It's not about being able to survive or even withstanding what nature can do to us, Chris wanted to be different, and he strived to show that we don't have to fall into the same road each generation of people get lumped into
What did he stand for? I'm an idiot and I'm going to travel into the wilderness but I have no idea how to survive so I'm going to live in an abandoned bus I found? He deserved to die
@whereskim89 The bus has sustained a lot of damage (in the form of broken windows and obnoxiously oversized graffiti. Even the driver's side of the windshield is smashed out now. It's too bad people do not have more respect for the bus. Even if you don't have any respect for Chris or what he stood for you should be able to respect that the bus is a backcountry shelter that people use and shouldn't be getting all smashed up. It's just sad.
I am preparing for a hike on the stampede trail 2012 and am a practiced trail hiker, but I plan a great training program for this adventure, how few people nowadays can be called a adventurer, great video thank you
Just accomplished the hike yesterday (July 2nd 2011) with one other person. It was long... Waste deep high Teklanika crossing. We took 34 hours to complete the entire trail. I don't suggest anyone ever do it that fast. It began raining and the Teklanika river rose two inches overnight. Be prepared for instances like that. The current was strong. The stick was literally a LIFESAVER! Thanks for the video. I suggest no one go out there past this date. The Teklanika is rising and almost impassible.
Great video. The sad thing about this is as visitors increase so will the grafitti and souvenir hunters. Ryan's Daughter, a film by David Lean was made here in Ireland. They left the schoolhouse depicted in the film and I visited in 1970 when it was intact. I went back two years ago and its a ruin from trophy hunters taking bits away. It starts with grafitti and then they start pulling strips off. It should be left as a monument to the man.
@mollyisagooddog Good points! The problem with this particular case though is that people head out to the bus on a regular basis, some of them critically underprepared. Those individuals end up needing rescue (at the states's expense) making the locals wonder if removing the bus might be the best option. This video is here so that people might realize how long/hard the trek is, and if they do go that they might be prepared. Hopefully it helps to keep the bus in it's original place.
@erikhalfacre Must say it is a really enjpyable video and very responsibly done. I put the coordinates you gave into google earth and it zoomed in smack on th bus. Though the picture is fuzzy it gives you a real sense of the wilderness. Sorry to hear the locals are thinking of removing it. If it were managed correctly it could bring tourism and help the local economy. I see in other videos that someone smashed windows on the bus. Hunters wouldn't have done that. Alex's family would be appalled.
@mollyisagooddog if you bump the quality up to 720HD it's pretty clear. I'm not really sure how to set the default play quality higher or I would. It's just that it automatically plays back at 360px.
@mollyisagooddog i intend to go here but not to put my name or for trophy.....but to feel how it feels being there...came to know about it from Into The Wild 2007 movie...i hope when i visit will find the bus...
@mollyisagooddog i also intend to visit this bus and place and feel it how it feels being here away from the rest of the World n I'll not leave my name or of anyother neither will tear parts of the bus..but one thing will sure capture in my camera n hope by the time i reach this place and the bus i get to see the bus as it should be...it must be needing hell of maintenance so that it remains for longer and longer neverending period..came to know about this place from the movie Into The Wild2007
@mollyisagooddog sure i will... :) sorry for double replies earlier..my internet froze that time and i thought my comment was not up..so typed again..best wishes
Yes, I can keep you posted on our trip. I live in virginia beach and am not overly excited about the cold weather. We have a guide and we are prepared though. Palin will not be going. Probably to controversial for her. Just a small intimate group heading out. Hope to video and take images but not sure how the cold will affect my camera equipment. Walt is very willing to speak to folks. I can pass on your name.
@gawfboy Take two batteries for your camera. Put one in a shirt pocket underneath your coat. Swap your batteries out every 45 minutes or so, or before you keep taping each time (if it's that cold.) Cold will sap all the energy out of your battery really quick. Other than that, just be really careful not to breath on your lens because it will frost over and then you have to clean it really well before you can tape/shoot again. Have a great time. Wish I could go but I'm stuck in FL til Nov.
@gawfboy I had heard that the McCandless family was headed to the bus month (with Sarah Palin?) That's really neat. I'd love to get a chance to talk with them at some point. I've been in contact with Janet Ackermann (mother of the girl who drowned trying to cross the Tek in 2010) and would like to talk to them about the idea of trying to either reconstruct the old cable trolley, or build another means of cross (cable bridge or another trolley.)
Heading to the bus with Chris's parents this month. There is a book that is being released soon called, "Back to the Wild" showcasing some of Chris's pictures that have not been published.
@gawfboy When I was at the bus I didn't write in Carine's journal. There was a spiral stenographer's notebook though that was being used as a visitor log. In there you will find my name with the names of the other seven people in my group. Enjoy your trip out there. You're pretty lucky to get to make it with who you're going with. I'd love to hear about it when you get back. Also, I'm quite looking forward to the book when it comes out.
Great video but if I might add a little note........ Loose the jeans and all the cotten you are wearing first rule of all hikers. COTTON KILLS but it was a great video thanks for posting
@hadd13 The phrase "Cotton Kills" has it's truth it to it, but our group had plenty of spare clothes (in dry bags) and brought plenty of things to start fire with. Though I wore all synthetic the whole trip, only one of the people wearing cotton here is a 'rookie.' The rest of the folks (on my trip) were all lifelong Alaskans with countless hours of outdoor experience up here. It was the middle of summer. Had it been earlier or later in the year we would have dressed differently.
@erikhalfacre Thanks for the reply most people start calling people that don't agree with them loosers,or some other pretty harsh names . I wasn't sure what time of year it was but thanks for the great expanation keep posting and keep hiking
Thanks Erik for posting the video. My husband and I will be traveling to AK this summer. And while we do not plan a trip to the "magic bus" I can understand the connection that people feel to this special spot. Krakauer's book was tremendous, and I enjoy reading it with my 11th grade students each year. The story is tragic and profound. However, I also tend to agree with sweetiepie000. I will not venture to the bus even though we have numerous hikes in the area planned during our visit.
@erikhalfacre Personally it's synthetics for me. Regardless what the temp may be, the last thing I'd want to do is be "caught" with cotton and having to rely on something to bail me out.
@ItalysBadBoy Cotton is definitely not ideal and has a lot of shortcomings. Knowing the temp range we could expect though, and having several methods of getting warm in case the cotton got wet, it wasn't a big deal. I personally hike in nothing but nylon pants during the summer due to their quick drying times and low weight.
Just so everyone is aware @sprucepantherkmt was blocked. I won't tolerate ignorant hatred and blatant racism in the comments here. Opposing viewpoints are welcome, as can be seen by the fact that people like @sweetypie000 still have there comments here and I have no problem with that. No one is made better though by trying to attack people based on race or religion.
Just for the record, nothing on this video was stolen. All third party content is being used with written permission.
@sprucepantherkmt you can try to disagree civilly or you can get blocked. That's the last warning. Your unprovoked abusive out lashes do no one any good.
@erikhalfacre oh please, lose the patronizing attitude and don't be such a control freak, this is a public forum, you seem to want the exposure, but not the heat, that's not how it work, what you're doing here is making sure you anger enough commentators so your account end up terminated for breach of community guidelines, don't take every comment personal, that a communal process, it doesn't belong to you, step back, let it work itself, we're not infants, although you act like one
@quaxk If you'd seen the comments in question maybe you'd have a different opinion. Second, if you think I'm in violation of the community guidelines you need to read them again; specifically the part that goes:
We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
1) That bus predates McCandless by a good number of years, as does its use as a backcountry shelter.
2) The people going to it as a 'shrine' and the people 'smashing it up' are two different groups of people.
3) The hike has value other than for it's connection to the McCandless story, though I don't have anything against people doing the trek for that reason either. It's a long distance hike into an area surrounded on all sides by National Park. It's an interesting area.
@tttar@sweetypie000 I was not aware of who actually did it until now, assuming that's true. It would be nice to see a reference. I'm not calling anyone a liar, I just would like confirmation if possible. A newspaper article link or something.
As far as hauling out the bus though, there is no need to protect people from themselves. The Alaskan backcountry has a great abundance of this kind of thing. Look up Bomber glacier for instance. There is no precedent for that kind of hand-holding.
Actually... I just did a quick google search and found an article from the Juneau Empire, which is reliable enough for me. For some reason it won't let me post the link here but if you just google [ "Kasey Cory" bus ] it's pretty near the top.
Perhaps the nice person who gave generously of his time, to make the bus's dashboard available to all of us on ebay, and who's posted so many other beautiful videos of the bus and surrounding area has had second thoughts on selling it - since now it probably won't end up being trashed anyway - and would like to try and buy the item back and reinstall it.
@tttar Yeah it's certainly not unforgivable or anything. I've pulled plenty of junk out of the woods in AK in my time, and maybe that's just the way he was thinking about it. Given the public reaction though, maybe some sort of apology at least would be in order? Apparently it meant enough to people they were willing to write articles in newspapers about it.
Thanks for this, Erik. I was deeply touched by Chris's story. I will probably never be able to visit Alaska, sadly, but your advice is really good. I hope everyone who plans to make the trek watches this video.
It's not about being able to survive or even withstanding what nature can do to us, Chris wanted to be different, and he strived to show that we don't have to fall into the same road each generation of people get lumped into
ShitbagsGroup 1 month ago
What did he stand for? I'm an idiot and I'm going to travel into the wilderness but I have no idea how to survive so I'm going to live in an abandoned bus I found? He deserved to die
englerdm 1 month ago
i heard someone stole McCandless's boots from the bus. I can't believe they lasted there so many years. What could someone want with his old boots?
whereskim89 1 month ago
@whereskim89 The bus has sustained a lot of damage (in the form of broken windows and obnoxiously oversized graffiti. Even the driver's side of the windshield is smashed out now. It's too bad people do not have more respect for the bus. Even if you don't have any respect for Chris or what he stood for you should be able to respect that the bus is a backcountry shelter that people use and shouldn't be getting all smashed up. It's just sad.
erikhalfacre 1 month ago 2
@erikhalfacre I know its pretty callous, almost like trashing a graveyard.
whereskim89 1 month ago
greta video about a great man, thatnks for the upload man :) hope to get to the bus one day myself. good video .
splurdgeBand 3 months ago
Comment removed
splurdgeBand 3 months ago
I am preparing for a hike on the stampede trail 2012 and am a practiced trail hiker, but I plan a great training program for this adventure, how few people nowadays can be called a adventurer, great video thank you
whereskim89 5 months ago
Thanks for this post. Great info!
MrJdele 7 months ago
Just accomplished the hike yesterday (July 2nd 2011) with one other person. It was long... Waste deep high Teklanika crossing. We took 34 hours to complete the entire trail. I don't suggest anyone ever do it that fast. It began raining and the Teklanika river rose two inches overnight. Be prepared for instances like that. The current was strong. The stick was literally a LIFESAVER! Thanks for the video. I suggest no one go out there past this date. The Teklanika is rising and almost impassible.
pimpjucie69 7 months ago 8
@pimpjucie69 thanks for the update. I sent you a private message with some more information. Glad you were able to make it there and back safely!
erikhalfacre 7 months ago
Great video. The sad thing about this is as visitors increase so will the grafitti and souvenir hunters. Ryan's Daughter, a film by David Lean was made here in Ireland. They left the schoolhouse depicted in the film and I visited in 1970 when it was intact. I went back two years ago and its a ruin from trophy hunters taking bits away. It starts with grafitti and then they start pulling strips off. It should be left as a monument to the man.
mollyisagooddog 10 months ago 3
@mollyisagooddog Good points! The problem with this particular case though is that people head out to the bus on a regular basis, some of them critically underprepared. Those individuals end up needing rescue (at the states's expense) making the locals wonder if removing the bus might be the best option. This video is here so that people might realize how long/hard the trek is, and if they do go that they might be prepared. Hopefully it helps to keep the bus in it's original place.
erikhalfacre 10 months ago
@erikhalfacre Must say it is a really enjpyable video and very responsibly done. I put the coordinates you gave into google earth and it zoomed in smack on th bus. Though the picture is fuzzy it gives you a real sense of the wilderness. Sorry to hear the locals are thinking of removing it. If it were managed correctly it could bring tourism and help the local economy. I see in other videos that someone smashed windows on the bus. Hunters wouldn't have done that. Alex's family would be appalled.
mollyisagooddog 10 months ago
@mollyisagooddog if you bump the quality up to 720HD it's pretty clear. I'm not really sure how to set the default play quality higher or I would. It's just that it automatically plays back at 360px.
erikhalfacre 10 months ago
@erikhalfacre nevermind, I'm stupid. I just realized you were talking about google earth and not the video.
erikhalfacre 10 months ago
@mollyisagooddog i intend to go here but not to put my name or for trophy.....but to feel how it feels being there...came to know about it from Into The Wild 2007 movie...i hope when i visit will find the bus...
nishantkr46 3 months ago
@mollyisagooddog i also intend to visit this bus and place and feel it how it feels being here away from the rest of the World n I'll not leave my name or of anyother neither will tear parts of the bus..but one thing will sure capture in my camera n hope by the time i reach this place and the bus i get to see the bus as it should be...it must be needing hell of maintenance so that it remains for longer and longer neverending period..came to know about this place from the movie Into The Wild2007
nishantkr46 3 months ago
@nishantkr46 Up load the video when you come back from the trip and share it with us on youtube. Best of luck and be careful out there.
mollyisagooddog 3 months ago
@mollyisagooddog sure i will... :) sorry for double replies earlier..my internet froze that time and i thought my comment was not up..so typed again..best wishes
nishantkr46 3 months ago
Yes, I can keep you posted on our trip. I live in virginia beach and am not overly excited about the cold weather. We have a guide and we are prepared though. Palin will not be going. Probably to controversial for her. Just a small intimate group heading out. Hope to video and take images but not sure how the cold will affect my camera equipment. Walt is very willing to speak to folks. I can pass on your name.
gawfboy 11 months ago
@gawfboy Take two batteries for your camera. Put one in a shirt pocket underneath your coat. Swap your batteries out every 45 minutes or so, or before you keep taping each time (if it's that cold.) Cold will sap all the energy out of your battery really quick. Other than that, just be really careful not to breath on your lens because it will frost over and then you have to clean it really well before you can tape/shoot again. Have a great time. Wish I could go but I'm stuck in FL til Nov.
erikhalfacre 11 months ago
Did you have a chance to write in Carine's journal she left in the bus?
gawfboy 11 months ago
@gawfboy I had heard that the McCandless family was headed to the bus month (with Sarah Palin?) That's really neat. I'd love to get a chance to talk with them at some point. I've been in contact with Janet Ackermann (mother of the girl who drowned trying to cross the Tek in 2010) and would like to talk to them about the idea of trying to either reconstruct the old cable trolley, or build another means of cross (cable bridge or another trolley.)
erikhalfacre 11 months ago
Heading to the bus with Chris's parents this month. There is a book that is being released soon called, "Back to the Wild" showcasing some of Chris's pictures that have not been published.
gawfboy 11 months ago
@gawfboy When I was at the bus I didn't write in Carine's journal. There was a spiral stenographer's notebook though that was being used as a visitor log. In there you will find my name with the names of the other seven people in my group. Enjoy your trip out there. You're pretty lucky to get to make it with who you're going with. I'd love to hear about it when you get back. Also, I'm quite looking forward to the book when it comes out.
erikhalfacre 11 months ago
Great video but if I might add a little note........ Loose the jeans and all the cotten you are wearing first rule of all hikers. COTTON KILLS but it was a great video thanks for posting
hadd13 1 year ago
@hadd13 The phrase "Cotton Kills" has it's truth it to it, but our group had plenty of spare clothes (in dry bags) and brought plenty of things to start fire with. Though I wore all synthetic the whole trip, only one of the people wearing cotton here is a 'rookie.' The rest of the folks (on my trip) were all lifelong Alaskans with countless hours of outdoor experience up here. It was the middle of summer. Had it been earlier or later in the year we would have dressed differently.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
@erikhalfacre Thanks for the reply most people start calling people that don't agree with them loosers,or some other pretty harsh names . I wasn't sure what time of year it was but thanks for the great expanation keep posting and keep hiking
hadd13 1 year ago
good job guys~
narutocanon 1 year ago
Thanks Erik for posting the video. My husband and I will be traveling to AK this summer. And while we do not plan a trip to the "magic bus" I can understand the connection that people feel to this special spot. Krakauer's book was tremendous, and I enjoy reading it with my 11th grade students each year. The story is tragic and profound. However, I also tend to agree with sweetiepie000. I will not venture to the bus even though we have numerous hikes in the area planned during our visit.
amyjo1121 1 year ago
@erikhalfacre Personally it's synthetics for me. Regardless what the temp may be, the last thing I'd want to do is be "caught" with cotton and having to rely on something to bail me out.
ItalysBadBoy 1 year ago
@ItalysBadBoy Ever done any hiking in that part of AK in the middle of summer?
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
This I believe is the first time I've seen it acceptable to wear cotton such as Levi's. Still I personally avoid cotton, about as much as I do bears.
ItalysBadBoy 1 year ago
@ItalysBadBoy Cotton is definitely not ideal and has a lot of shortcomings. Knowing the temp range we could expect though, and having several methods of getting warm in case the cotton got wet, it wasn't a big deal. I personally hike in nothing but nylon pants during the summer due to their quick drying times and low weight.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
10,000 views!
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
That was a really fun trip! I miss Alaska.
eowynhalfacre 1 year ago
Just so everyone is aware @sprucepantherkmt was blocked. I won't tolerate ignorant hatred and blatant racism in the comments here. Opposing viewpoints are welcome, as can be seen by the fact that people like @sweetypie000 still have there comments here and I have no problem with that. No one is made better though by trying to attack people based on race or religion.
Just for the record, nothing on this video was stolen. All third party content is being used with written permission.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago 5
@sprucepantherkmt you can try to disagree civilly or you can get blocked. That's the last warning. Your unprovoked abusive out lashes do no one any good.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago 2
@erikhalfacre oh please, lose the patronizing attitude and don't be such a control freak, this is a public forum, you seem to want the exposure, but not the heat, that's not how it work, what you're doing here is making sure you anger enough commentators so your account end up terminated for breach of community guidelines, don't take every comment personal, that a communal process, it doesn't belong to you, step back, let it work itself, we're not infants, although you act like one
quaxk 1 month ago
@quaxk If you'd seen the comments in question maybe you'd have a different opinion. Second, if you think I'm in violation of the community guidelines you need to read them again; specifically the part that goes:
We encourage free speech and defend everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. But we don't permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity).
erikhalfacre 1 month ago
@erikhalfacre it's evident you very little social site experience, just let it go man, relax
quaxk 1 month ago
imo Mccandless would have hated the entire idea of people trekking out there. The idea was escapism from society and the wrong it does.
People using this as a shrine and then smashing the place up.... he had good insight to what people are like - worthless
sweetypie000 1 year ago
@sweetypie000
1) That bus predates McCandless by a good number of years, as does its use as a backcountry shelter.
2) The people going to it as a 'shrine' and the people 'smashing it up' are two different groups of people.
3) The hike has value other than for it's connection to the McCandless story, though I don't have anything against people doing the trek for that reason either. It's a long distance hike into an area surrounded on all sides by National Park. It's an interesting area.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
@erikhalfacre
1. So ? how many people have died in it. Respect for the dead please.
2. The groups of people that traipse in and out are ultimately the same - city dwellers dressed in northface and scarpas.
3. You don't just 'happen' to end up at the magic bus by a fluke - have you ever hiked before ? the land is vast
sweetypie000 1 year ago
Comment removed
tttar 1 year ago
@tttar That's true. It's a shame people don't have more respect for things like this.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago 2
@tttar yep. kcmtbike (Kasey Cory) was the vermiin who stole and sold it
sweetypie000 1 year ago
Comment removed
tttar 1 year ago
@tttar @sweetypie000 I was not aware of who actually did it until now, assuming that's true. It would be nice to see a reference. I'm not calling anyone a liar, I just would like confirmation if possible. A newspaper article link or something.
As far as hauling out the bus though, there is no need to protect people from themselves. The Alaskan backcountry has a great abundance of this kind of thing. Look up Bomber glacier for instance. There is no precedent for that kind of hand-holding.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
Actually... I just did a quick google search and found an article from the Juneau Empire, which is reliable enough for me. For some reason it won't let me post the link here but if you just google [ "Kasey Cory" bus ] it's pretty near the top.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
@erikhalfacre I just looked around and found "McCandless bus now an eBay item."
Then I found outside-blog.away.com/blog/2007/10/page/4/ which had a YouTube video that had apparently been part of the ebay ad.
tttar 1 year ago
Perhaps the nice person who gave generously of his time, to make the bus's dashboard available to all of us on ebay, and who's posted so many other beautiful videos of the bus and surrounding area has had second thoughts on selling it - since now it probably won't end up being trashed anyway - and would like to try and buy the item back and reinstall it.
There, maybe that's what I should have said. :)
tttar 1 year ago
@tttar Yeah it's certainly not unforgivable or anything. I've pulled plenty of junk out of the woods in AK in my time, and maybe that's just the way he was thinking about it. Given the public reaction though, maybe some sort of apology at least would be in order? Apparently it meant enough to people they were willing to write articles in newspapers about it.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
It's really incredible that the bus is still there and thats it's in that good shape, I would love to get there some time. Really nice video. (:
metalNIGHTWISHmetal 1 year ago
5000 views! It's neat to see so much interest in this topic.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago 4
Thanks for this, Erik. I was deeply touched by Chris's story. I will probably never be able to visit Alaska, sadly, but your advice is really good. I hope everyone who plans to make the trek watches this video.
raytheron1 1 year ago
2000 views! Picking up speed!
erikhalfacre 1 year ago 2
Very, Very handy info, plan on doing this hike one day.
mattyj46 1 year ago
First 1000 views! Thanks everybody!
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
thanks!
ereminzero 1 year ago 2
Wonderful, wonderful video! As some one intends to visit Bus 142 one day, I especially appreciate it. Very honest and informative.
xxphantomxwolfxx 1 year ago 4
thanks everybody! This was a fun project to work on.
erikhalfacre 1 year ago
Nice Video.:)
2PawsRiver 1 year ago
Nice job!
1stimestar 1 year ago 2
Awesome video! Feels great to get some exposure for my music :D
duckshepherd 1 year ago 2
@duckshepherd any time. Great stuff!
erikhalfacre 1 year ago