Tuesday, August 21, 2012

August 18th 2012,
If you google his name the only date that is suggested for is death is August 18th 1992. Twenty years ago sometime in this week, Chris McCandless died in an abandon bus on the Stampede Trail. James and I have been working for a company here in Healy Alaska called Denali ATV Adventures since May and they actually have a ATV tour on this infamous Stampeded Trail. James has been working as a guide, guiding up and down just 9 miles of this trail and finally this week we walked past the 9 mile marker "into the wild" as Chris put it. Its amazing how this story has brought travelers from all over the world to take their picture in front of the magic bus. I've been working in the Office for Denali ATV and have come across a number of people asking me how to get there and if we'll take them.

We hit the trail the evening of the 18th of August twenty years later.
Now I hate to say it, but when we came to the Teklanika River (the river Chris could not make it back across) it was extremely low, taking us less then 10 minutes for our party of 5 to cross. It was only knee high and the current wasn't that strong. Why do I hate to say it? I don't really know exactly. Could be because I wanted it to be harder for Chris's sake maybe it was because all the locals said it was. Any rate it was an easy crossing over the Taklanika the day we were there.

We walked on. We went through a beaver pond and splashed our way to camp. Over drinks we talked about the bus, Chris, work, the Teklanika and how lucky we were.

In the morning, our throats parched and with no water to drink we hiked on to a little stream we named Brian James Springs, in honor of the coworker who let us borrow his water filter.

By noon we had made it to the bus. No one was there. The Bus was all ours and it was amazing. Not only did the bus look in better shape then everyone had said it was, it was a living breathing shrine to this image and idea of being In the Wild. Yes, the windows have been shot out by the locals and there was a garbage area behind the bus, not to mention the obvious bathroom choices people had made. But despite all that it was THE BUS.

Now I know its just a bus, but to call it "just a bus" takes away from what it can really represent. I remember watching the film before heading up to Alaska in 2008. I remember recalling the story when I went backpacking by myself for a week. I remember crying on a plane while reading the book heading to Missouri. I'd love to say I like the story because I think I know what Chris was looking for, but I can't know that for sure. What I do know is that the story reminds me of the search for freedom and thus the bus represents that search.

Now I know this might be strange, but when we sat down on the bed in the back of the bus, it was extremely comfortable. James and I are used to sleeping on floors or dirt, but this bed was like a dream hammock. So yes, I know this sounds creepy, but we slept in Chris's bed.


Our hike back was filled with the feeling accomplishment. When we hit the Teklanika River it had risen quite a few inches. It was actually at one point at my crouch. The current was strong. It took full concentration. In a day and a half, the river had gone from simple to moderately hard, a few more inches and it would have been a true struggle to cross. Our minds were at ease.

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