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Chris McCandless is born
Chris is given birth by his two parents Billie and Walt. His parents give him a Giannini Guitar; which was found in the back of his abandoned Datsun -
Chris meets his grandfather
At a young age Chris meets his grandfather Loren Johnson who was believed to be a very big inspiration for Chris. His grandfather was a man who felt bliss in nature. -
Chris Begins Emory University
Chris begins to attend Emory University. The summer before he spent his time driving across the country. -
Chris visits Fairbanks for the first time
In the spring of his junior year at Emory University, Chris visits Fairbanks Alaska for the first time. This would be the place where he would eventually endeavor to make his Alaskan Odyssey. -
Graduated from Emory Riddle University
Chris graduates from Emory with honors, class of 1990 -
Chris begins his great adventure
In the spring, Chris graduates from Emory University and proceeds to start his great adventure -
Chris becomes Alex Super-Tramp
After graduating from college, Chris, so fed up, decides to vanish and create a new identity. Alex Super-Tramp: Master of his own destiny. -
Chris ditches his car
Chris ditches his car in the Mojave desert two miles down the riverbed to the south shore of Lake Mead. -
Alex meets Crazy Ernie
Alex met and got a ride from a guy named Crazy Ernie. He offered Alex a job in California and started working for Ernie. After working for Ernie for 11 days, he realized Ernie wasn't going to pay him so he stole a bike and left. -
Alex gets ticketed for hitchhiking
Alex had gotten ticketed for hitchhiking near Willow Creek, which was sent to his parents. His parents then had their first clue at where Chris was. -
Alex meets Jan Burres
Near the town of Orick, Alex met two rubber tramps. One of them was named Jan. Jan and her boyfriend picked Alex up and drove him all the way to Orick Beach and stayed for a week. He then after kept in touch with them every month or two for two years. -
Chris (Alex) meets Wayne Westerberg
On the way back from purchasing some parts for a combine, Westerberg sees a hitchiking Chris, and takes him to Sunburst, offering him a place to stay for a while. -
Alex begins to work for Wayne
Wayne offers Alex a job and lets Alex rent a house with the other workers. Alex becomes to see the town and workers as a family. -
National Park Service Rangers find Chris' car
Chris had ditched his car into the Mojave desert to get rid of a part of his past and so his family could not track his whereabouts. -
Alex leaves Carthage
Wayne is sentenced to four months in jail which left Alex without a job, so Alex had to leave for a while. He gave Wayne a book and sent postcards expressing his feelings towards his new family. -
Alex goes to Needles, California
After working for Wayne, it was almost winter and Alex needed to go to warmer climates. He then hiked to Topock, Arizona and found a canoe for sale. He paddled it down the Colorado River to the Gulf of California and across the border of Mexico. -
Alex sends a postcard to Wayne
At the end of November, Alex sends a postcard to Wayne talking about his journey and wishing Wayne well and the others well. -
Alex Crosses the Mexican Border
Alex decides to sneak across the Mexican border and makes it. Although he made it, he gets lost paddling through all the canals and coming to dead ends. -
Alex Meets Mexican Duck Hunters
Alex had lost all hope in paddling to the ocean, but then he meets Mexican duck hunting guides who speak English. One of them agrees to take him to the ocean and he is ecstatic. -
Alex almost gets lost at sea
As Alex was paddling along, the sea started to get violent and he almost couldn't make it back to the shore. -
Alex gets caught by immigration authorities
Trying to cross back over to America, Alex gets caught by the immigration authorities and spends the night in jail. -
Alex returns to society
Alex decides to go into Los Angeles to get an ID and a job. He quickly finds out he can't stand to be in society anymore and goes back to tramping across America. -
Alex goes into Las Vegas
Alex decides to bury everything and go to Las Vegas in search of a job without anything, including an ID. -
Alex quits his job and leaves Las Vegas
Alex becomes tired of his job, so he leaves Las Vegas. He digs up his belongings and starts to travel again. He finds out his camera is soiled and is now unable to take pictures of his adventures until he gets another. -
Alex finds Bullhead City
When Alex had stopped into Bullhead City, he decided he liked it a lot and wanted to stay. He stayed there a little over two months and went by his real name. He also had opened a bank account and started a full-time job at McDonald's, which his parents' investigator did not catch. -
Alex writes to Jan
This was one of very few times that Chris had written to Jan with a return address on it. -
Alex stays with Jan
After getting bored of Bullhead City, he decides to go meet up with Jan and spend some time with all the other vagabonds around her. He helps her sell things and makes friends with everyone he can. He also mentions his plans to go stay in the Alaskan wilderness. -
Alex leaves Niland
After staying with Jan for a while, Alex announces that he needs to start heading for Alaska. He doesn't accept money or many items from Jan when she drops his off at the McDonald's he had worked at for his last paycheck. -
Chris Leaves South Dakota
Chris leaves South Dakota in a sunflower seed truck to start on his Alaskan journey. -
Chris arrives in Fairbanks
After hitching a ride with a man named Stuckey, Alex finally arrives in Fairbanks, Alaska. -
Last postcard from "Alex"
April 1992; Chris, under the name Alex, sends one last postcard to Wayne Westerberg stating that he made it to Alaska and is about to set foot "into the wild". -
Alex sets foot onto the Stampede Trail
Jim Gallien picks up Alex as a hitchhiker and takes him to the trailhead and gives him a few more things to help prepare for his journey. -
The day Chris hitchhikes to the Stampede Trail
April 28th is the day that Chris gets up and hitchhikes by Jim Gallien to the Stampede Trail. -
Alex Falls Through Ice Without Injury
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Chris finds an abandoned bus
Chris finds the abandoned bus in which he stays in while on his escapade. -
Chris sees a grizzly bear
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Chris attempted and failed to shoot ducks
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Chris finally succeeds and shoots a spruce grouse
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Chris bags a squirrel
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Chris can't cross river back to civilization
Chris had decided it was time for him to walk out of the wild and tell his stories. When he got to the river to get back to civilization, he had found it was unable to be crossed. -
Chris's health begins to decline
On July 30th Chris writes "Extremely weak, fault of pot speed. Much trouble just to stand up. Starving. Great Jeopardy." -
Chris makes 100 days in his Alaskan Odyssey
Chris writes in his journal "Day 100! Made it!" "But in weakest condition of life. Death looms as serious threat. Too weak to walk out, have literally become TRAPPED in the wild. -
Chris' Death
Chris McCandless' body is found in the bus by hunters. It is thought that he died several weeks before, based on decomposition. -
Chris writes his last words
In his journal Chris writes "Beautiful Blueberries." A few days later he writes "I have had a happy life and thank the lord. Goodbye and may god bless all!" -
Chris' body is found
Ken Thompson, Ferdie Swanson, and Gordon Samel make their way down the Stampede trail and meet a couple of hikers who were near the bus. On the outside of the bus is Alex's SOS note and a terrible smell came from within the bus. Within hours medics are on the scene, taking the decomposed remains to the morgue. -
"Dead Hiker" Story aired in Anchorage news
A few days before the news of McCandless appeared in the NYT, there was an article about a dead hiker aired in the Anchorage Daily News. The article said the boy was un identified and that if anyone were to have any information on who the person may be, to contact the Alaskan State troopers