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Annandale, VA
Annandale is the suburb of Washington D.C. that Chris grew up in. He graduated from high school here and excelled in his studies and sports. -
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Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
This is the college that Chris attended after high school. He studied at this college for four years. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the double majors of history and anthropology. After graduating he donated $25,000 to the charity OXFAM. -
Dallas, TX
Dallas is the first stop for Chris on his journey out west. While he is sleeping in his car his cash gets stolen. -
Houston, TX
After having some of his money stolen Chris decides to bury his money outside of Houston before entering the city. He can retrieve the money when he leaves. -
Detrital Wash, AZ
In a desert below Lake Mead, Chris loses his car to a flood. This is where he burns the rest of his money and his social security card. -
Cut Bank, MT
While traveling through Cut Bank, Chris meets Wayne Westerberg. He ends up being one of Chris’s best friends that he meets throughout his journey. -
Carthage, SD
Chris goes to South Dakota to work for Westerberg in a grain elevator. Chis stays until September, when he decides to leave for a warmer place to stay. -
Topock, AZ
Chris ends up in Topock, Arizona, where he finds an old aluminum canoe for sale. He buys the canoe and paddles down a river all the way to Mexico. -
Parker Strip, AZ
Near Parker Strip, Chris gets out of his canoe and starts to track a herd of horses. He comes across a sign that says that he was trespassing on government grounds. He continues anyway. -
Yuma, AZ
Chris is now near the U.S. - Mexican border. He stops in the city of Yuma to replenish supplies and sends Wayne Westerberg a postcard. -
Gulf of California
After reaching the Mexican border, the Colorado river breaks into many different canals. He spends days trying to find his way through the canals but has no luck. He runs into some dduck hunters who bring him to a small town called El Golfo de Santa Clara. -
San Diego, CA
Chris is caught by immigration authorities tring to get back into the U.S. just south of San Diego. He is able to enter the U.S. but can’t keep his pistol. -
Los Angeles, CA
For six weeks he wanders throughout Los Angeles, but leaves because he doesn’t feel right in society. -
Detrital Wash
After leaving LA, Chris goes back to Detrital Wash to dig up his old license plates and some other things he buried. -
Salton City, CA
Chris spends the next few weeks in the desert. He runs into an old man name Ronald Franz near the Salton Sea. They become very close. Franz gives chris a ride to San Diego where they part ways for some time. -
Las Vegas, NV
On February 27th, Chris buried his money and I.D. in the desert just outside of Las Vegas. He later entered the city to find a job. He again doesn’t feel right in society and leaves. -
Grand Junction, CO
After spending some time with Chris, Franz drives Chris to Grand Junction, Colorado where they part ways forever. Chris promises to visit Franz after his trip to Alaska, but he never makes it out of Alaska. -
Carthage, SD
This is Chris’s final stop before he heads north for Alaska. He goes back to Carthage to visit and work for his close friend Wayne Westerberg. He leaves South Dakota at the end of March in 1992. -
Dawson Creek, BC, Canada
He stops here on his way to Alaska. -
Liard River, BC
Chris waits here while a blizzard hits. He is picked up by a trucker named Gaylord Stuckey, who he befriends. Stuckey drives him to Fairbanks. -
Fairbanks, AK
He spends 3 days in the library at the University of Fairbanks. He buys a .22 rifle, and sends his last postcard ever to Wayne Westerberg. -
Healy, AK
Chris begins to hike south along the Alaskan Highway toward Mt. McKinley. He is shortly picked up by a man named Jim Gallien. Jim gives him a ride to Healy, to the edge of the Stampede Trail. He offered Chris rubber boots, but he refused. -
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Stampede Trail
On April 28th, 1992, Chris McCandless walked into the wild. He walked along the river until he came across an abandoned bus. Fairbanks 142 was what the bus has printed on it. This bus became Chris’s home for the next 4 months while he lived out his dream of living in the Alaskan wild. By August his health has declined sharply. His last journal entry was thanking God and blessing everyone he knew. He is thought to have died around August 18th, 1992.