Unprepared

General discussions relating to the story.
Mack
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:37 pm

Unprepared

Postby Mack » Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:21 pm

Hello all. New to the forum and just recently saw the movie. While I admire Chris's passion and desire I couldn't help but wonder why he went into one of the harshest environments on earth so ill-prepared. How long would he have lasted had he not found the "magic bus"? In contrast to Chris's adventure I've read and seen the documentary of Richard (Dick) Proennekes "Alone in the wilderness". At the age of 51 Dick goes into the Alaskan wilderness, builds a cabin with nothing but hard work and rudimentary tools and managed to live there in harmony with the surrounding land and animals for over 30 years. It's a very inspiring story and I would highly recommend reading it or watching the documentary. It's quite amazing what this man accomplished. But I digress. Christopher went into the Alaskan wilderness with no form of shelter, very limited food and very little knowledge of the enviroment surrounding him. Those are 3 things imperative for survival in the outdoors. I'm not suggesting Christopher was on a suicide mission, I just think a kid with his education would have thought this whole adventure through a lot more thouroughly.

Mr Verdant Green
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Re: Unprepared

Postby Mr Verdant Green » Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:20 pm

Personally, I’m not sure why he took so little, but others seem to understand it better.

On The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jon [Krakuaer] said the most inspiring element of Chris's personality was the "impossibly high standards" he set for himself.

Krakauer said:

"It was this wonderful thing about [Christopher McCandless] and his downfall because he believed that it's wrong to get too comfortable in life. It's wrong to take the easy path. You're here to live, not to sit on the couch. Everyone can take something from that, and it's just, get outside your comfort zone. I mean, all of us want to stay with what we know and what's comfortable. And he believed you grow and have the best adventures and learn the most if you just step outside that comfort zone."

When told that “many people have pointed to a few decisions Chris made—not taking a map, not having an axe and carrying a small-caliber rifle—saying he made critical mistakes that lead directly to his death,” Krakauer answers:

“But this was by design. [Chris] believed that if you're going to have an adventure and you know the outcome, it's not an adventure. It's not a challenge. So he cut it down to the bare minimum that he thought he would need to survive.”

Link to the full synopsis and slideshow of the episode:

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Sean-Penns-Latest-Passion/


Personally, I agree that getting out of your comfort zone can help you grow, but I’m not sure about the sentence that includes both the words “wonderful” and “downfall”.

Long Travler
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Re: Unprepared

Postby Long Travler » Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:37 pm

What Chris McCandless and Richard Proennekes did is very inspirational. I agree that Chris did make some mistakes that lead to his inevitable death, but he didn't care for all that, all he wanted to do is live!

When I go on my adventure I will go prepared. I have been preparing. And Krakauer is right about what Chris thought: "if you're going to have an adventure and you know the outcome, it's not an adventure. It's not a challenge."
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Mack
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:37 pm

Re: Unprepared

Postby Mack » Wed Jan 20, 2010 10:07 pm

"I agree that Chris did make some mistakes that lead to his inevitable death, but he didn't care for all that, all he wanted to do is live!"


See, that's the part I don't understand. If all he wanted to do was live he should have thought things out a little more. His education at Emory didn't help him one bit in the wilderness. Perhaps he should have taken his trust fund money and taken some survival courses. Not saying that what he did with the money was wrong, I just think it may have served him better to obtain the knowledge he needed for his adventure.
Anyway, good luck on your excursion. Hopefully you learned from HIS mistakes and have a much better outcome. One thing you have in your favor that Chris didn't is Youtube. There are tons of videos on basic survival skills from building a shelter to making/ setting traps to preserving meat/ fish etc.

Long Travler
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Re: Unprepared

Postby Long Travler » Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:24 pm

Thanks, and I have taken my courses already and already have been on two mini-adventures. I'm beginning my adventure this May.
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jif690
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Re: Unprepared

Postby jif690 » Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:45 pm

I don't think McCandless was unprepared for his adventure as far as equipment or survival knowledge. He had learned about surviving well before his trip to Alaska. And as far as having a small calibre rifle, remember weight is a consideration when having to hike long distances with one,as well as the weight of the ammo you have to carry for it. In other words, you can carry a lot more .22 shells than you can say a 30-30 or 30.06. McCandless's hike around Lake Mead in Arizona's desert in summer climate is as dangerous and taxing as any he encountered during his spring/summer experience in Alaska.


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