i will upvote you because you are right

Strange to think some people consider him a hero. I think he was an idiot.

And he inspired other idiots to follow in his footsteps and... also die.

He was actually quite well prepared, but clearly not quite well enough. Reading up on it I can't help feel that he had some mental health issues which led him to where he ended up, both geographically and mentally, IYSWIM. Poor guy :-(

You should listen to the podcast episode of You're Wrong About on the subject of this guy. The media dragged him through the mud. His story was tragic and he got unlucky in a few places. Generally he was prepared.

It gets stupider. So many people following his example had to rescued that the state moved the bus he died at.

I can be wrong because I don't know him and what happened, but I live by the Alps and while some mountain's accidents happen because people are stupid enough to go on glaciers without the right equipment and the experience to do so, plenty of accidents happen also because the nature up there can be dangerous and unpredictable even for experienced and prepared people. I don't think Alaska is that different. He could have been really prepared for the adventure but the recipient of really bad unpredictable luck

I don't think he really meant to come back.

Based on experience with severely mentally ill family members who behave similarly, i think he may have been undiagnosed with some mental health condition. If this is the case, i think idiot is harsh, but i do think this would be deeply foolish for anynone who is capable of taking care of themselves to do

I bet you didn't expect us all to upvote you now did you

Agreed. He was an arrogant moron.

I worked for the Alaska state troopers at the time so I know exactly how much of an idiot he was.

Actually, he died out there because he ate the wrong plant - it looked identical to the one his book said was safe. His body eventually staved him to death.

Cut to the scene where Undercover goes back to his computer and says "wow!!! 300 upvotes!!" I've read both books about him and he was just optimistic and traumatized by his father's betrayal. I wish he hadn't died and being a back country hiker and rider, I do know the wild spaces out there are highly unforgiving.

You guys are heartless. He was so young

100%

I live in New England. Every winter, at least one hiker has died in the wilderness. In nearly every case, they died because they were abysmally stupid. The young woman who went hiking alone in the White Mountains during a blizzard. She wasn't even properly dressed for winter, never mind for hiking in winter. She had no food, one water bottle, and no satellite navigation device. The guy who thought he could summit Mount Washington in November. Mount Washington has snow squalls in high summer, and the highest recorded winds in the world.

You won't get downvoted by me. He was an absolute idiot. As were all of the people who later made the pilgrimage to the bus only to need rescuing themselves. They finally dragged the bus out of there so people would stop it.

Nope he was going without preparing is just asking to die. Slowly and painfully in his case. I hope no one ever repeats this.

Congrats on getting 435 upvotes in 23 hours.

I second that award nomination.

I second that and agree with you 100%!

But its true tho

"Adventurer" my a**e. Clueless twat would be a better description.

I agree.

I suspect he did it on purpose. I could be wrong.

Agree completely.

This is the most upvotes I’ve ever seen on anything, including posts. Damn.

No, I completely agree with you. His death was senseless and preventable.

No reason to downvote you for stating a fact..

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You are correct. He was a loser and needs to stop being worshiped as a hero. He was far from a hero.

After reading "Into the Wild," you should read "The Wild Truth" by Carine McCandless, Chris McCandless's sister. It provides way more personal insight into the why's behind some of Chris's decisions and provides a more full "human" picture of him.

Yes - very interesting he identified the seeds as what made him sick, considering it was unknown at that time that eating such seeds is potentially fatal, with the risk being highest for young men who are exerting themselves physically while being on a restricted diet. The symptoms he described certainly sound like lathyrism, which is incurable once developed and causes lower limb paralysis. If you haven't seen Jon Krakauer's 2013 article about subsequent investigation into the issue, here's a link: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/how-chris-mccandless-died

So you're not familiar with his story. There was soooo much more that he did/experienced before he ever went to Alaska.