The “Magic Bus” is a 1940s original International Harvester bus that was once used for transportation through the Fairbanks City Transit System. It was later purchased by the Yutan Construction Company, who removed its engine and turned it into a shelter. The bus was known as a deadly tourist lure in Alaska, where 24-year-old Scott McCandless set up camp. The bus was eventually airlifted out by a National Guard Chinook helicopter, causing McCandless to die due to his inexperience and poor decision-making.
The bus, also known as “Bus 142” and the “Magic Bus”, had exerted a dangerous and almost talismanic power over hikers for nearly a quarter century. Hauled into the wilderness by a construction company in the early 1960s as a backcountry shelter during a short-lived road project along the area’s Stampede Trail, the bus would soon be abandoned and forgotten on the far side of a boggy, river-soaked parcel of public wildland attracting mainly moose and local hunters.
The bus was dumped because its axle broke and the bulldozer used to tow it no longer could. The Yutan Construction Company purchased Bus 142, removed its engine, and used a bulldozer to drag it and three other buses out along the trail. Visitors can either take a shuttle bus from the museum or enjoy a 15-minute walk to the bus museum.
The Magic Bus, Fairbanks Bus 142, is an abandoned bus near Healy, Alaska on the Stampede Trail. Hikers use the bus for shelter, and an Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter hoisted it into the air, flying it across the treetops to a gravel pit, where it was eventually disposed of. The bus serves as a reminder of unpreparedness and poor decision-making in the Alaska wilderness, and its fate remains a mystery.
📹 ‘Into the Wild’ Bus MOVED |Everything You NEED to Know
The quietly organized ‘Operation Yutan’ was executed on June 18th 2020, permanently removing Bus 142, affectionately known …
What inspired the Magic School Bus?
The Magic School Bus franchise began with the Magic School Bus book series, which was developed by Craig Walker, vice-president and senior editorial director at Scholastic Co. The concept of combining science with fictional stories was inspired by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen, who had written both science and humor before. The first book, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, was published in 1986. In 2001, Cole and Degen started a new series called Ms.
Frizzle’s Adventures, which teaches social studies, eventually producing three books in that series. Microsoft Home began publishing Magic School Bus software in 1994, and the concept was adapted into an animated television series by Scholastic Entertainment along Canadian animation studio. The series premiered on PBS in 1994, with its theme song performed by musician Little Richard. Scholastic Entertainment president Deborah Forte emphasized the opportunity to help kids learn about science in a fun way, especially for girls and minorities.
Ms. Valerie Frizzle, the magic school teacher, was voiced by Lily Tomlin in the series. The series was followed by another animated series, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, which premiered on Netflix in 2017.
Why did Disney stop Magic bus?
In November 2021, Brightline announced an extension of their higher-speed rail line from Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal to Disney Springs, raising concerns about the future of Disney’s Magical Express. In January 2021, The Walt Disney Company announced the discontinuation of Disney’s Magical Express, effective January 1, 2022, due to changes in consumer preferences. Transportation from resorts to the airport continued until January 10, 2022.
Disney’s Magical Express operated exclusively from Orlando International Airport, available to guests with reservations at a Walt Disney World resort hotel. Return service was typically scheduled three hours prior to the flight’s scheduled departure time for domestic flights and four hours for international flights. The service also transported guests from Orlando International Airport or their Disney Resort hotel to Port Canaveral for Disney Cruise Line departures and back.
Bags, Inc. handled luggage collection and transportation from the airport to the guest’s resort hotel until July 2020, but after the service was discontinued, guests were required to pick up their baggage and check in with the transportation.
How did the Magic School Bus get its magic?
The Bus, a fictional spaceship, is a powerful tool used for various purposes, including size manipulation, shape-shifting, and teleportation. The Shrinkerscope, a device used to manipulate the Bus’ size, is primarily used for internal purposes. In “Butterfly and the Bog Beast”, the Porta-Shrinker is a pink ray gun used to shrink someone without shrinking the Bus. When activated, a dew-dinger alarm sounds.
The Mesmerglober, a device that controls the Bus’ ability to shape-shift, can transform it into various vehicles or animals at the driver’s will. This transformation usually involves stretching and squashing, spinning around fast, and stopping when it stops. In “Flexes its Muscles”, the Bus starts transforming uncontrollably if the Mesmerglober doesn’t work. The Mesmerglober and the Shrinkerscope often work together to transform the Bus into animals, such as a frog in “Hops Home”, a salmon in “Goes Upstream”, and an eagle in “I Spy with My Animal Eyes”. The Bus’s magic is a key aspect of its operations, allowing it to travel through space quickly and efficiently.
Was bus 142 air lifted?
The Alaska Army National Guard has relocated the Fairbanks Bus 142, colloquially known as the “Magic Bus,” from its current location near Healy, Alaska, due to concerns regarding public safety. This decision was made in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources. The bus will be secured while the department formulates a plan for its long-term placement.
What is the story of magic bus?
Magic Bus, established in Mumbai in 1999, is a pan-Indian organization that works with young people living in poverty to facilitate the acquisition of meaningful livelihoods. The organization espouses an entrepreneurial ethos, respects the interests of its stakeholders, values diversity, encourages the free exchange of ideas, and promotes the implementation of viable innovations within the workplace.
Why was bus 142 removed?
Alaska’s Natural Resources Commissioner, Corri Feige, acknowledged the popular fascination with a bus that had been abandoned and was in a state of deterioration. However, he observed that the bus necessitated expensive rescue operations and was responsible for the deaths of some visitors. The bus was extracted from its submerged and deteriorating position, located approximately 30 miles from the nearest inhabited area, by a U. S. Army Chinook helicopter.
Where is the Magic Bus 142 now?
The University of Alaska Museum of the North is relocating the historic Bus 142, also known as the “Stampede Trail Bus”, “Magic Bus”, or “Into the Wild Bus”, from state land near Healy, AK, to its official repository. The museum is constructing an outdoor exhibition that will tell the story of Bus 142, from its 1940s use in Fairbanks to its removal from the Stampede Trail in 2020. The exhibition will feature a comprehensive security plan to ensure the safety and protection of the bus and its visitors. The exhibition will be publicly accessible and free of charge. For more information, visit the museum’s Ethnology and History page.
How did bus 142 get so far out on the Stampede Trail?
The Magic Bus, a 1946 International Harvester K-5, was a temporary housing for workers building an access road between the Alaska Railroad and a nearby mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1961, the Yutan Construction Company purchased Bus 142 and three other buses along the Stampede Trail as temporary housing for their workers. Mickey Mariner Hines, a 10-year-old living in the bus, recalled it as a summer of adventure in the wilderness.
Her father named the buses “boudoir” and “galley”, while the other men lived in two orange buses: a cookhouse and a bunkhouse. The bus served as a reminder of the importance of transportation in the wilderness.
Is Chris McCandless’ bus still there?
The Museum of the North has assembled a bus replica of McCandless’s final bus, which was utilized as a prop in the cinematic production Into the Wild, with the objective of providing a platform for the examination of the life and work of the late actor.
How did the Magic Bus get there into the wild?
The Yutan Construction Company relocated the site, situated in a remote wilderness area, in approximately 1960. This relocation was undertaken for the purpose of providing accommodation for employees during the construction of a pioneer access road. However, this access road was ultimately abandoned in 1961, following the completion of construction works.
Where did the magic bus come from?
The Magic Bus, a Fairbanks City Transit System Bus 142, was abandoned in 1961 by the Yutan Construction Company crew. It became famous with Jon Krakauer’s story Into The Wild and was made into a 2007 movie with Eddie Vedder’s soundtrack. Christopher McCandless, also known as Alexander Supertramp, was an American adventurer who lived off the Alaskan wilderness. In 1990, he traveled across the US, donating all his money to charity. He eventually arrived in Alaska, where he used Bus 142 as a makeshift shelter until his death. His body was found by a hunter, possibly dead from starvation or poison.
📹 Discover the Stempede trail, hiking way to the Magic bus 142, Into the wild, Alaska, 9/10 may 2019
Please watch it to the end and share…. Clean up after your hike guys… Keep our planet clean for next generations …
I read an article that said it was taken to be displayed at a museum in Fairbanks. The McCandless family has donated alot of his pictures snd journals to be displayed with it. Sounds like a cool homage to his adventures. He didn’t set out for a bus, but thank God it was there for him. His story has inspired me to think about what life means. He has changed lives by his adventures and mistakes. God bless him and his family!
A very sad day for explorers and adventurers the world over. There are many people who have been inspired by the book and the movie. They will never be able to see the bus in it’s original location again. I think you made your article just in time. We thank you for that. Like you, I understand the reasons for moving the magic bus but it still hurts. I only hope that it will be displayed somewhere. Perhaps even more people will have an opportunity to visit it. Thanks for sharing. Keep safe. M&L
In September 2020, the UA Museum of the North became the official repository for Bus 142 (aka “Stampede Trail Bus”, “Magic Bus”, or “Into the Wild Bus”). The bus and associated historical materials have been cataloged into the UAMN Ethnology & History permanent collection, and many of these objects will eventually be placed on public exhibit.
Over the years, living in here in Alaska, I’ve seen the two sides of this; if you want to limit it. I think they did the best thing by removing the bus. It was not a Magic Bus. People, ignorant of the wilderness and preparation were going out there yearly. We can’t have that. There was too much risk involved, particularly with the rivers.
I wonder if they removed the granite memorial. I really don’t think removing the bus will stop people from going there. From what I what I have been reading the local government put pressure on the state to remove the bus. Even though the state patrol is in charge of rescue many locals are involved in the process and they were not happy. A bridge was discussed but shot down as it’s not the only dangerous part of this trail. It will be interesting to see what happens now. Glad I went on the journey via you and Ryan. Thank you for that! God Bless!
😢 I too get it but I also wanted to one day make the trek out there. However, I have no backcountry hiking experience & can’t imagine how I would have safely crossed the river. Christopher’s story resonates as I understand & can relate to the dysfunctional family & the need to do what he did. Hopefully, it will be moved to a museum or some safe location where people like me can safely visit the magic bus🚎 ❤️
The best part that he has given to all is that go out and find your happiness whether your camping, living in the woods or living underneath the ground. To become balanced with nature, he died because he was unprepared a lesson to all who venture out. Is to be prepared just in case. That is a gift to all of us who like adventure and he gave his life for it.
I had just been discussing to possibly go out to the “Magic Bus” with my BF someday and a few days later I hear this on the news. Moving the bus will NOT solve the problem of people going out there! They should have built the “bridge” that was discussed by the McCandless family in another article on youtube and left the bus in it’s original location. The “River” is the real danger (and possibly bears), NOT the “Bus”! Perhaps they could build a bridge and put the bus back??? I feel that the bus (and it’s location) are an important part of history and as such is a historic landmark that should be preserved. I think alot of young people connected to Chris McCandless’s story and made the trek out there. …….One question….if so many people were going out there to view or even, in your case, sleep in the bus or otherwise spend time in it, How did they regulate who got the right to sleep in the bus at any one time? Also, did you feel Chris’s spirit in the bus, or experience anything strange in that respect?
While it is a shame that the bus is gone Chris did not venture out into the wilderness to find a bus. The amazing part of his story is the journey. While Chris is an inspiration to many people, losing your life in order to find this bus is not worth it. Not to mention the massive strain this puts on the rescue service who could be dealing with other emergencies. There is nothing stopping devotees from actually training and preparing to do such a hike, I just hope that this will deter the truly unprepared.
This movie has forever grabbed my heart and soul. Everytime i watch this movie i cry my eyes out during the death scene. When i was a child i collected National Geographics. I was in awe with the Sequoia trees in the NW. The 1st time i left my home state of Florida i drove all the was to North Dakota for work. Chris saw the beauty of this beautiful planet and all Gods creatures. His years of life were short, but it wasnt his quantity of years here, it was the quality of his experience that counted. Long live Chris and Bus 142.
It was there for the last 20 plus years so anyone that wanted to go and see this had plenty of time. The movie inspired people that do not have the knowledge in being out in the open country like this not counting Grizzly bears neither. Its rugged and unforgiving to go there without being well equipped to do so and i am glad they did remove it. Nobody needs to die up there and every time they send search and rescue teams the they could be doing something else then fetching dummies that want to go see an old city bus put there by hunters for a camp. I worked in the Canadian Artic. I flew all over this land and its not for the amateur hiker or someone that sees a movie and all of a sudden thinks ohh il walk to there. This aint no walk in the park remember this !!!!
i can see why people like the story. its kind of turned into a folk hero tale. but reality is…. chris has gotten into these situations several times in his life and was always pulled out of it by someone. and we all know someone like chris “oh ill just go into the woods and live off the land” without really having the knowledge to do so. if chris has basic hunting/cleaning knowledge that moose he killed would of lasted him the whole winter.
guys as someone that actually lives here in Alaska so many people have to be rescued from there its about time this was done too many dreamers think it was poetic or whatever to go there he was not prepared for the wild and died for it damn it if you want to do something like that PREPARE and live through the experiance
It would’ve been a while I grant, but the bus would’ve rotted into the ground if it hadn’t been moved anyway. Now it can truly be preserved and the people who want to see it but couldn’t make that journey have a chance to see it. I agree it’s a shame it had to be moved, but I do agree it HAD to. Too many people would continue to try to make it, and too many more would continue to be trapped, require rescue, or simply die. Carine talked about the possibility of putting a bridge over the river to alleviate the most risky part of the journey, but given the cost and limited benefit, it would be difficult to get it done. There isn’t any real justification to my mind of the risks presented to rescuers to set out to help if someone else got stranded (even though the same case could be made for thousands of other situations). But too many people who are woefully underprepared go out there and it’s not worth the risk.
My big issue is that people make the choice to visit the bus o attempt it… they are not forced. They choose how prepared they are, when they go, and if they try to cross the Tek. So using this same reasoning, people choose to climb Mount Everest and need rescuing or end up dying doing so… so why don’t they block off Everest while they’re at it…….? But no, instead they are going to pick and choose what pieces of history stay and go. It was my ONLY thing on my (what I guess you could call) “Bucket List” to go and visit… I wasn’t even sure if I was going to hike it, I was considering helicopter. But now I feel eventually I need to hike out to where it was.
I have expressed my opinion about this removal on a few other comment sections of a few other websites, including Ryan’s. While intrigued with Chris McCandless’ story, I can also see both sides. To me, he is neither a hero nor a jerk. A victim of his own foolhardy hubris, yes; but he was more than that, too. Chris was damaged by a turbulent upbringing; though privileged in certain senses, in others, it was abusive and toxic, according to his sister Carine. He was bright, educated and athletic. He was passionate, altruistic, idealistic, adventurous, motivated… but less blessed with a good balance of common sense, which ultimately doomed him. Like you, I see what makes his story so intriguing as to lead many of a certain mindset to take the risk, and follow in his footsteps; I also see why it had become neccessary, for the good of people’s safety, to remove the temptation to reenact it themselves. I think the bus’ ultimate fate should be one of curation, and in the future, a return to public display and interaction, in a much safer place. Perhaps near the head of the Stampede Trail, closer to Healy itself, in a memorial park, with a little space provided for basic tent camping to be near the bus, also with a modest museum. It could be an economic boon to Healy, and to the state, without the danger. If Healy doesnt want that, perhaps in a safe location elsewhere in Denali national park. I feel the bus has to remain open to direct interaction for visitors in some way, not behind glass or ropes, or else why bother?
Put it in a museum so everyone can see it. I dont think it will stop some people from trying to follow in Chris’s footsteps on his great Alaskan adventure but I think it’s a great story and the bus should be preserved. It means so much to the adventurer inside so many people that they would be heartbroken and angry if it was destroyed. People may call Chris an idiot and if they feel that way they dont have to come see the bus in a museum and my question is why they are even following his story at all
It is sad in a way, but I find the sadness is more of a coming to terms with the fact that whether the bus is on-location or not, Chris’s story has already been lived and cannot be re-lived by another person. Admittedly, I sometimes wrestle with the temptation to want to follow in his steps, but I think that in following his authentic steps too closely, one’s own story becomes inauthentic – finding your story, your personal message, and clinging to it, is everything. Everyone has a ‘bus’ out there – make sure you find your bus and don’t end up too long in someone else’s. And when you find it, don’t die in it! Don’t let the mistakes of others drive you – I think that may have been Chris’s mistake.
You are very fortunate to have toured the bus at it’s place. To me, it would have been worth the money and time for such a memorable experience. If I’d had gone, just being inside the bus would have put me in a beautiful, nostalgic trance of time and memories to his being there. May he live forever in our hearts and memories!
“Into the Wild’s protagonist, Chris McCandless, achieved a cult following after spending 113 days in the bus prior to his death. Bus 142’s story, though, extends far beyond McCandless’s stay, and the museum plans to tell it. An Alaska state repository, the Museum of the North made a proposal to exhibit the bus, winning out over other museums. Fittingly, the museum is where McCandless picked up his Tanaina Plantlore field-guide-turned-survival-log on his way to the Stampede Trail, according to his sister, Carine McCandless. “Once it was transferred to us, (the exhibit) just made sense, because it’s a piece of Alaska history,” said Angela Linn, the museum’s Senior Collections Manager for Ethnography and History, who’s leading the exhibit’s team of around 30 planners. The history of the 1946 International Harvester bus is far more comprehensive than most people realize, spanning from Bus 142’s days as a fully operational transit bus, to its time as a makeshift home for families working on the Stampede Trail, to its years as a hunting shelter before McCandless stumbled upon it. “I just met a guy yesterday when I was at the antique auto museum, who said, ‘Oh, I rode that bus when I was a kid!’” said Linn. But of course, the bus’s main draw is its connection to Into the Wild, and the museum has enlisted the help of the leading authority on the subject. Carine McCandless, who didn’t know about the bus’s removal until it was hogtied to the helicopter, recounted, “I was in shock. And then I just immediately turned into the mode of, ‘What can I do to help?
I wonder who restored the bus recently? In older photos like McCandless’ own ones, the number 142 is painted on the upper left roof panel. Photos from about 15 years ago show this area damaged by gunshots and the roof rusting from the paint damage. More recent photos show this damage has been re-painted white (with the “142” now completely obscured). Also, the words “Transit System” appear to have been re-touched in black (they appear faded in older photos).
The trek to the site of the Magic Bus is one that many hikers looked forward to. The Stampede Trail will always be there, but making their journey to the site will not be the same. I hope the government will at least replace the bus or provide some type of landmark because hikers will go there regardless of the presence of the original bus.
I get the symbolism, but practical reality is that the bus was just a material Thing, too. In contrast, search & rescue saves lives and takes resources, while resources are limited and the need & demand for search & rescue in that part of the state are huge. To extent the bus became a siren to all manner of ill-prepares pilgrims, I understand Alaska’s decision to pull it. Saving the most lives was the calculus of the decision – not money – something McCandless himself would’ve availed himself of in the end if he could have. Of all the ways to memorialize McCandless, I doubt among them he’d suggest risking life & resources to take a selfie at the scene of his death. Maybe more generally we could start by simply leading & following others less – including him – and critically thinking for ourselves more.
What does anyone need to know, an inexperienced kid decided he was ready to tackle the Yukon and he lost, cost him his life..so naturally it follows that a bunch of losers will turn him into some kind of god and suffer his same idiotic fate.. the idiots that went searching for that bus remind me of the dodo birds from the Ice Age movie, when they follow each other off the cliff and go extinct.
Thanks for doing this article! I feel so many mixed emotions to be honest! Maybe it’s good it’s gone, but I too planned on going when well enough, again! But I guess the gift was always the spirit of Chris, himself!! We are connected via Love & I honestly dont believe I’d have survived my horrific illness (ironically, caused by massive starvation) without the guidance & lessons I learned from Chris! Love to Chris & his family! So many shifts happening recently & I hope it only brings them all (the surviving McCandless family) further peace, & resolution.. 💜💜💜
Chris did say that happiness is only real when shared, so maybe this means more people will get to see the bus and share happiness with one another, even if it isn’t in its original location. I hope it goes to a museum, because I will be first in line to see the exhibit. I’m sure I’ll run into many of you guys there 🌳
After learning about Chris I see so many people calling him names and I don’t get why they feel the need after how he died. Yes it was his own fault and it’s sad that it was to late when he realised family wasn’t so bad after all but he paid the ultimate price for his mistakes and how he died was not a way anyone of else would want to go. He was a son and a brother and my heart would hurt to hear the things that are said about him and it’s wrong. I do wonder though why he stayed at the bus because there was two cabins out there that they believe he visited and vandalised which I found strange that he would do that. Apparently the wood burner stove was disconnected from the flute and found outside ?????? Also his back pack was retrieved with $300 in it.
It was 2 summers ago that I watched this movie and then stumbled upon this article after perusal the movie. I don’t remember why or how exactly I just randomly remembered this story and searched for it and found another article from this website that I did not see. This makes me reminisce all the struggles from that summer. My second year away from home, second foreign city abroad. My second year trying to physically move hundreds of kilometers from my hometown, somehow hoping to forever run away from my problems. Which of course, is impossible, physically unfeasible feat. Still a mystery, unsolved. Still bothering me, still so many things to do, so many questions. The things I should have done, but haven’t… All those regrets, immobilised by apathy, so much sadness… Yet somehow it all still goes on, I am still searching and trying to figure how can I come to terms with myself, with this reality and how I am to move forward and deal with all in my way. It is indeed not set in stone, however it saddens me to the core that after so many years I am to wander this continent on this earth with all the same struggles and problems. Worst of all, still alone. Only in the darkest dreams… Oh but if only, If Only 1 Day !! One Magical DAY !!! I could be with a group of like-minded adventurers..! To roam with me !.. Is it still ahead ? Is this path really really worth, if I am doomed to fail would the lessons be enough a reward and retribution for all the effort and suffering ? For Why THAT is.
Our inept government, shows its big brother mentality once again. You can’t risk your self to an unneeded hike to a bus to spend some quality time, with a little brush of danger, that though it may give you the slightest hint, at what that lone persons journey, through the last adventure of their live, was like, might put you in slight danger, and hold them liable, but you can trek into the inter city, and put your life and others at piril, on a really meaningless quest, that only serves to distroy, while rioting in protest of something which is not. So that their very own agenda, might be accomplished, while the foolish not only disrupt the daily life of others, but distroy their very own history and neighborhoods, while helping the deep state complete their agenda, that will only leash us in more, and allow them to slowly grind away not only our freedoms, but also our vast areas of outdoor adventure, and convert it into but surplus resources, to be mowed down and shipped away to some foreign shore, that will only line the pockets of those few and greedy demons, while stripping us of our birthright of public lands, and any future quest of pirilous adventure, into the wilds. They should have stayed mum about the whole thing and merely moved the bus to a location, on the safe side of the river and bogs, so that adventurers could still hike in, albeit more safely, and get somewhat the same experience, without the piril. Most would have never known the location adjustment for their own safety.
I had meant to comment on your article when you first visited the magic. I thought your article was thoughtful, respectful and profound. And then to see this. I agree, it was a safety issue and it makes sense but they could have required permits and/or guided visits. The bus, the location, and the surroundings are the experience. I will follow with you too see the bus is protected and preserved. Great job and amazing context and content.
It was a place of refuge and healing for a young man trying to figure things out…it became the place his journey came to an end and therefore should be offered to his family..the people who loved him…and if they choose to share it with the world in a more public way then so be it..but it definitely should be the family’s decision, ultimately, how to share it … or not.
I feel that this was Chris’s grave in a way. I feel its disrespectful to Chris as it the only lasting tangible thing that he touched. It was his final resting place. There should have been some sort of compromise made between the family, the state of Alaska, and the forestry service. Its like Chris is gone too. Disrespectful !
Total buzz kill. I have planned on going out there this week. But the pandemic ruined the year so I decided to put it off for a little bit and try again in the future. Instead I just went to Healy on the 17th to see the film bus. Not knowing this was going on. Not gonna be the same seeing it on display if that’s the route they take.
0:46 ”In September 2020, the UA Museum of the North became the official repository for Bus 142 (aka “Stampede Trail Bus”, “Magic Bus”, or “Into the Wild Bus”). The bus and associated historical materials will be cataloged into the Ethnology & History permanent collection and eventually placed on public exhibit. ” Source: uaf.edu/museum/collections/ethno/projects/bus_142/
This article is a great example of what is called the “look at me” generation. Basically, a person has a interest (or claims they do)in some such subject. They talk about themselves having that interest and then talk about themselves googling the subject and talk about how all their friends are asking them about this interest . They ask this person because, now, this person is an “expert” . Then this person pastes a story that happens to be about the subject and create an endless talking loop about themselves, the subject and how all this person’s friends are interested in…. the article this person made about the subject. When men of this age, as seen above, learn how to get off the bullshit wagon and actually create something unique, then maybe this “look at me”generation will just be an embarrassing memory, like polyester lesure suits .
Why use the tax money of Alaska state citizens to rescue people who called an emergency to rescue them, or in honor to their loved ones rescuers fly there and pick up their dead bodies? Don’t you see why? Trust me, all the families and those people who got rescued before being dead are more than thankful for it. It costs probably at least like 10k-15k$ to resque lost people at one time. Helicopter pilot in Alaska told me that just to get it from the ground costs like ~2000$. I was in Alaska, I traveled on my foot from Anchorage to Deadhorse, alone all by myself. After 7miles up North from Fairbanks there’s no any cellphone or mobile network connection. So it gets even harder to call the emergency and find those lost people(usually people have GPS signal devices which has emergency buttons) Actually for the movie they used different replica bus which is located near the main highway in the front yard of the brewery. And I saw it accidentally while passing through. I took some photos and looked at it for 10mins and it was enough for me. I don’t have any logical reasons to go to 42miles hike(if I remember right) without any trails through the forest, bushes and rivers to see it. And trust me in Alaska you can go in the river just till your knees and streams can get you and you”ll fall and die that easy. If you never experienced or never heard about something like this chances that it will happen to you increases alot. The problem is the majority of people going there are lacking the knowledge of surviving in wilderness.
If anything, it was a shrine to narcissism, mental illness, and staggering incompetence, and needed to not just taken away, but buried somewhere. If it was a family member of mine, I sure as hell wouldn’t memorialize some natty old bus where they spent their final moments, as that is more of a disparagement than an honour.
A tragic story of one young guy, who decide he’s permanent misfit, with lead him go out, spontaneously and almost completely unprepared, deep into wild desolation. Once being out there, in his foolishness, he unwittingly sabotaged his chances of survival, leading himself to unwanted death by starvation! He conclude “Happiness is only real when it’s shared”? He could just ask right people around, read some right books, but no! He thought he must go deep into alaska wilderness to find out, how to be happy! And because of his story, others naive and unprepared youngsters, who came to the conclusion that they’re a misfits too, they crawled to this bus, risking their death without looking at what harm they would do to their loved ones. I’m glad, that this bus was taken from there.
I understand why people are upset, but they had to remove it. Too many people were putting themselves in serious peril or dying trying to get to the bus. I don’t have a problem with people being inspired by Chris’ attitude on seeking what truly makes one happy, but people need to learn from him too. It’s never ceases to blow me away how many of these people know Chris died out there by being unprepared and not knowing what he was doing, and then they themselves go try the same thing, and then die by not knowing what they’re doing also. I mean shit, Chris himself came to the conclusion he shouldn’t be out there, he just ironically got stuck by his lack of preparation. I’m not trying to speak Ill of the dead, but Chris’s story should absolutely be cautionary a tale for anybody thinking of trying what he did. His sister Carine has said herself that Chris wouldn’t want people dying trying to find the bus, and that he would want people to learn from his mistakes, not repeat them. And she knew him better than anybody.
Wise move on the Government’s part. Having read the book, and watch yours and others documentaries of going to the bus, I can see why the removal was best. Chris’s story hit home with me, both as an amazing journey, and a reckless tragedy. I think too many people forget to understand the tragic part before recklessly trekking into the wild, just like Chris did. Sadly, the results end badly for too many folks, and the financial and danger in rescues are both all too real. It would be amazing to see the bus, the belongings, and other pieces of Chris’s adventure find their way to a museum, for many more folks to enjoy, and find inspiration, minus the danger. I suspect we’ll see Bus 142, and the things that moved with it on display some day. Too much care was taken to believe it will be scrapped. At least, I’m hoping it will! Great article!
People need to understand this bus wasn’t a tourist attraction, the nearby town and Alaska never wanted it to be a tourist attraction. They actually wanted to get rid of it even before what happened to Chris because it was an illegal shelter the hunters had placed out there but decided it would be to much trouble. They finally decided to get rid of after what happened to Chris because it brought it to the attention of the world and they started to have a influx of people wanting to see it and not realizing how difficult and dangerous the hike was to get there and get back. A lot of people that ended up having to be saved admitted they thought it was some tourist site that would somewhat easy to find and it would be along a well marked trail and and at worst would only take an hour or two to get to it. For the people that are complaining about how there isn’t a shelter there anymore. The hunters that use to use it quit going there long before Chris even got there do to the buses location becoming public knowledge and random people started showing up. The nearby town and the hunters in that area have all said they are glad it’s finally gone so people would stop trying to find it and stop bringing in the idiots that get some sick enjoyment going to the place that Chris died a very painful and slow death do to his own arrogates with him thinking he knew what he was doing.
The bus is an icon.It’s like the Titanic.It’s not about the ship or the vehicle,it’s about the tragic event and the story it tells. I understand the desire for people to want to see the bus,just as people want to see the Titanic,or the Bismarck or anything that tells a tragic story,but I don’t think that visiting the bus in it’s remote and dangerous location was worth not even one life. The bus was removed for the public’s safety.True,it IS an iconic vehicle,but the decision to remove it was to save lives. I live on the east coast,far from Alaska.But it is my hope that bus 142 is placed in a safe place so that people from all over the world may see it again someday.I hope that it is restored to it’s former appearance before being airlifted by the Chinook.
I think moving the bus will have an impact on people making the “pilgrimage.” There will still be those that make the trek to the site but not in the same volume. There’s something different about an actual tangible object being there. For example: how many people go to the site in Louisiana where Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed verses the number of people over the years wanting to see the car they died in? Same goes for Graceland. Elvis lived and died there and a lot of his identity was wrapped around Graceland. No one cares a lot about the home he bought before graceland and no one cares about the home he had in Los Angeles during his movie career. And time has a way diminishing importance. As people get older, a younger generation cares less of what the older generation cared about. I believe overall attendance numbers at graceland are flat or trending down. By this rule, it’s a good bet in 20 to 30 years people will mostly forget about Chris McCandless and the magic bus. There could be future hikers on that trial, not even born yet, that come on that site and the memorial plaque and have no idea who he was or the significance of his story to so many. This is life. I mean…..would you rather go to the site and find the bus he lived and died in or in its place, some 3 foot tall marble obelisk marking the spot?
Maybe it wouldn’t have to be removed if vloggers wouldn’t have advertised it and too many people worldwide thought a bus where someone died in was a attraction worth visiting. I was on the fence re this subject anyway, I thought it was quite morbid and partly sensational tourism to sleep in a bed where someone died in etc. although or maybe because I appreciated Chris.
This really upsets me in many ways. Many conflicting feelings. I was planning on a treck to see 142 and pay my respects to Chris. I really regret not getting there in time to see the bus. I will still make my own trip. I would like to think that I was like Chris in many ways. I also believe that I understood why he made the decisions he made. We all know that his intentions were not to die, but to completely withdraw and detach from this cruel world wasn’t such a bad idea. I’m 4 years younger than he was and not getting any younger. So it’s time I go. …. … ….
I don’t know why there was never an option to raise money or such to build a suspension bridge across the river? Then it would be a safe venture for more to come. There are suspension bridges on trails no one has even heard of, mush less a famous location. I assume it would still be cheaper then flying the bus out.
A very emotional moment for those who have been close to Chris and those who have been following adaptions of his life’s experience and the tragic death that followed in the bus. However, no more people need to die on that route. I hope the bus finds its right place where people who get inspired by Chris’s story could make a much safer pilgrimage.
People so loved Chris. To remove the bus seems like removing the closet thing we have to Chris. I think that is why it seems wrong. Chris will go on forever, with or without a bus. Perhaps take this as a moment to evaluate your perspective on life, and realize that you don’t need to take poignant pictures days before your death in the middle of nowhere to relay a worthwhile message, instead realize there are thousands of Chris’s in the world, who had just as important a message they wanted to convey to the world, except they didn’t die in Alaska, in a magic bus, but that should not preclude them from being just as magical and amazing as Chris. In other words, there are thousands of Chrises around us, put your energy toward recognizing, loving, and respecting them, despite the fact they have never been on a bus or traveled to Alaska.
Why did they move the Magic Bus? For years, the bus had drawn eager travelers from around the world. After multiple rescues and two tragic deaths, the Department of Natural Resources decided to remove the bus. Although Krakauer’s words beautifully recount McCandless’ story, it’s not unfounded criticism to say the story is highly romanticized.
Well at least they moved it and maybe they’ve done something with it since then. But why they put it up for sale somebody who romanticizes whole thing made by and keep it from deteriorating further. After all that fella named Jimmy just paid $234,000 for playing the Elvis one sone and been through a couple owner since him and Elvis did not buy the plane new anyway. No I’m not an Elvis fan and I’m not comparing him and Chris. What I am saying there are people out there who are willing to spend the money on a piece of history that they’re attracted to and at least plans to maintain it. Now they sold the best where should the money go to? A benevolent fund. To benefit somebody. Mayberry hiker educational fund so other people don’t make the same mistake that this Chris person did.
Too many people read the book and thought they could just waltz to the magic bus, feeling like a pilgrimage would clean there souls… the bush of Alaska does not care about your quest for clarity, you’re just potential food for bears and eagles to pick over. The cost to pull lost glamping hipsters and corpses would add up, which is why we can’t have anything nice. But I’m sure we’ll see the bus in a safe place like Anchorage, where you can see it in a museum and the state can recover some of the money spent fishing hipsters out of the bush.
Yah… I’m all for removing an edifice, left to remind the world of yet another selfish brat, whose insatiable lust for causing anyone who loved and cared about them pain, has indeed been satisfied to the fullest. “Oh, you don’t understand! He died doing what he loved. And besides, who asked you, a-hole?” So did Hitler… What’s your point? I fully understand. Some people never grow up. Some people love adrenaline rushes more than their families and friends. How admirable.
it was a mistake to move it, like a “sacrilege”, the fact that he wasn’t prepared and died there quite “by mistake” doesn’t make less important his struggling against the wicked mainstream “middle” lifestyle&mentalities, the fact that he didn’t know how to survive it’s a proof of genuity, that he belongs to another world, he came from other social class, he wasn’t somebody who used ti harsh life in nature, and this makes all more authentical because in fact can be interpreted as a “protest”, as a “social critic”, in my opinion, Alexander Supertramp is the real “nowadays” american hero !
I was actually going to make it my first trip far from home. (I currently live in Ohio) To be honest, I always thought Alaska looked beautiful and would like to see how beautiful nature is before I die. After seeing your article on it, I wanted to go experience the same thing. I don’t suppose you’d have other places to check out in Alaska, would you? I was going to do what you did and fly on a chopper if that was still a service, but I guess I might as well hike if I can see how beautiful it is up there. Also, since people will go regardless, is there anything that could be set up like a memorial for Chris?
Why move the bus? Knowing some people may still go out there? Just because that was the original location so why not just make the trails safer for people to go out there build a bridge across the river, make some type of trail that will make it safer because I feel like people will still want the original experience and go anyway 🤷🏽♀️
I managed to find what I think is the mines on Google maps. You can see a few buildings just South West from Stampede Airport right at the very end of the trail. I would love to go there but it seems the only way to get there is to land a plane at Stampede Airport, but I don’t know anyone in Alaska with a plane 🙁
Good riddance to old trash! On the way to work on morning at 6AM-ish, via the Glenn Highway and at near the top of “Brake Light Hill” (now being renovated), saw the trash bus being towed into an area where it’ll be “Safe”. Nice to see this garbage go away as it’s worth more than a human life to risk to see where it was.
That really pisses me off that they would disturb the sacred sight where Chris mccandless breathed his last breath. Why were people allowed to do that in the first place. You didn’t see them fucking with the titanic or the uss Arizona. Why should this be any different? One brave person’s death should be no different from many persons deaths.
I can only imagine your feeling when you visited the bus and then now seeing it leave the site. I think your points are correct, but I lean towards leaving it there as shelter for others. It helped Chris for a while, he would’ve been stuck without shelter. It’s controlling situations too much by taking it out. People make a choice when they go into the wild!
This story made me cry…The fact that Chris used his Family name.. It was ‘Misadventure’ really, him starving to death. Nowadays, there are ‘Survival’ programmes aplenty, but back then, less so. Basic map reading, compass reading and Survival skills are a good idea, no matter who you are, or whatever you intend to do.. You may never know when you may need them. Eg, knowing what plants are toxic, or not.
This is such a shame. The bus is now lifeless, in prison, at a sterile museum. It should have stayed. The Alaskan Authorities/ police should have charged a large permit fee and should have required a class or history lesson of the trail before folks go out? With charging hundreds of $ for permits, tell me they could have afforded an office somewhere in Healy, that could have offered classes /tips about the trail? a Place where you pay, say $350 for a permit tag to hike. With these tough loops to go through and a large permit fee., this trail would have only attracted experienced hikers. and not tourists They could have made it work. In my opinion, there were options but the Alaskan authorities took the easy, heartless way out! Shame on them! As far as the bus becoming unstable and decaying. OK, so. That’s nature for you. Even, 20 years from now and that bus had collapsed, at least it would still have that energy, the feeling. it would still be there. Now it’s dead in a museum. It’s a sacred space for some and pilgrimage for others!
I understand the frustration of the locals but if cost of sending a rescue team was a concern, they would have relocated that bus into a safer location instead of scrapping it altogether. I don’t care much for the bus myself, I read the book, watched the movie, loved both and it is a tragedy but to the family I understand this is like a burial ground so I am a little bit surprised with the lack of respect and empathy for that family.
I’ve just created a article that outlines our visit to the Museum of the North and Magic Bus. I’ve used some of your footage and talked a little bit about your experience and article with credit and links back to your article. Thanks for a well-done article and your articles are quite helpful too. You haven’t posted in a while but I am sure you are busy with other projects. Thanks and safe travels!
That sucks man! That land and bus is, or was hallowed ground. If people loose their lives making the journey to that hallowed place to pay their respects to Supertramp, then dying was just part of that individual’s journey. I personally think Chris would NOT be happy about them moving his bus. That is just my opinion. I mean no disrespect to Chris’s family. I could very well be wrong.
All they needed to do was build two Bridges across the river Sean Penn could have done that and a halfway point to stay and kept the damn thing there that was a poor choice by the Sea at Alaska and yes Chris was ill-prepared what a shame great article I shared on Twitter I want to walk the Appalachian Trail someday I’ve got $10,000 saved up I love the outdoors hello from the great state of Minnesota
Public safety risk, who decides this bs? You know in Arizona you can walk out to a cliff thousands of feet down with no roped off or signs saying you will die, it kind of obvious. This poor bus meant something to ppl and the big government comes and squashed it like they had nothing else better to do. If ppl want to pilgrim out to nowhere and die, let the, its their right to do so
People will still make the pilgrimage just to camp at the spot the bus was sitting, I would. You can remove the bus but not the call of the wild. There is something intrinsically meaningful about this story and a connection to nature/life that many of us feel. I don’t think he meant to die, but he did exactly what he set out to do…know ones self, and feel more connected to life than ever before but of course he was also running away from abuse at home. There is an older article that shows a local dog musher interview and he talked about how there are 2 cabins out there 5 miles away that were broken into that summer and vandalized and he believed it to be Chris as no one else was out there. He also had Chris’s backpack from the bus for a few years before finding a hidden pocket that had Chris’s wallet, multiple forms if ID and $300 cash showing he intended to come back to society. Even showed the ID’s right down to his library card which I found interesting as the story goes he gave the last of his pocket change to the guy whom dropped him off. the dog musher also said Chris would have likely never found the bus as snow was everywhere including over river crossings and he likely followed the dog sled trail to find the bus. It’s on Ron Lamothe’s documentary “Call of the Wild”. Chris wasn’t stupid albeit unprepared but he had luck on his side a few times or he might not have made it as far as he did. Interesting details I’d not heard before. I found online pictures of the buses while they were being pulled in really winter conditions back in the 60’s and one looks like a picture of the bus 142 being left where it’s been since.
It’s easy for you to have a shared feeling about this operation. You already went to the bus. Me too, if I have already been to the bis in my life I would understand the safety reason! Think about thousand people around the world who dreamt to going their lives… I am one of them! And worst, for three years now I´ve planned to go this summer. And the covid arrived! And I accepted this idea, telling myself « No problem! I report next year! In more, with coronavirus, autorities have other stuff to do that remove a bus in the middle of nowhere! No worrie! » and imagine my face when I have seen this horrible picture of the helicopter and the bus hanging… I had tears. One of my dreams was instantly broken! I will go Alaska for sure, but not with the same flavor. You are so lucky! Do you know that? If the bus goes to a museum in Fairbanks (a museum about wild and people, it was the plan in 2017, with exposition of gold rush, end of XIX, jack London reviews, etc etc and the story of Magic Bus and Christopher… maybe it changed and it wont be that but It was the plan!) it won’t have the same flavor, this bus is attached for ever to the place where Christopher found it in 1992. It’s like removing the Titanic from the ocean. Without the place where everything happened, it’s just a piece of metal… :/ I am so sad for 10 days now 😢
100% get why they needed to move it at the least. Obviously it was a dangerous inviting endeavor that was going to keep resulting in injury or death. However, my questions are; why so cagey about where it’s going? Why not disclose? (I’m sure I’m not alone in this observation) Why not put it in a more accessible and safe place? For the public to visit, see, and bring with them the economic influx that I’m sure the area desperately needs? (I know the answer for that is, it’s Alaska and their a different, stronger, proud people) Why was his family not given back that suitcase with their intimate messages? Just simply, WHY SO SECRETIVE about it G men?
Should have left the bus. It wont stop people making the trek, so no moneys going to be saved. SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BUS. Its just another example of THEM trying to take away history and things that are solid, and that make you FEEL something, instead of being an empty shell they can fill with all their B S. I feel sad. THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE BUS.
Hi. I’ve been reading up from the internet or several hours, about bus 142. You guys looked at the Front Axles in the article. Intact. The REAR Axles would not be discernible as broken ( twisted off ), without undoing the hubs and pulling them out of the differential housing. I think that’s the “broken axle thing”.
Person A= ” oh jumping off a bridge is dangerous, no that’s just crazy” Person B= ” going to the Stampede trail to see the legendary Bus 142 that Chris McCandless died in from eating a plant he didn’t know was poison But we may freeze to death or die some how trying to get there because it’s the cool thing to do and we are Narcissistic and love adventure” Person C= ok so it’s been moved to be a museum display, that’s way cheaper and I can still take pictures or record the event and have lasting memories and all of my friends and family will see it, and I won’t get and attitude and comment on YouTube,” what, why did they move it, oh I don’t think they should have done this, no that’s just wrong” Person D= perusal YouTube about bus142 And reading the comments for a good laugh 😂🤣. Think I will go with “D” And prefer the old article on YouTube about how the bus originally got there By “YUTAN”
You start by saying you did your reseach but you didn’t say about the15 search and recues. They were in a 10 year period which is less than 2 a year. Did you also research how many were done at neighboring Denali National Park? They had 4 DEATHS last year alone. You say that moving the bus was a training exercise so it didn’t cost an arm or a leg. First, how much does an arm or a leg cost and second, couldn’t the resue be trainig excersises as well? You admit the the National Gaurd was an client in which you got paid. So much about this reaks and as far as I’m concerned, so do you. I hiked out to the bus and spent the night ( unlike takig a helicopter). I am also a novice hiker. The trip is what make the destination, otherwise I woud have just visited the movie prop bus on he side of the highway. There is a Facebook page- Magic Bus Memorial- that i hope will help like fans together and get a monument placed at the bus site
I read a story about it.. how they took the bus… was so sad by it. I bet the Family and the Sisters are Glad they went … before it was taken away The one Sister was thinking of making a Bridge to help cross the river… she had Big Planes… So I wonder how she Reacted to the News they took the Bus away… I hope they but it in A Museum. Hopefully it will not take them too long to decide; otherwise, the Bus will just fall apart just Sitting there! Any Time the Govt is Involved… It’s all TOP SECRET! Maybe his Sister will Look into all this…. I Hope so… The Movie and Book were so GOOD and so SAD… May He RIP… His Story Touched So Many People!
What an incredible story and movie about Chris McCandless and his adventure living in bus ‘142’. I could watch the movie endlessly. And I can agree with your bittersweet emotions concerning the removal. Hopefully this bus will be placed for display to the public. I would like so much to see it and to just feel Chris’s spirit.
What the hell man….. This was 1st on my bucket list bcoz I saw the movie today and I was inspired by the life of Christopher……😭😭😭this is bad…….I was planning to go abroad to Alaska for this trip in 2022 but seems like there’s no use of going ……bcoz they already had shifted that magic bus and what remains is just the Nature…… I wish I had seen this movie before and might have heard of Christopher’s story a little earlier so that Today I may not have regretted by seeing this article …… What I saw in that movie is virtual And I wanted to feel it for Real….. 😭😭😭😭
such a strange hero – lived in a rusted out bus for 90+ days one Alaska summer. I read krakauer’s book when it first came out – very moving ! – but all these years I’ve never really known what to make of the story. The part where he set his money on fire because life was more exciting without money really got to me. But then he is so often getting by on the good will of those who don’t burn their money- the man who gave him the job, the man who recognized him as a young kid out of his depth and gave him the correct boots he’d need for the Alaskan wilderness. Maybe it’s- when he was in need God provided, maybe it’s – God was off bowling and left him to die alone and afraid?
I wonder if he named it because he watched this show “The Magic School Bus” follows Ms. Frizzle and her class as they set off on field trips. Based on the best-selling book series of the same name, “The Magic School Bus” takes kids on a virtual bus ride. Magically transforming into a plane, submarine, spaceship or surfboard, this bus carr…
Not just one but two articles where the guy demonstrates that he never even read Jon Krakaur’s book which hardly takes more than one long sitting to read. Krakaur does exemplary research and explained in the book that the buses (there was 3) were dragged out there on sleds behind buldozers. They were NEVER DRIVEN out there. So what else has this article gotten wrong? People dying? Could be zero, but we can’t rely on this article.
That bus became a monument to modern humanities hubris toward the outdoors and the REAL wild. Krakauer is guilty of fomenting this misguided and deadly focal point…the bus… the damn bus. I have no sadness for the removal of this blight. I do have sadness for the people that have died or have been injured trying to get there. This had been a BURDEN for the people of Alaska both emotionally and financially. This bus meant tragedy, not romanticism.
The two sides of the story is very easily explained. The conformists and sheep of our modern society say he was careless, had mental issues, selfish, etc. The people who can relate have rebel souls, and they long for being closer to nature, going back to the old ways, escaping the fake society where people work their lives away for material things. Have you truly lived working a 9-5, saving for the next Iphone, chasing 1 & 0’s in your bank account? Will you wake up one day and regret not following your dreams because you fell into a dead end job that you hate just to pay bills and “live”? He also wanted to get away from the control. Rules and regulations, the man, what? I need permission to canoe down a stream? This is God’s country, if we want to canoe down a stream, we shouldn’t need permission, or “privilege” from authority. It’s our right to do our will, as long as it doesn’t hurt others. And of course control from his parents. I think there’s a part in all of us that long to be closer to nature. When we were tribes and close communities, we hunted and gave thanks for a meal. Now we don’t know where or how our meals are killed, we just grab it from a shelf. SuperTramp was proud of the game he harvested. It wasn’t killing for sport, and hanging a trophy on a wall, it was to survive. That’s our most base instinct. We’re disconnected from our food as well as mother nature. And most of the time it’s brutal factory farming, where animals suffer. At least when you hunt for food and get a clean kill the animal doesn’t suffer and you give thanks.
Saw the movie when it came out. Such a compelling story. I completely agree with your commentary here. I can see both sides. Perhaps there will be a museum for it to be displayed somewhere. It’s history and history is important and inspiring. Thx for sharing your journey about this cool spot and the bus. Love the memorial stone too. ❣️🍀
I also kind of understand but the emotional history side of this wins in my eyes . We all know eventually the bus would rot and return back to the earth however that would take an extremely long time for it to be totally gone so until that day would come there would remain some sort of it for the location to be a destination spot for folks to go and reminisce, talk & think of Chris and his story and again I think that should’ve been the side that mattered. Chris’s suitcase and belongings should without a doubt be returned to his family ( if they’d like to have them ) and the biggest question for me is, what happened to Chris’s stone marker that was there ? It ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY should remain there ! Please tell us it remains there !???
Disgraceful removing that bus, why? It’s part of folklore, it’s part of a story, part of the mountains and landscape, unfortunately there’s someone made this decision because they themselves are what Chris McCandless ran away from, sad pathetic people, more people die getting struck by lightening! Just some attention seeker wanting fame, one day the bus will return!
This is not ok at all. There are so many people whose dream was to get to this bus. The bus holds an extremely special place in people’s hearts and it should not have been removed. It was a part of national history, a landmark, the place of one of the most touching stories took place. It is dishonoring Chris’s memory and should not have been done. long liv Alexander Supertramp McCandless. And remember “Happiness is only real when shared.”
No, too many stupid people hiking out there for a photo op. Probably know little about the story or McCandless’s motivations for going out there himself. Not as dangerous as Everest, but just as stupid. It’s for the best that the bus was moved. Besides, how much of a shelter was it for hunters without windows?? It’s purpose was fulfilled.
I live in Dublin, Ireland. On the coast, at the eastern edge of the city, there is a power station with two large chimney stacks. The government wanted to remove them, I mean it’s only a disused power plant. A lot of people agreed. But a lot more disagreed. When you fly into the city from Europe they are the first thing you see to welcome you home. They are part of our past, our skyline, our city. So they remain, and always will. Removing this bus was wrong, on every level. It’s the decision of small-minded people that don’t understand that culture comes from the strangest of places. Yes, it is only an old bus. But it has meaning beyond this and should be preserved. McCandlesses story is now an international one, its really tragic to see it being dismantled.
I went through severe violence same time that Chris did, oddly enough an hour outside Atlanta. I left at 17 and wandered too, first to Atlanta. He and I likely just missed one another. We’d fir sure have been friends. I know what he needed, what he felt, he was looking for. I cant begin to explain what it does to you to have your parents hurt you. I think of him often when I’m at my dr appts at Emory every month. I’d always wanted to make it there. Alaska is my goal one day. Just to be away but not alone, maybe somewhere with neighbors, a city. I struggle with pain. I have no family. I’m 48 now and alone. My childhood, the violence, it haunts me. It did my baby sister too. She gave up last April 9th, age 32. The memories were too much for her. I have to still go, bus or not some day….for her.
I’m happy the bus was removed from it’s location, people have no respect for the one who made them go there, for such an inspiration to everybody. I hope they can preserve the bus and fix it somehow that can be exposed to public. It’s disgusting to watch all that garbage, people who normally settles camping anywhere should leave it better than they found it. It’s the end of a sad but inspiring story.