Into the Wild question

I've been into the wild. A dozen years ago I spent a night at the bus. (In a tent outside.) What I loved about the bus, and can't remember if Krakauer mentioned in the book, was the love/hate relationship of the graffiti on board. There was a makeshift shrine to Alexander Supertramp piled with letters, torn pages from journals, half bottles of whiskey. But on the walls and ceiling were colorful comments in black marker questioning the wisdom of going into the wild without a map or a guide.

While I wouldn't go so far as to argue with a dead man about it in his own tomb, I guess I'm in the black marker camp. I wouldn't really go into the wild without a map or a plan. Life is short enough. But a part of me does yearn for what McCandless was searching for: a place beyond the edge of the map.

I am at a loss with this and any conversation about Chris McCandless.

I love the question asked and my answer is: Been there, done that and it isn't fun. It takes a very special breed to wander out into the back country and survive.

I get the idea of the romance of just chucking it all and going some where where there are no people. It is the wanderlust so many have just not to live an ordinary life.

However, what he did is not romantic, not brave, not courageous, not strong; it was plain stupid. He is an example of what not to do and a Darwin Award winner. He ignored ALL advice from experienced people and that cost him his life.

I do agree with S.K. in not arguing with a ghost. There is no point because it is a one sided conversation. Seems to me that everyone latched onto the romantic side and totally missed the reality side. He was a lost soul wandering around aimlessly that came to a tragic end and the was the point of the book.

No, I would not! Not without some type of plan: a map, compass, food, gun(to protect yourself against wild animals

Huh?

You guys don't go deer hunting?

The way the world is and my dissatisfaction towards it, I think, will drive me desultorily into the wild. Chris Mc Candless may have died in the wild but we aren't attending to the fact that he had lived his dream in a way no one of us normally can possibly live. If that is what wild can offer me too, why wouldn't I walk into the wild.

yah, I would. Id like to think Id plan and prepare for it. Id also like to think Id find happiness there, which is what I believe Chris was ultimately looking for w/in himself.

I am definitelly attracted by the idea of leaving civilization, together with its strict and useless rules, noisy and irritating people, capitalism, etc..
But on the other hand, I do not think I would ever be strong enough to do what Chris did. It takes so much courage!
Perhaps I would pluck up courage if I were with a friend or some person I love? Because no matter how big a wish to go into the wild is, I would still never enjoy total loneliness.

Yes but not in the same way as Chris as I have lived a life in the wild and survived and learned from my mistakes.
To me Chris was neither a hero or fool, just a guy that was looking for something in his life. Unfortunately it cost him his life.
For the second guessers out there I don't believe Chris intended to kill himself or even thought he would die. If humans never took risks we would never have moved beyond the savannas of Africa.
Just because someone tells you what you are doing has risks doesn't automatically give critics the moral right to second guess.
Yes we can all second guess what killed a person before their time and the vast majority of the times someone could or did tell the person the risks.

Would you drive in a car? The risks are well documented.

Would you cross the street? The risks are well documented.

Would you play sports? The risks are well documented.

Would you sit on a couch for hours watching TV or playing with your computer. The risks are well documented.

And one final question. Would you want your grave or the grave of a loved one, desecrated with comments about your or or your loved ones stupidly on why you or your loved ones died?

After taking wilderness survival courses,it gave me a great deal of respect for the "wild". So,my answer would be,not voluntarily.

Only as a last resort. I really related to Chris's dissatisfaction with society, and I occasionally feel a temptation to just chuck it all behind me and live in a cave. But instead of running from the unsavory parts of life, I feel it is more meaningful to try and change them. Whether it's campaigning for reforms in education, serving meals to the hungry, helping people register to vote, etc, I would rather fight the system than abandon it.