CHRIS McCANDLESS JOURNAL ENTRIES

ALEX'S log notes:

Where: 142 on Stampede Trail

When: April - August 1992

wwii, fairbanks 142

Day 2: Fall through the ice day

Day 4:  Magic bus

Day 9:  Weakness

Day 10: Snowed in

Day 13: Porcupine

Day 14: Misery

Day 31: Move bus, Grey bird, Ash bird, Squirrel, Gourmet duck!

Day 43: MOOSE!
Day 48:Maggots already. Smoking appears ineffective. Don't know, looks like disaster. now wish I had never shot the moose. One of the greatest tragedies of my life.

Day 68: Beaver Dam. Disaster.
Day 69: Rained in, river looks impossible. Lonely, Scared.
Day 74: Terminal man. Faster.
Day 78: Missed wolf. Ate potato seeds and many berries coming.

Day 94: Woodpecker. Fog. Extremely weak. Fault of potato seed.   Much trouble just to stand up. Starving. Great jeopardy.

Day 100: Death looms as serious threat, too weak to walk out,have literally become trapped in wild—no game.

Day 101-103: [No written entries, just the days listed.]
Day 104: Missed bear!
Day 105: Five squirrel. Caribou.
Day 107: Beautiful berries.

Day 108-113: [Days were marked only with slashes.]

Alex's journal scattered:

Day 67: Depart Bus, Feeling that his journey into the backcountry has come to an end and his dream of living off the land fulfilled, Alex takes steps to return to civilization."Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify.Simplify." Walden, Henry David Thoreau

pic:courtesy back2thewild

Wyne-Rod-Alex&(Bud)
Carthage,South Dakota

Palo Verde diversion canal
Alex's paddle

 

 Jan&Bob 
at the Slabs

Russell Fritz(Ron)
Salton City,CA

take tour to the appropriate pages:

  www.cbc.ca/books

www.independent.co.uk

 www.alaskapublic.org

Canadian Geographic (pdf file)