[pct-l] Into the wild

[jason moores]

I've always seen this story as a cautionary tail with a good lesson at the end. If you walk into the Alaskan wilderness for three months with nothing more than a twenty pound bag of rice and a .22 rifle, you might starve.

Chris had many admirable qualities and I respect that he assumed control of his life, but in the end, he was foolish.

Jason Moores

> Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:07:23 -0800
> From: dbillings803 at yahoo.com
> To: danstheman at gmail.com
> CC: Pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Into the wild
> 
> I'm not sure why the topic is something to be ignored. Its something that people can learn from at a minimum.
> i.e. people get trapped / people die. Same as John Donovan who died from exposure only a few miles above Palm Springs. 
> He was close to safety, also, but was trapped by cliffs and died within sight of city lights.
> 
> Your maps of 2 years ago does not necessarily equate with the maps of Chris's time frame. The ranger cabin you
> mentioned was in the documentary but that doesn't mean it would have offered anything other than shelter.
> It sounds like you're assuming there was a radio or telephone or food there. I think you might even be assuming
> that a ranger was on duty there. All assumptions. The bus was shelter just as much as a cabin.
> 
> Chris also mentioned in his note that he was injured. You don't know what kind of injury it was nor whether 
> it would have precluded him from hiking 20 miles. The documentary took that injury into consideration
> and suggested it may have been the reason he didn't try to ford the river. After all, its better to try and
> make it across the river despite freezing temperature water and flood level... rather than starve to death.
> But he didn't try. Or he couldn't due to pain.
> 
> And as I said, I'm not sure where the idea came from that he didn't have a map. The police didn't even
> find his backpack even though it was right there in the bus. So, you may be leaning on an urban rumor.
> Maybe he had one and it was lost or damaged beyond use?
> 
> Personally, I think he mustered the courage to do something most young guys only dream about. The
> very fact that he took photos of himself for his family as he neared death was a far greater thing to do
> that most of his critics could ever accomplish. He just gambled and lost.
> 
> 
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