The Magic Bus

[wildgirl142]

I watched Into The Wild lastnight and think the story of Christopher McCandless is amazing and heartbreaking. I decided to go online today to learn more about him and his experience, although I found pictures he took while in the wild there was nothing about the journal he wrote on his adventure. Does anybody know where to find that information? I watched multiple videos of people hiking to the bus and what they discovered and I was discusted and horrified to see that although people are interested to visit the place that Christopher spent his last 4 months of life and be in the moment the treatment of the bus and surrounding area was just sickining. You would think people would have more respect for something like this but instead the area was infested with trash everywhere. Older videos I saw showed the bus stocked with things like what the original picture of the inside of the bus when Chris was found looked like, older videos i saw showed the windows of the bus smashed out, the bus emptied out besides the blue suitcase and journal, matress and woodstove. It just goes to show in my eyes what Chris was trying to get away from this discusting society of people who have no respect and just GARBAGE. I dont know if it makes much sence to anybody else but just to learn more about him and his adventure and watching the movie and knowing about his hardship and survival and seeing the real pictures makes a connection to him and I just feel like instead of people going to the Magic Bus and just preserving this story and being respectful they go and destroy the bus and trash the place...it goes to show what fame can do.

[azinter]

definitely read the book.

[pezar]

I haven't seen any pics of the Bus being trashed, and I don't want to, nor do I want to hike to the Bus at this late date knowing it's likely just another trash tree out in the non-pristine wilderness. I want to remember it as Chris saw it. Your post reminded me of why the Unabomber set his bombs, he hated our plastic society and like Chris hiked into the woods to escape, but the further he got into the woods he saw ever more trash and remnants of modern society, and eventually he couldn't take anymore. That doesn't justify killing, but it at least helps one understand why some people are so angry at modern civilization, because humans leave indestructible plastic trash everywhere they go and there's no way to break any of this stuff down naturally. Some scientists have theorized that a few million years from now, long after we humans are gone, that nature will finally figure out a way to "digest" plastic trash. Can you imagine our plastic food containers being here in a million years? It's disgusting! Humans have killed Our Mother, and one has to wonder when she'll kill us back.

[Kodiak Dodge]

I haven't seen any pics of the Bus being trashed, and I don't want to, nor do I want to hike to the Bus at this late date knowing it's likely just another trash tree out in the non-pristine wilderness. I want to remember it as Chris saw it. Your post reminded me of why the Unabomber set his bombs, he hated our plastic society and like Chris hiked into the woods to escape, but the further he got into the woods he saw ever more trash and remnants of modern society, and eventually he couldn't take anymore. That doesn't justify killing, but it at least helps one understand why some people are so angry at modern civilization, because humans leave indestructible plastic trash everywhere they go and there's no way to break any of this stuff down naturally. Some scientists have theorized that a few million years from now, long after we humans are gone, that nature will finally figure out a way to "digest" plastic trash. Can you imagine our plastic food containers being here in a million years? It's disgusting! Humans have killed Our Mother, and one has to wonder when she'll kill us back.

Where did plastic come from? outer space? Sorry to inform you but the Bus is not Chris's. It was there long before he came and lived there for 4 months. And so was the Stampede trail. Quite ignorant. It was originally developed as a trail serving as an overland access to Kantishna (as opposed to floating down the rivers). It was upgraded starting in the 1930s to access an antimony mine, and turned into a full-blown road in the '60s. I recall reading that the buses were used to transport workers to and from the mine, and were intentionally abandonded to be used by hunters as emergency shelters. What I've recently been reading is that they were converted by the company and used to house road construction workers. My understanding is that there was a bus roughly every 20 miles, all the way to Kantishna. The others were removed.

[pezar]

Yes, dude, I know all about the history of the Stampede Trail. Jon Krakauer said that there were 3 or 4 buses, and that the others were removed. This one is situated at about the point where the road building stopped, apparently. I never said that "the bus is Chris's". I'm sorry that Ascetic insulted you but you don't have to go all medieval on all of us because of it. Alaska is full of people wanting to live off the land. That's not the point, however. As I've posted, the point isn't that Chris went off into the wilderness and died a lonely death, it's what he did in the Lower 48 that really resonates. If you have an issue with Ascetic take it up with him please.

[Kodiak Dodge]

Yes, dude, I know all about the history of the Stampede Trail. Jon Krakauer said that there were 3 or 4 buses, and that the others were removed. This one is situated at about the point where the road building stopped, apparently. I never said that "the bus is Chris's". I'm sorry that Ascetic insulted you but you don't have to go all medieval on all of us because of it. Alaska is full of people wanting to live off the land. That's not the point, however. As I've posted, the point isn't that Chris went off into the wilderness and died a lonely death, it's what he did in the Lower 48 that really resonates. If you have an issue with Ascetic take it up with him please.

Sorry. I agree. seems everything about him always comes back to the short lived Alaska part. You don't see people wanting to travel to the Arizona desert or anywhere else he's been. I've met many people who come here to come see the bus. I've even given people trips in in my buggy. I even thought about charging to make a little side money. Maybe next summer.

[pezar]

http://www.christophermccandless.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=339

My opinion, different from most. Check it out. I personally would visit some of the other places Chris went to before going to the Bus, Salton City, Carthage SD, etc. I have posted more than once bashing the Bus Groupies. I don't know why people keep focusing on Alaska, he only spent a short time there and didn't know that a bus was even there, originally he planned to hike five hundred miles to the Bering Strait which was an even dumber idea. As it was, he starved in just three and a half months. There's an article that describes how Jim Gallien pulled out all the stops to discourage Chris. I'll have to go back in my bookmarks and grab it.

[pezar]

http://www.chipbrown.net/articles/intowild.htm

Here ya go. Gallien tried to discourage him, but for nothing. I personally would never try to live off the land in Alaska-everything is covered with several feet of snow for most of the year. I'm looking at SW Oregon myself.

[Kodiak Dodge]

Honestly Alaska is great for about 5-6 months. Interior is pretty dry. We don't even have any snow yet and the temp is 56 right now. Sitting in my shop with the door open. By the way I'm in Fairbanks. Great to summer here and then head south to Mexico. Thats going to be the plan when I retire. I own a couple duplexes here in Fairbanks. Whiskey and exploring in the summer and Tequila and women on a boat down toward south Mexico in the winter. Maybe a couple weeks of snow machining up here in April.