Create Your Own Footsteps

Why follow in someone else’s footsteps when you can create your own? This is a question I have asked myself while reading articles about Into the Wild. Into the Wild is a real life story of Christopher McCandless and his journey to Alaska. Throughout his trip, Chris met many people and visited countless places. As his story turned into a book, and eventually a movie, people became fascinated and wanted to retrace his steps. To learn more about who these people are and why they took these adventures, I looked at articles written on their behalf.

           In the first article I read, the author wondered if the trail to the “magic bus” could be cursed. An Oregon newspaper, The Oregonian, recently investigated the attempts to reach the famous bus. Since the premiere of Into the Wild, numerous rescues have been made and some quests have resulted in a tragic ending. A group of three hikers were airlifted out of the wilderness in 2013 because of an injury one hiker sustained. Another group of hikers were airlifted to their car on their way back from visiting the bus. These hikers were stranded after the river they passed days before had suddenly become impassable. While comparing the reenactments to the original story, I found obvious similarities. Each explorer experienced the same struggles throughout their journeys. Although many people are attempting this journey far more prepared than Chris did, they seem to have comparable outcomes. Since there have been so many failed attempts to reach the bus, is it possible that the bus is unreachable?

The amount of attraction the bus and its surrounding towns have experienced since the release of the movie has dramatically increased. This new attention has caused major problems in the area. In an NBC News article, the local town and police force talk about the amount of traffic this phenomenon has caused. The local commerce has received multiple e-mails from people

wishing to visit the unmonitored route made famous by McCandless. The former chamber president, Neal Laugman, stated in this article that with no cell phone service, unpredictable weather, clouds of mosquitoes, and an extremely dangerous river, there is expected disaster. When asked about their awareness of the hikers, Laugman stated, “We don’t know they’re there until it’s too late”. The people of Alaska simply want visitors to take caution and be well prepared if they are attempting this near impossible quest. Because many people have ignored these dangers, they have walked into the wild unprepared and susceptible to the inevitability of failure. The people of Alaska do not see these people or their adventures as crazy or insane, but they do see their decisions as irrational and unwise. To limit the amount of tragedies on The Stampede Trail, people should be well prepared and know the dangers they are entering.

           In an article written by an Oregon newspaper,The Bulletin, they investigate the recent disappearance of Dustin Self. Dustin, a 19 year old Oklahoma native, has not been seen in more than a year. The last known contact with Dustin was a text message to his ex-girlfriend saying he was lost. The text message also explained hallucinations he was experiencing. For one month after these messages were sent, no one saw or heard from Dustin. After the family received the news of their son’s disappearance, they began their efforts to find Dustin. While looking for him, a foreman of a ranch discovered his truck on a seldom-traveled road. Found in his truck, were material items investigators believe he intentionally left behind. Finding these things led Dustin’s parents to believe he was alive and in search for a different life, just as McCandless was. Before disappearing, Dustin told his parents he planned to go “off the grid” for a year. In a letter left behind, he changed his plans to be gone for more than two years. His parents are certain he is alive and simply living in the wilderness, inspired by Chris McCandless. Why is Dustin so influenced by Chris? What made him leave so suddenly? Why did he change his plan from one year, to two? Why did he text his ex-girlfriend? Why was he hallucinating? Will he come back after his adventure? For now, these questions will continue to linger and Dustin’s story will remain unknown.

           In the final article I read, an Oregon television network, Keloland, covered the most recent production of Chris’ story by Animal Planet. This station conducted a film in which they retrace the steps of Chris McCandless. This documentary revisits each person he met and the places he visited. The film focuses most on Wayne Westerburg, one of Chris’ closest friends, and the town in which he created a temporary home. Throughout the film, viewers are taken to the local Cabaret that Chris frequented with Wayne. There, Wayne told stories of “Alex” and how he impacted his life. When asked how he deals with Chris’ fans, Westerburg responded, "Everybody asks me all the questions. Like I said to them, if I knew there was going to be this many questions that would go on for a 20-year window, I should have taken a lot better notes”. This documentary was released in 2012 on the 20th anniversary of Chris’ death. As a fan of both the book and the movie, I am very interested in watching this documentary and plan to do so soon.

           Chris McCandless’ story has impacted many more lives than I could imagine. He inspired people to reach outside the cultural norms and to follow their dreams. As an educated and bright man, he lived his life the way he wanted to; uninterested in how people viewed him. Although I admire Chris for the decisions he made, people should not admire him in the way that they do. In my opinion, the people who worship Chris and his story are simply too afraid to live their own lives. I believe Chris chose to create his own path for a reason. Chris did not want to live his life as an average American or follow the path already traveled. He chose not to conform to the inevitable but to live the way he felt most content. By retracing his steps and following the path he chose to live by, people are simply continuing the cycle of a predestined life. This is the main reason why I disagree with fans recreating his journey. I believe if Chris was alive today, he would not want us to follow in his footsteps; he would want us to create our own.