A Fateful Backpacking Trip

Paper Summary:

This paper explores both the death and aftermath of a young man following his solo backpacking trip to Alaska. During the trip, the author cites authors such as Thoreau in describing the need to individuate in nature. The young man's family is quoted following his death, as they try to come to terms with their loss.

From the Paper:

"Alaska proved to be an incredible challenge for the young man. Unknown territory was the most dangerous and threatening to a person such as McCandless. Many locals could not understand how he had let himself drift into such a deserted location. What the locals did not know was that this was McCandless' mission, to live in complete solitude. McCandless just happened to wander into complete solitude at the wrong time. With no one around to help, McCandless' exhausted body could not handle the harmful conditions of the Stampede Trail. Four months on foot traveling the entire west coast would be life threatening to someone as is. For McCandless, the land was his home. Mother Nature provided him with the extra motivation he needed to keep going. In the very beginning of his trip, McCandless took plenty of pictures. Unfortunately his camera did not last very long. McCandless neglected to do any research, all he did was purchase a map and follow where he thought would be a good place to live in solitude. His naive attitude got him in big trouble. Had he gone about his risk taking adventure in a smart way, he would have thought about it as a backpacker would think about every trip. If he would have done some research about the Stampede Trail when he decided that that was where he wanted to go, he would have realized the dangers of going to the middle of nowhere at that time of year. Had he done even a little bit of research, he could have realized that there was a ranger cabin not too far from where he had ended up."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Frankhauser, Pat (Coordinator). "The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club." Trail Journals 22 Jan. 2006 http://www.patc.net/index.htm
• Hoagland, Edward. Notes from the Century Before. New York: Modern Library, 2002.
• Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1996.
• Thoreau, Henry David. Walden or, Life in the Woods. New York: Signet, 1980.

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