Tag: Into The Wild

‘127 Hours’ Fan Rescued in Canyonlands National Park

Move over, McCandless pilgrims: With the success of last year’s 127 Hours, there just might be a new breed of death-defying travel movie fans on the block. The Guardian reports that a solo hiker was attempting to retrace Aron Ralston’s route through Little Blue John Canyon when he fell and broke his leg. The hiker, Amos Richards, hadn’t told anyone where he was going—he crawled in search of help for four days before being found by park rangers who’d noticed his abandoned campsite. Richards was treated at a hospital and has, thankfully, been released with all four limbs still attached. (Via Gawker)


‘Back to the Wild’: More on Christopher McCandless

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that members of the McCandless family recently traveled to Alaska to visit the old school bus where one of their own, Christopher McCandless, died. The visit was part of a promotional effort for a new book (and accompanying DVD), Back to the Wild, which will showcase McCandless’ photos and writing. Profits from the book will go to a non-profit aimed at helping “new mothers in need.”

As always, McCandless and his bus are a contentious subject in Alaska. After describing the parents’ visit, News-Miner writer Dermot Cole adds:

I have long believed that the junked bus ought to be moved, largely because it’s an attractive nuisance. With people ripping off additional parts of the bus as time goes by, it makes more sense to move it closer to Healy or somewhere else.

Year after year, a steady stream of unprepared people risk their lives trying to get to what would otherwise be seen as an example of environmental blight instead of a shrine.

 


Swiss Hiker Drowns Near McCandless Bus

The 29 year-old woman, Claire Ackermann, died while crossing the Teklanika River on the Stampede Trail this weekend. Her companion told state troopers that they weren’t on their way to visit the old school bus where Christopher McCandless died in 1992, but the incident has renewed concerns about McCandless pilgrims nonetheless.

The Anchorage Daily News story about Ackermann’s death notes a number of recent near-misses for other hikers attempting the crossing, and one local resident told the paper: “Honestly, I’m amazed this hasn’t happened earlier.” (Via @lunaticcarl)


Jon Krakauer Talks Chris McCandless and Pat Tillman

In this Daily Beast interview, the “Into the Wild” author talks about his new book on the NFL star-turned-soldier, and what Tillman and McCandless had in common:

They were both uncommonly idealistic. They were both pretty hardass in their ideals and sticking to them. But they chose such different paths—McCandless dropped out of society, while Tillman was all about living in this world and doing your duty. They were both very similar and very different.

Krakauer also explains why “Into the Wild” is his favorite of his four books. (Via The Book Bench)


‘Out of the Wild’: Adventures in Tastelessness?

A new travel reality show premiered on the Discovery Channel this week. Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment follows nine people who’ve been dropped into the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, with “just three days of survival training and limited supplies.” And, the promo claims dramatically, “Not everyone will make it Out of the Wild.” Sound familiar? Hey, yeah, that is kind of like what happened to that McCandless kid, now that I think about it.

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Movies and Books That Inspired Travel Booms

Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild”—and Sean Penn’s movie adaptation—have boosted tourism in parts of Alaska more than 100 percent, and the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy caused a 34 percent increase in travel to New Zealand during its run a few years back, according to a piece in the April issue of Outside by World Hum contributing editor Frank Bures. Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” also inspired travelers, drawing 57 percent more through-hikers to the Appalachian Trail in the two years after his book’s 1998 debut.

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World Hum Travel Movie Club: ‘Into The Wild’

By now, you know the story. In 1990, a 22-year-old college grad named Christopher McCandless renounced his privileged upbringing, adopted the nom de drifter Alexander Supertramp, and turned to a new life of vagabonding. Two years later, Alaskan moose hunters found his corpse in an abandoned Fairbanks city bus outside Denali National Park. Jon Krakauer pieced together Chris’s odyssey and wrote the bestseller Into the Wild. Sean Penn‘s movie version of the book, which hit theaters last fall, arrives today on DVD. Eva Holland and Eli Ellison gave the disc a spin, exchanged e-mails and debated Hollywood’s adaptation of Into the Wild in the debut of the World Hum Travel Movie Club.

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