Flickr/The Alaska Landmine -- The back of the famous "Chris McCandless" bus.
The bus that served as shelter for itinerant hiker, hitchhiker and adventurer Chris McCandless and also became the site of his death has been removed from the Alaskan wilderness’ Denali State Park.
McCandless’ story was memorialized in Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book “Into the Wild” and further popularized when a subsequent movie was made from the book. As a result, the bus that McCandless called the “Magic Bus” in his journal has become famous itself.
However, the bus, which is located on the far side of a treacherous river, has also proven a death trap for some who have tried to reach it; according to local TV station KTVA-11, between 2009 and 2017, the state has conducted 15 search and rescue operations for people trying to reach the bus.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Bus Was Moved Because Trying to Reach It Posed A Safety Hazard
The bus where McCandless spent 114 days until his death in 1992 was helicoptered out June 18, the Washington Post reported. The Department of Natural Resources and Alaska Army National Guard worked together, cutting holes in the roof of the bus and extracting it with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, according to KTVA-11.
Located on the Stampede Trail by the Teklanika River near Healy, the bus was removed because its presence as a tourist attraction was putting lives at risk, the Washington Post reported. In a press release, Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said the organization considered alternatives but ultimately decided that moving the bus was the best option.
In February, five hikers from Italy tried to reach the bus but suffered frostbite and had to be rescued by Alaska State Troopers, CTV reported. The incident was one of several that have added to calls that the bus should be moved.
The Anchorage Daily News reported in 2010 that Claire Ackermann, a 29-year-old Swiss woman backpacking the Stampede Trail, drowned while attempting to cross the Teklanika River. And last year, 24-year-old Veramika Maikamava from Belarus also died while trying to cross the Teklanika River, according to the Associated Press.
According to KTVA-11, authorities are still deciding whether the bus will be displayed in a safer location, and other items, such as a suitcase with McCandless’ belongings, have been stored for safekeeping.
McCandless’ Journey Made Him Famous, Even After Death
After college, McCandless left a comfortable suburban life to go on a nationwide tour, hitchhiking, relying on the kindness of strangers and working odd jobs before he eventually made his way to Alaska, according to Krakauer’s account and information from McCandless’ journals.
A book from McCandless’ sister Carine has suggested that his parents’ abusive past might have driven him to want to escape, Outside Online reported. According to Krakauer, McCandless deceived his parents at the outset of his trip:
Krakauer wrote that McCandless had planned on leaving the bus and walked 30 miles toward the road before he found himself dissuaded by the state of the Teklanika River:
According to what Krakauer wrote in the New Yorker, perceptions of McCandless have ranged from seeing him as an adventurous folk hero to an arrogant attention-seeker:
There is some controversy over how McCandless died. Krakauer has said he believes McCandless could have accidentally poisoned his already-emaciated frame. Others have assumed that McCandless died from starvation; according to the New Yorker, he went from being a 140-pound 24-year-old to weighing just 67 pounds eight months later.
Relying on McCandless’s journals, Krakauer described what he believed the young man’s final moments were like this way:
