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Graduation
Chris Graduated from Emory Universtiy in Atlanta, and this was when the ceremony took place. -
Period: to
Chris McChadless's Journey
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Mothers Day
Chris gives his mother a gift which he hasnt done in two years. Chris doesn't give or accepts gifts, but decided to get her one anyway. Later he decideds to stick to no gifts afte they offer to get him a new car and pay for law school. Which he feels makes them think that they bought his respect which it didn't. -
Last letter to the McCandlesses
Chris mails a copy of his final transcript to his parents. This is the last time they hear from him. -
His journey begins
Chris packs up his stuff and drives out west for a new experience to life. He doesnt want to continue living the way he did, so he decides to give himself the new name, Alex Supertramp. -
Lake Mead
Chris arrives at Lake Mead in his Datsun and pulls off the road 2 miles down onto the south shore. This is where he sets up camp and gets his first taste of freedom. -
Forced out of Lake Mead
A bunch of Thunderheads roll in over the Lake and release heavy rainfall. THis causes a flash flood in which Chris gets his tent and other belongings in the truck before its too late. The engine gets wet and in multiple attempts to start it, he drains the battery. He leaves the truck there and continues on foot. -
Hike around Lake Mead
Chris decides to hike around the lake but due to the high tempuatures, he was struck with heat stroke. So some boaters picked him up and dropped him off at Callville Bay. Were he now hitchhikes and travels around the west for the next 2 months. -
Chris's parents arrive at his apartment
They showed up to his apartment to find out he left back at the end of June, and told the post office to hold all letters until August 1st. They are frightened by his dissapearance, and became extremly worried. -
Crazy Ernie
He pickes up Chris and offers him a job. After 11 days of working, Chris realizes he wont be paid. So he steals a bike and rides away, and then hitckhikes northwest through Red Bluff, Weaverville, Willow Creek, Arcata in CA, Orick Beach, stayed a week then continued north to Pistol River, Coos Bay, Seal Rock, Manzanita, As-toria; Hoquiam, Humptulips,
Queets; Forks, Port Angeles, and Port Townsend, Seattle -
Chris was ticketed
He was ticketed for hitchhiking near Willow Creek. The officer demanded for his address so he put his parents address. When the ticket showed up, they were worried and hired a private investigator. -
Westerburg
Chris is hitchhiking and is picked up by Westerburg, They shortly come to be friends and Chris will continue to send him postcards until his death in Alaska. -
Anchorage Daily News
3 days before the story reached the Times, it was on the front page in the Anchorage Daily News. Pg 70 -
Hitchiking again
He had been traveling around the west coast but on this day he catches a ride to Needles, California. He was excited to see the Colorado river, and then marched to Topock, Arizona. Where he saw a canoe for sale, and decided to canoe down the river to the Gulf of California, 400 miles away, He canoed to the Bill Williams River, a tributary of the Colorado, then the Colorado River Indian Reservation, the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, and the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. -
US Army Yuma Proving Grounds
Chris paddles through this highly restricted area and then stopped, sending a postcard to Westerburg. -
Mexican Border
Chris canoes down to the Mexican Border where he sneaks in unnoticed through the open floodgates at the Morelos Dam. Afterwards he gets trapped in marshes, and dead-end channels. He traves west on accident where he finds natives that give him a path to the Gulf. -
Continuing to the Gulf
Chris is stopped at a dead-end, he finds that 1/2 miles away is another canal. And it takes him 3 days to hike across with his canoe/gear. As he canoes down the canal, it gets smaller and is now littered with waterfalls, But the canal ends in a big swamp that he trudges through. -
Finally the gulf is reached
He comes across some english-speaking duck hunters, but they inform him that no waterways end at the coast. So they tow him to the gulf at El Golfo de Santa Clara where he spends the next few days taking pictures along the coast. He camps for 20 days on a plateau, until high wind forces him out so he canoes back up the coast. -
Abandons Canoe
During a storm the storm surge almost swamps and flips the canoe. In frustration, he destroys an oar and abandons the canoe on the beach and decides to finally hike back north. He hasnt seen anyone for 34 days and survived on minimal amounts of food, thus giving him a false sense of security and overconfidence which he takes to the Alaskan Wilderness. -
Border Patrol
He was caught trying to sneak back into the country without and ID and was jailed. He made up a story that got him realeased from jail but without his firearms. For the next 6 weeks he traveled the Southwest, burying money and getting it when he left to avoid being mugged, -
Los Angeles
Chris visits Los Angeles, with intent to get an ID and a job. He was so uncomfortable with society that he went right back to the road. 6 days later he camped at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with a german couple who recognized him. THey noted that he lost almost 25 pounds but his spirit was still high. Showing that no matter how much suffering he took, he kept going with happy spirits. -
Back to Lake Mead
Chris returns to Lake Mead and his datsun was impounded long ago, being that it was 7 and a half months before. He dug back up his belongings, involving his old license plate, other things before hitchhiking to Las Vegas. -
Las Vegas
He buries his backpack and enters the city with no money or ID. This is where he found a job at an Italian resturant and stays in Las Vegas for the next few months, -
Leaves Las Vegas
He quits his job and hits the road again after unburying his backpack. Due to him not keeping a journal from May to September. But from a letter we see that he was somewhere around Astoria, Oregon for July and August. -
Back on track
he hitchhiked down Highway 101 back to California, where he headed east into the desert -
Bullhead City
When he shows up he sends a post card to Westerburg. He tells him he might stay in Bullhead. He liked the town that he stayed there for 2 months. he applied for a job with his actual name/social security number at McDonalds, but the private investigator never caught it. For what reason no one knows, but I feel it was because he was no longer worried about being caught. He keeps the job for 3 weeks and then quits. Also Charlie a crazy man gives him a ride and lets him stay in a vacant trailer. -
Jan Burres
Chris sends a postcard to Jan Burres which he heasnt seen in a while. It had a return address so they wrote back that they would be visiting that weekend. So on Dec. 9th he writes back that he is happy to see them anytime. Also that it was great to hear from them because he hasnt seen them in a while. -
Leaving Bullhead City
Chris eventually gets tired of everything from the job to the people and leaves town. -
Ronald Franz
Upon arriving at the slabs he meets a man named Ronald Franz which demanded to know where he lived. When Chris told him he didnt believe him and told Chris to show him how to get there. Him and Franz started talking and Franz lost his wife and only child ina car accident with a drunk driver. Sowhen he met Chris, his parenting feelings were brought back and he thought of Chris as his own. -
San Diego
After telling Franz that hes leaving, Franz lied about having to go to San Diego. So Franz drives him down there and he stays there for a while. Franz said it was very hard to leave him like that. -
Making a Call
Chris Calls Franz to wish him a happy 80th Birthday, Also he told Franz he couldnt find work in the city. -
Postcard to Jan Burres
He doesnt like it in San Deigo, and no jobs are popping up. He announces that he will be heading for Alaska no later than May 1st. In need of money he will go north in search for one. -
Seattle
Chris sends more postcards to Franz and the Burres's from Seattle. He is riding the rails for transportation and gets in trouble multiple times. -
Coachella, CA
Chris Leaves Seattle and goes back to California. When he reachs Coachella, CA he calls Franz. Overwhelmed Franz drives down and picks up Chris. He gives him lunch. When he learns that Westerburg offered Chris a job, Franz offers to drive him to Grand Junction, Colorado, which is the farthest he could go. He gives Chris gear and offers to adopt him, uncomfortable by the offer, Chris dodged it and insisted they talk when he gets back from Alaska. -
Leaving Franz once again
He drops Chris off on a shoulder on Highway 70. Franz then realizes how nice it was to have Chris in his company. -
Letter to Franz
He sends Franz a letter talking about how hes been working for 2 weeks now. No matter the offers hes getting, he wants start on Alaska no later than April 15th. ANd he yells at him to go out and the the country and experience new places. -
Mrs. Westerburg
She invites him to dinner on her son's constant requests. Instantly they hit it off and Mrs. Westerburg enjoyed his company as they talked for hours, mostly about books. He partied hard on the night of the 14th, and blew them away with his great piano skills. He eventually left on the 15th. -
1st postcard to Westerburg
He arrived by train and will be jumping the border. Once over he will turn North towards Alaska -
Liard River Hotsprings
6 days out he arrives on the border of the Yukon Territory. He bathed in the water and then tried to hitchhike North but no one picked him up for 2 days. While there he meets Stuckey who likes Alex enough that he agreed to drive him to White-Horse, but eventually he decides to just drive him the whole way. -
Greetings from Fairbanks
Him and Stucky reach Fairbank 2 days earlier, he gets fed and then learns about edible plants in Alaska. Alex sendsout postcards to Westerburg and Mr. and Mrs. Burres, in which he states that it would be the last time they hear from him. Almost if he was predicting something bad to happen. This might be his sense of danger going off, but his spirit made him continue into the wild. He buys a plant guide and a gun before continuing. -
Teklanika River
He wades through the little river, which was low at the time. He didnt get harmed, even though he fell through some ice afterwards. The next day he can see Mt. McKinley's peak, and discovers an abandoned old bus which is used as a camping site for hunters. -
Chris's hunting is poor
Saw a grizzly but did not shoot today; shot at but missed some ducks on the 4th; on the 5th finnaly shot and ate a spruce goose. Then he didnt shoot anything till the 9th. Then after wards everything looked up and he started to hunt better, -
Decisions, Decisions..
By now Chris hasnt traveled farther than 15 miles from the bus. He decided that the bus would be his base camp for the remandier of the summer. -
Losing a crown
A crown fell off one of his molars, then he climbed a 3000 foot butte that he can see a lot of the Alaskan Mountain Range -
Plans for the Bus
McCandless wrote a list of housekeeping chores on some bark: collect and store ice from the river for refrigerating meat, cover the vehicle's missing windows with plastic, lay in a supply of firewood, and clean the old ash from the stove. And then made a long term list: map the area, improvise a bathtub.
collect skins and feathers to sew into clothing, build a bridge across the creek, and repair the mess kit. -
Hunting trips
today and to June 9th he records the hunts. June 1: 5 Squirrel. June 2: Porcupine,
Ptarmigan, 4 Squirrel, and a Grey Bird. June 3: Another Porcupine! 4 Squirrel, 2 Grey
Bird, and a Ash Bird. June 4: A THIRD PORCUPINE! Squirrel, Grey Bird. On June 5,
He shot a Canada goose as big as a Christmas turkey. Then on the 9th he shoots a moose. -
Finishes "Family Happiness"
He has marked several pages that stuck out to him, tommorrow he hakies 25 miles out and goes to the River, which is now unthawed and a streaming torrent of cold water. He couldnt cross the raging river. if he went a mile upstream he might have been able to cross but he returned to the bus. -
Returns to the bus
n the last three weeks of July, he killed thirty-five squirrels, four spruce grouse, five jays and woodpeckers, and two frogs, all of which he supplemented with wild potatoes, wild rhubarb, various species of berries, and large numbers of mushrooms. Despite all this food he still goes hungry -
Ominous Journal Entry
He writes that he is weak and starving, he can tell life is slowly slipping from him. -
Chris passes on
He dies to starvation, more likley to be swainsonine poisoning, which in turn helped in his death. As present in the epilouge the wild potato seeds contain akaloids, which when hungry cannot be flushed out of the body. - In memory of Chris McCandless -
Anchorage Daily News
3 days before the story got to the Times, it was on the front page in this paper. -
Chris's Story
Westerburg hears of Chris's death and phones the Alaska state troopers and gives them information about him. -
McCandless's hear the news
First Sam, his older borther heard about it, then he phoned up Sam Fish. Fish is Carine, Chris's sisters husband, and he tells Carine about Chris's death -
Crown falls off
A crown on one of his molars falls off, he also discovers 3000 feet butte. On top of the butte he can see the whole range.
