‘Into the Wild’ Chapter Review

Chris McCandless meets Jim Gallien in Alaska.

He goes 2 hours North and Gallien ends up liking him. McCandless goes into the wild with only 10 lbs of rice, non-waterproof hiking boots, and a small rifle. He should have an ax, snow shoes, and compass. Plans on going down the Stampede Trail.

Leaves April 28th, 1992

In September 1992 a couple finds McCandless' corpse in the bus shelter. They find his S.O.S.

note. 3 hunters show up and get State Troopers to evacuate the body. Starvation is recorded as the cause of death.

McCandless meets Wayne Westerberg and works for him for a small amount of time.

He leaves when Westerberg gets jailed for pirating cable. McCandless leaves Westerberg a copy of 'War and Peace'. McCandless grew up in Virginia with mother, father, and younger sister, Carina. Graduated from Emory Uni in 1990. Got a bequest from a family friend for $24,000 and donated it. May 1990 McCandless told his parents he was going on a road trip and they never heard of him again until he was found dead.

McCandless was near Lake Mead, Nevada. A ranger finds his yellow Datsun that he used to drive West. A flash flood ruined his car and McCandless buried the license plates with a rifle and sets $120 on fire. McCandless backpacked around Lake Mead and almost died of heat stroke until boaters rescued him. He worked for "Crazy Ernie" on a ranch and left because he never got paid in North California.

McCandless went to Oregon and meets people who work at a flea market selling used books. He gets a used canoe and makes it to the Pacific Ocean. He sends Westerberg a postcard and makes it to Mexico. He illegally reenters the U.S. and spends a night in jail.

McCandless' camera breaks and he buries it. He doesn't write in his journal for a while and doesn't take any pictures. McCandless works in Las Vegas for a while then travels to Oregon. He works in a McDonalds for 2 months. An old man offers McCandless the use of a trailer.

He writes to the flea market people who plan to visit him. He quits the McDonalds job and goes to work at the flea marker. He sells used books and kees trying to convince people to read 'Call of the Wild' by Jack London. A girl likes him. He does exercises to train for the Alaskan wilderness.

McCandless sets up camp by these hot springs by hippies and nudists and other weird people. McCandless meets Robert Franz, an old man who had a drinking problem. After a few weeks McCandless gets dropped of in San Diego by Franz and lives on the streets. McCandless stays with Franz for one day until leaving to Seattle. Franz drives him to Colorado.

Franz wants to adopt McCandless and McCandless avoids the subject. In South Dakota McCandless tells Franz to live in the wild and he does. A hitchhiker after 8 months tells Franz that McCandless died. Franz then withdraws from the church and starts drinking again.

March 1992 McCandless goes to Carthage to work again until April 15 to go to Alaska. Walt McCandless and McCandless were both stubborn, dad controlling, McCandless independent, bad match. McCandless writes his sister saying he is going to divorce his parents as parent figures and never talk to them again. There was that whole half sibling problem with his dad that messed up their relationship. McCandless becomes Westerberg's mother's and long-time girlfriend's good friend.

Jon Karakaur writes an article on McCandless and got letters saying McCandless was mentally ill.

Other people just thought he was stupid. 3 other examples of people like McCandless (Gene Rosselini, John Waterman, and Carl McCunn). They all died miserably in Alaska. McCandless thought he could live a simple life in a very harsh landscape.

Everett Ruess was like McCandless and went Southwest in 1934. Karkaur says he was just like McCandless in the way he wrote. Reuss changed his name 3 times ending with Captain Nemo from a book. McCandless and Ruess are connected by seeking solitude in other places.

NY Times does a story on McCandless saying he was a found dead hitchhiker.

McCandless is identified by a lot of people and eventually Sam McCandless one of Chris' half siblings. Same prepares to tell his family the bad news.