Christopher McCandless

10 Stories

Into the Wild Bus Has a New Purpose Now
Into the Wild Bus Has
Been Repurposed
longform

Into the Wild Bus Has Been Repurposed

It's now a museum exhibit in Alaska, and 'Outside' magazine thinks it works

(Newser) - Most know it as the Into the Wild bus—the abandoned vehicle in the Alaskan wilderness that served as the shelter for Christopher McCandless before the 24-year-old died in 1992. Those a bit more familiar with the story, made famous in a book and movie , might know it as Bus...

Study: McCandless May Have Been a Victim of Bad Timing

Researchers: River he tried, failed to cross may have been passable a day before, after

(Newser) - A study on the hydrology of Alaska's Teklanika River in the summer of 1992 might seem like a subject that would have limited appeal—were it not for the young man who tried and failed to cross it. That would be Christopher McCandless, whose death that year in the...

Into the Wild Bus Airlifted Out of the Wild

Bus where Christopher McCandless died no longer in the Alaska wilderness

(Newser) - An abandoned bus in the Alaska backcountry, popularized by the book Into the Wild and the movie of the same name, was removed Thursday, state officials said. The decision prioritizes public safety, Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said. The bus has long attracted adventurers to an area without cellphone...

Allure of 'Magic Bus' Causes Emergency for 5 Tourists

5 Italian hikers rescued near site made famous by 'Into the Wild'

(Newser) - Five tourists are lucky to be alive after trying to make a frigid trek to an Alaskan site made famous by Into the Wild. Tri-Valley Fire Chief Brad Randall tells the Anchorage Daily News that Alaska State Troopers and members of the Tri-Valley Fire Department responded on snowmobile to an...

They Were on Their Way to a Famous Bus. Suddenly, a Slip

Newlywed swept away trying to cross Alaskan river near bus depicted in Jon Krakauer's 'Into the Wild'

(Newser) - A trek in Alaska to see the "Magic Bus" ended in tragedy this week for a newly married couple from Belarus—both the same age as the man who famously died at the bus site. The Anchorage Daily News reports that 24-year-old Veramika Maikamava and Piotr Markielau, who Alaska...

Man Emerges After 6 Months Alone in the Wild
 Man Emerges 
 After 6 Months 
 Alone in the Wild 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Man Emerges After 6 Months Alone in the Wild

Kristoffer Glestad lived out his childhood dream in Northwest Territories

(Newser) - "People aren't meant to be alone." That's Kristoffer Glestad's revelation after spending six months in isolation in the Canadian wilderness. Living off the land with a few hundred pounds of gear probably sounds like a nightmare to some, but it was Glestad's childhood dream....

Into the Wild Author Revises McCandless Death Theory

Jon Krakauer thinks he's identified the lethal toxic compound in potato seeds

(Newser) - So what specifically killed Into the Wild subject Christopher McCandless in the Alaskan wilderness back in 1992? In 2013 , author Jon Krakauer blamed toxic seeds from the Eskimo potato plant. After the theory met with skepticism from scientists and non-scientists alike, Krakauer investigated further. His new conclusion: It was indeed...

Into the Wild Story Driven by Domestic Abuse: Sisters

Chris McCandless fled abusive father, sisters say

(Newser) - Chris McCandless' journey into the Alaskan wild wasn't only about his love for nature, his sisters say. It was also inspired by his desire to escape a brutal home life in which his father lashed out verbally and physically, they tell ABC News . Chris' sister Carine says she only...

Hunter of Into the Wild Fame Killed by Police

Gordon Samel found body of Christopher McCandless in 1992

(Newser) - One last chapter of Alaska's Into the Wild saga has ended in the death of moose hunter Gordon Samel, reports the Anchorage Daily News . The 52-year-old Samel, who found the body of Christopher McCandless in 1992, was shot to death by police Sunday after a chase when authorities say...

Into the Wild Author: This Is What Killed McCandless
Into the Wild Author: This
Is What Killed McCandless
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Into the Wild Author: This Is What Killed McCandless

Mystery solved after 21 years, says Jon Krakauer

(Newser) - It's a question that has nagged Jon Krakauer and readers for some 20 years: What truly killed Christopher McCandless? McCandless, you'll recall, is the 24-year-old who perished in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992, and the subject of Krakauer's Into the Wild. The coroner listed cause of death...

10 Stories