He's an example of what not to do. He knew it too. He died knowing he made a big mistake.
Chocoboranger:
book educated yuppie walks into the woods and promptly poisons himself to death. He had a very romantic view of the wilderness and not the reality of it all.
Hellwish Presley:
Going into nature alone is a very bad idea. All it takes is a simple broken leg to possibly take your life. It is good precaution to let someone know your route and look for you if you don't return by a certain time.
Rommel F:
This guy: Potatoes, you have betrayed me
Ireland: First time, huh?
London Heartless:
He isn't an inspiration. If anything his story should be used as a warning of what not to do.
A5AP KillThemAll:
I think he slowly poisoned himself on accident
Ryan McDermott:
“Jack Krakauer”... it’s actually Jon
Adventurer Castle:
I cried when I watched the movie... "Happiness is only real, when shared". Quote hits me hard I start calling my relatives back then.
Anthonyjh02:
The strange part is, had he survived and eventually return to civilization he'd never had achieved this level of attention.
Kirk Worthley:
"Inspiration"? I respect his aims, ambition, discipline, etc. But the fact is, he's dead b/c he wasn't prepared. He was a pretty smart guy and experienced in the outdoors. I think his own arrogance got the better of him.
NIDZGORSKI:
I cringe at the movie. Sucks how he died. I'm a backpacker myself, me and my dog but after hearing his story has made me more cautious and prepared....personally wouldn't have picked Alaska myself.
weirdshibainu:
Being on the wrong side of the river was a huge contributing factor when the river rose.
isabel:
Too much focus on potato seeds. He was so inexperienced as a hiker that he didn't realize that a small stream will become a raging river in a different season. Rivers become un-crossable. He cut himself off from his only escape out of the wilderness.
People talk about how intelligent he was. Well, the wise man knows that he knows nothing. This guy's death is a classic story of hubris laid low. He named himself Alexander Supertramp and thought he was acting heroically. He did not live long enough to grow up and gain an adult perspective.
True Grinder:
He was about as bright as Timothy Treadwell. That’s the first thing to go wrong.
SV The Four C's:
He went “In to the wild” very ill prepared and suffered the consequences. It was self inflicted.
Richard Andrews:
When I saw he wrote "Lonely, Scared" I really lost it then. It was hard for me to connect and even be cynical at times. But it's hard to forget how much suffering he really went through, how much time it took. Poor man.
indy_go_blue60:
Never heard of him or his story until watching this video. Sad.
kath:
this year i intend to cross the sahara desert without the aid of sunscreen and a hat. I am a ginger. Can you spot my miscalculations?
Ken Elzenga:
He was doomed from the day he thought he could survive long term all alone.
Scott Bradford:
I see a lot of people calling him an idiot, but I don’t think many of you realize that he was very mentally disturbed. If you’ve read the book or Karine’s book you’d know that his entire life journey was him just trying to find himself. He would’ve settled down eventually. He was looking to free himself out of a dark depression and a disturbing isolation. But he didn’t know that isolating himself further would hurt him. He was a romantic individual, but he was ill and went on this trip after romanticizing it for months, he wasn’t thinking about survival, he was thinking of happiness.
hearsthewater:
I had to read Krakauer's book for one of my college classes. I posted on some of my social media about it, and one of my friends had actually worked for the Forestry Service (I think that was the agency) during this time and in this area. He said that he and a lot of his co-workers had zero respect for McCandles and had to work hard to combat the heroic portrait of the man and its lasting effects. They had come across several cabins that McCandles had stayed in during their rounds and he always left them in poor shape, not respecting the "code" that most outdoorsmen follow of replenishing the firewood and only taking what you need etc. His point was that this kid was an example of the kind of folks that had zero business doing what he did, and it is a wonder he hadn't died sooner. Harsh, I know, but romanticizing this kid and his actions only inspired more people to make the same kind of mistakes causing the need for more work for the rangers, and more rescues and more injuries and near-death experiences.
James Gibson:
My guess is he'd rather die alone in the woods than deal with the "civilized world" any longer.
Dr. Evil:
He definitely inspired me not to F with raw nature and attempt to live off the land without knowledge and training.
Daniel Wood:
Quite honestly, after having studied this case, I have concluded that this individual was a fool, totally unequipped to survive an ordeal of this nature and suffered the just fate of the fool he was. Entirely too much time has been devoted to his story.
Jazmine Navarro:
The fact that this came up on my recommendations right when I need to read the book for my class
Him Bike:
When u go off the mainline
You have to use extreme caution.
He didn’t have the life experience to know
That.
I’ve ridden my bicycle across the USA 4 times.
2 of those times I rode thru
Death Valley NP.
You have to stay on the mainline.
Joel Nava:
If you read the book, you know exactly where Christopher went wrong, since the very beginning of the book, saying “No” to people that wanted to help him. Yea I get his message, I admire the braveness in him, but don’t confuse Bravery with Stupidity.
That’s how things go wrong.
Kullprit:
Like Tim Treadwell, he wanted to die
Pitt Brad:
Sorry ... never heard of the guy but it strikes me he was in need of help long before he went in to the wild.
Hannah Stahl:
I remember a documentary about him on tv and I thought he was being suicidal.
Turkey Baster:
What went wrong was he had no clue of what he was getting himself into.
Barbara Trinkle:
While visiting that part of Alaska I spoke to some of the locals. They found it puzzling that people from the lower 48 thought he was some kind of hero. They all thought of him as a fool.
Jay N:
The guy was honestly a massive dummy. What happened was no doubt tragic, but he had no business doing what he did with the skills he had.
Lawrence Green:
The bus is officially gone. ANG airlifted our the site last week.
Friday Night Frights:
Ever since the year 2000, I've read "Into the Wild" at least once a year. His story is so interesting and tragic. That said, Chris McCandless was arrogant in his approach and ill-prepared to live off the grid like he wanted to. He repeatedly refused help and advice from many of those who tried to assist him on his way, obviously noticing that this young man was going about his plans (or lack thereof) with little to no preparation.
Nevertheless, his spirit for adventure was admirable.
Refer Panthers:
They had to remove the bus because people kept hiking out and getting trapped when the river on the path leading to the site would flood and one person drowned trying to cross it too late into the season. The search and rescue people in the area said it was dangerous because people would go out there and become trapped without being prepared for the harsh conditions, kinda like Chris
ThatShitCray Z:
“Here are all the missteps he took” then more than half the video is only about him being poisoned.
Nathan Adrian:
He starved to death, quit trying to find reasons it wasn't his own fault! Under prepared, unskilled, lacking knowledge and without a safety net, it was his fault. He was brave but foolish.
Bang Bang:
When I was younger I would watch episodes of Survivorman and think, “Man, I could go out there and do that NO PROBLEM.” Now that I’m older, I realize that I would’ve probably ended up just like this idiot.
Queen Alice Kingsley:
I lived in the wilderness when my dad moved us there when I was 13, I learned "if I made it through that I can get through ANYTHING " cuz lemmie tell you , IT WAS HARD AND IT SUCKED. To this day friends say "wanna go camping??!!" .......Hell No. #pass
Matthew Jimenez:
I remember this in high school last year and we did a project on building a small house
ACE is the face:
I think his story appealed to me and others because we all want an escape. Even the death doesn’t diminish the adventure of leaving home and disappearing forever.
A Mascia:
Solo adventuring invites problems.
Luis Aymerich:
Some years back I was visiting a friend and she had seen the movie before but she wanted me to see it too.
We both agreed that it was foolish of him to have attempted to live a winter alone in Alaska without the necessary experience, equipment, skills, and supplies.
Days after she was visiting me and we watched "Alone in the Wilderness" with Dick Proenneke. I had ordered the DVD from PBS.
He too had wanted to spend time in the Alaskan wilderness but he planned it well. He brought with him a camera so we got to see footage of him building a cabin, hiking, fishing, canoeing, gardening, and hunting.
He was alone but he had a pilot friend fly in a plane every few months to bribg him mail and a few supplies.
He lived in that cabin for many years.
That's how you do things.
extratroppo437:
I feel like a lot of people's animus towards him is more a reaction to general cultural hero-worship. I doubt he himself would have enjoyed the adulation. But who knows.
oldiron1223:
The horribly sad thing about this was there were two weekend cabins within a couple miles of that bus that were owned by personal friends of mine. I helped one of those friends haul building materials into his cabin while this kid was starving to death just down the unused fork in the trail. We were making enough noise that he should have heard us, chain saws can be heard for miles in the bush. This was not as far off the "beaten path" as the book and the movie make it appear. You do not read a book and think you can survive in the Alaska bush.
JDP:
He was just unprepared for such an undertaking. Condolences to his family.
Jonny O:
The poisoning angle is explored in the book. It's been so long since I've read it I don't know if this video sheds additional light. I recall the seeds he ate were easy to confuse with another plant's. Regardless, overall the guy was unprepared and brash. He thought he was invincible. He thought he was too smart to lose (and there's ample evidence he was indeed very intelligent). To some degree, for all his talk of how he loved nature, underneath I think he felt nature existed to serve him, or at best, existed to peacefully coexist with him. In other words, his view of nature was ultimately naive.
He's a fascinating character and his story is worth reading, but his tragic flaws did him in: a combination of youth, impulsivity, arrogance, and distrust of authority (any authority, even those who were genuinely concerned). The Alaska trip wasn't his only reckless adventure. He'd danced too close to the proverbial cliff edge many times, and no one could tell him otherwise. In the wild, things can go from being in control to deadly in very short order, hence all the safety and preparation and technology. It's to increase your odds. He didn't even have a map, and if he did, he would have been able to cross the river and return to civilization less than 30 miles away. Whether he died of starvation or poisoned himself is interesting to debate, but it's very obvious his mistakes began way before that point.
Elijah Bey:
He loved nature and hated industrialized society. Ironically, he died in a rusted out old bus that symbolized the very thing he was trying to get away from. Interesting..
incredible srinking man:
if he wouldn't have burnt down a forest even to save his own life than I am sorry to say I DO understand 1 thing about her brother and thats that he wasn't as bright as she thought he was .....what a stupid thing to say or think
Holly Perrin:
I remember seeing his story on "Unsolved Mysteries." He was still alive at the time that the episode aired. Then, there was the sad update.
kubaner:
So to take a quote from "Pulp Fiction," the man decided to become a bum. Sorry if that sounds cruel, but that's what I got from the movie when I saw it.
Dennis Sparks:
How did the bus get out in the middle of nowhere is my question.
Ned:
This video is riddled with mistakes. Very poorly researched.
kairos:
How anyone could see this as an inspiration rather than a cautionary tale is beyond me.
Jessie arreg:
never thought I’d come across Into The Wild again after 11th grade AP Lang
Luv2Dnce4:
I read this book about five or so years after my brother died in Alaska. It angered me, because I saw a similar story to my brother’s. Young men in their twenties who thought themselves to be more capable and invincible than they actually were. My brother drowned in that freezing water because he thought he could do a job solo that required at least two men.
Canadian Farmer Sim:
Went right depends on how you look at it. Yeah he screwed up but im sure hed rather die a free man than to live as a slave.
kiryu:
1:23 Well, guess I’ll be up all night then
Nancy Jones:
After reading his sister's book, The Wild Truth, I think Chris was damaged by his parents and didn't have any true adult guidance. I also think he may have been dealing with untreated mental illness. I think his mistakes were tragic bc although not well prepared he was a decent guy for sure.
Treasure Trails:
Stuffing my face with chicken tenders in July 2020! I love society!
Taylor Walters:
The author’s name is Jon Krakauer not Jack.. lol.
Caesar S.:
A man doing whatever the F he wants who got tired of society seems heroic to me. Normies wouldn’t understand
Holly Jones:
Makes me wonder what indigenous peoples think of him... 'fool', I expect.
HQ CO 3rd Med Battalion FMF PAC:
When pushing the boundaries of nature, one should always be conscious that nature pushes back 🙏🏻🇺🇸⚓️
Brenda Walten:
Thank you Jon Krakuer for caring so much that you discovered the cause of his death. Chris McCandless r.i.p.
Sutterjack:
I admire McCandless' spirit of adventure, but his naiveness and recklessness is nothing to celebrate. He also put his parents through hell by not communicating with them for years - very selfish in my book
Orlando Montes:
“Life is tough, but it’s a whole lot tougher when you’re stupid.” - John Wayne
Kinq Calb:
I loved this movie. Made me think twice about just running into the woods without a fool proof plan.
Fizzywhistle:
It was entirely his decision, learn from it and may he rest in peace.
PrairieBrewer:
At risk of offence, this guy was wholly unprepared for this. He was basically a transient, with zero skills. It's shocking he didn't die sooner.
Robert:
Some years ago my city hosted a big literary event.
I went there with some people because there was a girl I wanted to hook up with.
There was an interview with Chris' sister, and she was talking about him and his "legacy" in such a positive way I was surprised.
I knew nothing about the case, just supposed he must've been special for some reason. But the more I listened, the more I was surprised. He just seemed like a random dude that died like a fool.
Now I see my hunch was correct.
No, I never managed to go past a kiss with that girl unfortunaly XD
Ron Carter:
He was no Dick Proenneke and was ill prepared to survive in the wilds of Alaska; although his heart and spirit were up to the task. RIP
Yeet Maestro:
I know many Alaskans who view him the same as Timothy Treadwell: Idiots who didn’t know what they were doing and weren’t prepared to handle the risks.
GlorpinFlorpin:
0:44 "author JACK Krakauer", even though on the book it literally says "Jon"
bstoos93:
Man, can you imagine being literally in the middle of nowhere far away from any civilization. And going through what he went through and dying, alone.. this is so sad.
billy rubin:
Based on the movie, he seemed to be one selfish person. He could have at least notified his family that he was still alive before he recklessly ended it.
Magnus Kallas:
When I was a kid growing up in a farm in Estonia kids were taught from early age not to eat potato seeds, or potato perries or potato cherries. "If you eat some you will die," I was told.
Sebastian Martinez:
If ur going to live off the land then you have to use everything around you. The man didn't want burn wood or kill to survive.
Winston Deocampo:
I feel bad for him but I don’t know how this can be inspirational at all. I have to agree with most of the comments here. He was simply in over his head about his abilities and not smart enough to realize it before it’s too late.
WokeTard:
Yeah, he starved to death.
Timothy Pfalzgraf:
All that time he spent reading, he needed to build himself a smokehouse. Sorry to say, a lack of experience killed him. Humans need protien and minerals. The moos he bagged would have helped him make it thru the winter, if he could have preserved the meat. He must have known that at some point (he admitted the failure of his life). He knew what he faced and was willing. His only failure was that he stayed in the same place, the game recognized and avoided him. The bus he loved so much, all the wildlife knew to get the hell away from. Humans stink.
kegsofvomitspit:
I can sum up everything Chris did wrong in one sentence:
A guy with negligible survival skills and minimal experience living in a high alpine or tundra environment was deluded by his own Don Quixote mindset that he could handle a lifestyle that is only suited for those with the proper training and/or wherewithal.
guy tremblay:
you said it in the title waht went wrong . '' EVERYTHING''
GERntleMAN:
Never heard of him and sounds like I haven't missed anything. One of many, just one with publicity.
Christian Garcia:
Harmony Mitcham:
metfan099:
Just Sol:
ExxotikGaming:
Scott Bradford:
Steve H:
Flahg Doe:
Jerry Schneider:
PunkExMachina:
Leroy Jones:
Christopher Scott:
damkayaker:
drunken mother:
you don't have to burn down a forest to signal for help, but I guess someone inexperienced like him wouldn't know how to send a signal without doing so
sgtpep5:
Jeff Goza:
Chocoboranger:
Hellwish Presley:
Rommel F:
Ireland: First time, huh?
London Heartless:
A5AP KillThemAll:
Ryan McDermott:
Adventurer Castle:
Anthonyjh02:
Kirk Worthley:
NIDZGORSKI:
weirdshibainu:
isabel:
People talk about how intelligent he was. Well, the wise man knows that he knows nothing. This guy's death is a classic story of hubris laid low. He named himself Alexander Supertramp and thought he was acting heroically. He did not live long enough to grow up and gain an adult perspective.
True Grinder:
SV The Four C's:
Richard Andrews:
indy_go_blue60:
kath:
Ken Elzenga:
Scott Bradford:
hearsthewater:
James Gibson:
Dr. Evil:
Daniel Wood:
Jazmine Navarro:
Him Bike:
You have to use extreme caution.
He didn’t have the life experience to know
That.
I’ve ridden my bicycle across the USA 4 times.
2 of those times I rode thru
Death Valley NP.
You have to stay on the mainline.
Joel Nava:
That’s how things go wrong.
Kullprit:
Pitt Brad:
Hannah Stahl:
Turkey Baster:
Barbara Trinkle:
Jay N:
Lawrence Green:
Friday Night Frights:
Nevertheless, his spirit for adventure was admirable.
Refer Panthers:
ThatShitCray Z:
Nathan Adrian:
Bang Bang:
Queen Alice Kingsley:
Matthew Jimenez:
ACE is the face:
A Mascia:
Luis Aymerich:
We both agreed that it was foolish of him to have attempted to live a winter alone in Alaska without the necessary experience, equipment, skills, and supplies.
Days after she was visiting me and we watched "Alone in the Wilderness" with Dick Proenneke. I had ordered the DVD from PBS.
He too had wanted to spend time in the Alaskan wilderness but he planned it well. He brought with him a camera so we got to see footage of him building a cabin, hiking, fishing, canoeing, gardening, and hunting.
He was alone but he had a pilot friend fly in a plane every few months to bribg him mail and a few supplies.
He lived in that cabin for many years.
That's how you do things.
extratroppo437:
oldiron1223:
JDP:
Jonny O:
He's a fascinating character and his story is worth reading, but his tragic flaws did him in: a combination of youth, impulsivity, arrogance, and distrust of authority (any authority, even those who were genuinely concerned). The Alaska trip wasn't his only reckless adventure. He'd danced too close to the proverbial cliff edge many times, and no one could tell him otherwise. In the wild, things can go from being in control to deadly in very short order, hence all the safety and preparation and technology. It's to increase your odds. He didn't even have a map, and if he did, he would have been able to cross the river and return to civilization less than 30 miles away. Whether he died of starvation or poisoned himself is interesting to debate, but it's very obvious his mistakes began way before that point.
Elijah Bey:
incredible srinking man:
Holly Perrin:
kubaner:
Dennis Sparks:
Ned:
kairos:
Jessie arreg:
Luv2Dnce4:
Canadian Farmer Sim:
kiryu:
Nancy Jones:
Treasure Trails:
Taylor Walters:
Caesar S.:
Holly Jones:
HQ CO 3rd Med Battalion FMF PAC:
Brenda Walten:
Sutterjack:
Orlando Montes:
Kinq Calb:
Fizzywhistle:
PrairieBrewer:
Robert:
I went there with some people because there was a girl I wanted to hook up with.
There was an interview with Chris' sister, and she was talking about him and his "legacy" in such a positive way I was surprised.
I knew nothing about the case, just supposed he must've been special for some reason. But the more I listened, the more I was surprised. He just seemed like a random dude that died like a fool.
Now I see my hunch was correct.
No, I never managed to go past a kiss with that girl unfortunaly XD
Ron Carter:
Yeet Maestro:
GlorpinFlorpin:
bstoos93:
billy rubin:
Magnus Kallas:
Sebastian Martinez:
Winston Deocampo:
WokeTard:
Timothy Pfalzgraf:
kegsofvomitspit:
A guy with negligible survival skills and minimal experience living in a high alpine or tundra environment was deluded by his own Don Quixote mindset that he could handle a lifestyle that is only suited for those with the proper training and/or wherewithal.
guy tremblay:
GERntleMAN: