MY Intro and opinion

[FACEEAST]

First off , Hello my name is Chris I have served with the USMC for 14 years , I have two children and I instruct survival both for the Military as well as civilians .
My opinions will come from three things , an open mind , a Father and a survival instructor so I shouldnt offend ANYONE .

First I have read the book and have seen the movie and gathered my own intel on Chris , he seems to have been one hell of a guy and if all I have read is true we need WAY more of people like him and less of the "its all about me"types that we have now in the world .

As a Father , if one of my children did what he did it would destroy me , I love my children with all of my heart and soul.
It has been proven that Walt abused his wife but not his kids , I am here to tell you that witnessing such fights is STILL abuse.
I know how my kids feel about my wife and I .
I think Chris was still just a little selfish in his actions , there has never been any recorded proof that he tried to communicate his feelings to his parents only his sister , he could have talked to them .
My point about the way he up and left his family is this , I understand the need for mental and spiritual freedom but he was wrong no matter how romantic it seems , in the end his unselfishness became very selfish.

As a survival instructor I teach individual people to LIVE in places where most people would perish.....I said LIVE , not eek out an existince . YOU NEED 4 THINGS TO LIVE SHELTER , FIRE , WATER , FOOD.......those are the four elements that keep us alive.
I have been to Alaska to train , Alaska is one of the most unforgiving terrains on the globe......period!!! the people that live in Alaska (the wild part not the citys) spend more time hunting and fishing than any thing.....(surviving) they have also lived there all of their lives and what they know was passed down to them.
I always tell my students this , knowledge weighs nothing......Chris was a reader , he was smart but he failed the greatest test in the world.....his own survival......you can say OHHHH he is a legend ohhhhhh he is this he is that but when you are ALONE dehydrated and starving I promise you there is NOTHING cool or romantic about it.....it hurts , it takes longer than you will want it too and you feel it all the way until you die.
I never go ANYWHERE without reading on what lives where I am going , I already have the skills I just simply add a little info about the area I am going too . You have to have a base of skills .
I just cant understand why someone so smart would act so freaking stupid about the most important thing there is....YOUR LIFE!!

IF any of you want to do what he did , take a survival course first , read books learn everything you can and then go.........

I know Chris would not want to see others hurt by what he did , he would in fact instruct others as I did......KNOW!! and then GO!!

[admin]

Chris,

Thanks for your post.
I have the utmost respect for those putting themselves in the line - as I have done many times in a previous job.

What I do respect utmost, is nature. I do not have your skills, nor pretend to. But, I respect nature in many ways. Surfing is the closest I get to being completely alone with nature. It is an amazing feeling. Calmness, contentment - it all comes together. What she serves me in the water, I must deal with. But I deal with these challenges with knowledge. Knowledge from time in the water, research here and there and growing up with the water. I have also spent time alone in forests etc etc, but in the surf is where I am 'one with nature'.

I learn from my mistakes but pride can take over every now and then. Chris was also very proud and stubborn. If put in the same shoes, perthaps I may have done the same as him. But I only wish that he wasnt so stubborn. I would also be the last to cry for help. Foolish...

I nearly did take off as he did, when I was very young, I had planned it in my head, left home and was ready to take the plunge, but reality hit me very hard. One part was my very strong and strict father and the other was the knowledge that home with family was good. Very good. All of us that have that 'gift' of being with the ones we love and family - should take a good look at others in perilious situations. If you (as a reader) are able to look at this website, that means that you have some sort of freedom. Some sort of freedom of being. Respect it and respect those that gave it to you - ie your parents.

In the end, I did leave home at a relatively early age, to begin my 'walk into the wild'.

Adam (admin)

[10161116]

Hello,

I would just like to add to both of your comments, though they are very sensible and i do agree with them, that i just cant help thinking how much chris has influenced so many lives through his death. Whether this be in being more prepared than chris was for similar excursions or just in his thoughts and approach to life.

For me, i cant believe i have been this influenced by one mans journey through life. In his death i, and i am sure many others, have had a real reality check of what is really important and although i would love to have met him i dont think this impact would have come if he had survived his journey.

Sorry if you do not agree with me but i have only just read and seen the film and it has truly made a huge impact upon my thoughts and what i really want in life and this i thank chris for.

Kev

[neversusie]

I understand that some people find that his journey into the wild and unknown was very enlightning and cool and all that. However, what it tells me is that he was a very careless, selfish person. You can say that it's your life to do with as you please; but you can only do that if you have absolutely no feeling for anyone else in your life. Everything that one does affects someone else. Few people are truly and completely alone. The consequences are huge. My 17 year old son saw this movie when he was about 15 and thought that it was the greatest thing -- for this young man to up and leave everything . . . walk away from the stifling hold that society can have on you, walk away from the man-made "machine," walk away from people who have hurt you, walk away from the responsibility of living. It's far too romanticized in this movie for most young people (and I'd say male more than female) to watch and understand what really happened. After my son gushed on and on about how cool it all was, I asked if he fell asleep before the end -- you know, the part where his own stupidity killed him. The part where his selfishnish finally resulted in a slow and incredibly painful death. The part where his body was found frozen in a bus. The part where his foolishness paid off in a never-ending pain for his parents, his sister. My sons are both avid hunters and love being outdoors. They are preparing right now to leave in a couple of weeks for a 100 mile backpacking trip in Yosemite with their uncle. They are intelligent, have done a lot of reading/watching shows on survival and living outdoors, etc. and yet they would be very ill-prepared to head off to Alaska to "find themselves." I think that intellectualy they would realize this, but as young men think it would be just too cool to take off on that adventure. Anyway -- that's a lot of jumbled thoughts I guess, but my point is that there is nothing heroic or impressive about what McCandless did. He foolishly lost his life and caused a great deal of pain to some people who cared about him. A lot of people have dealt with abusive (to each other) parents and been okay. A lot of people have dealt with worse than that and been okay. This kid should have tried a different venue for making his point.

[10161116]

I do understand where you are coming from, however you say he is "selfish" but i say "looking after ones self". I think we have to much thought into what other people think or might say to or about us which has major influences in what we want in life, and here is a man that said i love you but i need to do what i need to do for me. To ask someone not to do something through fear that you might get hurt by their actions, i think, is more selfish.

[stilltrekker]

Dear Neversusie and others,

I have read many posts saying "Chris did this to make a point to his family" or "Chris did this out of selfishness" and so on. As a former 16-year-old runaway (girl) who left my family with only a vague "I'll call you sometime" letter and someone who hitchhiked alone across the country more than once as a teenager, I think that neither was the case. Yes, he was intentionally cutting himself off from his family, and yes, he thought more about what he wanted than what others wanted, but I deeply believe he was just experiencing life, unfettered by society's usual demands. When you are young and on the road, you don't stop loving the people you left behind; you just don't worry about them. You worry about how you're going to get to the next town when dropped off on a lonely mountain road, how you're going to get water when you're standing under the desert sun, where you're going to find the next meal or the next shelter or the next friendly face, and sometimes about how you can get out of the car you're riding in before something terrible happens to you. Sometimes you think about the folks back home with a tinge of guilt, but they were okay before you left so you assume they'll be okay after you're gone. Does the traveler realize how deeply the family can be hurt? Does the traveler know that every night is anguish, that every breath brings a reminder of the missing one? I didn't. I loved my family then--though I was frustrated by typical teen issues--and, after a difficult reunion and the healing power of time, love them now. I regret the pain I caused them, but I don't regret my freedom flight. Would I counsel a young person considering the same to re-think their decision? Yes. It's not as safe of a world as it was when I was young, and I have seen life through the eyes of a parent. But I understand, or think I do, why Chris didn't contact his family. He just wasn't ready, and he died before he got the chance. If he had made it out of the wilderness, maybe he would have headed home. He did, after all, sign his final message with his family-given name.

[fellow]

Responsibilities of living should not exist as a statement. Freedom is a very important part of life (in my opinion and most likely others'). I understand selfishness and pain that was caused to others but if everyone acted as Chris did and faught for themselves and for their freedom, they would be a lot happier and in turn the pain of another would be lessened. Regarding the wilderness safety aspect, I believe that he did in fact know the risk of being unprepared. How could he not know the risk? Some people say that he was adventurous, which I am in full agreeance with although I believe it was more than just an adventure. Being the well educated person that Chris was, it seems that he did not want the risk of potential death to get in the way of his learning and enjoyment. I mean what's the point of living if you're not enjoying life? In a different way of stating that - it seems that he weighed the risk of death vs. his satisfaction and chose satisfaction or again to put it loosely, - He didn't care if he died -. This is shown in his not wearing a helmet while white water kayaking. He knew full well that it's an instant death but he made the choice to say "Regulations slow the world down - regulations are for the incompetent." Anyways I just want to defend him and state that selfishness should not have such a negative connotation. All of this is of course just my opinion and I am more than happy to be open to a different perspective.

Thank you for listening

[GoNorth]

This is shown in his not wearing a helmet while white water kayaking.

You are talking about the movie, not about the real Chris, who actually did not have any kayak at all, but a canoe, which he had bought for a rather calm part of the Colorado river (no rapids).
If you are really interested in the life of McCandless, you should really read the book.

[stilltrekker]

Thanks, GoNorth, for reminding us of the "hollywoodization" of Chris. I have also read the book, but it was a while ago, and the movie is more fresh in my mind.

Just a thought: If a book and a movie were made about each of our own lives, what would they portray about us, and would we approve?