What role, if any, did ...
Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:31 pm
Chris's consumption of wild mushrooms have in his death? From his terse journal, we know that toward the end of July, he wrote, "many mushrooms. Dream." At least one of his photographs shows several mushrooms next to a plastic zip-lock bag of seeds and a dead squirrel. The mention of "dream" alone suggests a possible hallucinogenic effect.
A significant amount of the medical literature on mushroom poisoning indicates it is extremely difficult to differentiate the poisonous from the non-poisonous wild mushrooms. In his already weakened condition brought on by a combination of physical exertion and caloric deficits over nearly three months in the wild, poisonous mushrooms might have hastened his death. Jon Krakauer chose instead to focus on the supposed toxicity of the potato seeds (there was no such thing) and, later, the toxins from possible mold on the seeds that stemmed from wet conditions. Chris' journal indicates he recovered enough from whatever knocked him down to get back out and hunt, but symptoms from the consumption of poisonous mushrooms often return after it appears a victim has recovered.
Of course, none of this changes the outcome, and this focus on his death ignores the fact that he lived much in those two years after disappearing (keep in mind that Chris's definition of "living" differed substantially from others').
Here are a couple sites to consider...
http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b1998_17.htm
http://namyco.org/toxicology/poison_syndromes.html
A significant amount of the medical literature on mushroom poisoning indicates it is extremely difficult to differentiate the poisonous from the non-poisonous wild mushrooms. In his already weakened condition brought on by a combination of physical exertion and caloric deficits over nearly three months in the wild, poisonous mushrooms might have hastened his death. Jon Krakauer chose instead to focus on the supposed toxicity of the potato seeds (there was no such thing) and, later, the toxins from possible mold on the seeds that stemmed from wet conditions. Chris' journal indicates he recovered enough from whatever knocked him down to get back out and hunt, but symptoms from the consumption of poisonous mushrooms often return after it appears a victim has recovered.
Of course, none of this changes the outcome, and this focus on his death ignores the fact that he lived much in those two years after disappearing (keep in mind that Chris's definition of "living" differed substantially from others').
Here are a couple sites to consider...
http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b1998_17.htm
http://namyco.org/toxicology/poison_syndromes.html