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Story begins
Christopher Johnson McCandless graduates from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He tells his parents that he is going to spend the summer traveling in his car, a used yellow Datsun. -
Period: to
Chris's life
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Nevada
Arrives at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada. -
On foot again
Abandons his car after it is damaged by a flash flood. Loads his belongings into his backpack and sets out on foot. -
Hitch hiking
Hitchhikes to California's Lake Tahoe, then hikes into the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Travels to the Cascade mountains, across the lava beds of the Columbia River basin, and across the Idaho panhandle. Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob discover McCandless by the side of the road and befriend him. -
Ticket
Receives a ticket for hitchhiking in Willow Creek, California. -
Canoe
In Needles, California, reaches the Colorado River. Walks south through the desert, arriving in Topock, Arizona, where he buys a second-hand canoe. -
Canoing
Canoes on the Colorado River, apparently traveling through Lake Havasu, the Bill Williams River, the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. Sends a postcard to Wayne Westerberg at the Sioux Falls work-release facility where his friend has been incarcerated. -
Desolate Plateau
Pulls his canoe out of the water and sets up camp on the edge of a desolate plateau. -
Caught
Caught by U.S. Immigration officials when he tries to slip back into the country from Mexico. Spends one night in jail. -
Datsun
Unearths the few belongings that he buried in the sand when he abandoned his Datsun. -
Veges
Buries his backpack and hitchhikes into Las Vegas. -
Bye Veges
Leaves Las Vegas. -
Oregon
Possibly living in coastal Oregon, sends a postcard to Jan Burres complaining about the interminable fog and rain. -
Arizona
Arrives in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he works for two months at McDonald's and lives in an empty RV overseen by an old man named Charlie. -
Postacrd
Sends a postcard to Jan Burres in Niland, California, including a map so she and boyfriend Bob can visit him in Bullhead City. -
Postcard #2
Sends postcards to Burres and Franz from Seattle. -
Working
Works at Wayne Westerberg's grain elevator in Carthage, South Dakota. -
University of Alaska
Reads up on edible plants at the University of Alaska's Fairbanks campus. Buys a used gun and sends postcards. Leaving the campus, hikes west. -
Moose
Kills a moose and takes a photo of himself with the carcass. -
S.O.S.
Posting an S.O.S. note on the bus door, forages nearby for berries. Writes his final journal entry: "Beautiful blueberries." -
Dead
Dies, apparently of starvation, in his sleeping bag in the bus along the Sushana River in Alaska. -
Discovered
Hikers and hunters discover McCandless's S.O.S. note, then his body in the bus.