Agreed even after he was told to prepare

So many people told him not to do it and that it wasn't safe. He ignored them thinking it would somehow be different for him

Lived in Anchorage for 2 years. The wilderness is far more dangerous than most think; it'll get you even when prepared, going in when experienced people advise against it is borderline delusional.

I also lived in anchorage (and Sitka) for five years. Even living in the city in the winter is difficult and takes some preparation. It’s so easy to have a romantic idea of what Alaska is like. Living in Alaska isn’t easy. Chris was naive.

Yes he was just full of romantic ideas of living off the land. Its all very well running away from issues, but unless you're on a death wish, even fully prepared, I would not go and hide out in Alaska during winter.... NO WAAAAY! Hungry predators, lack of survival skills and eating, no foragable food and a freezing cold bus, no no thank you!

Had a narcissistic father and CMc was rebelling against all that was wrong with that!

i got that vibe too

That kind of stressor is also associated with the onset of bi-polar. Which comes on, about his age.

You could be right, something was driving him to live the way he did.

Northern Girl, l suspect you’re not far off. This is common when the majority of the voices in your head weren’t permitted to be your own.

Well ya, nurses cannot diagnose.

Only in a nursing care plan. 😏

Work in a hotel or I use it too LOL

Ditto. I used to say "it SEEMS to be the case that IF...THEN..." which still a lot of people appear to hear as too concrete a claim & not conditional or open to revision. "I'm only speculating here & not diagnosing/declaring just hypothesising what might be happening in a situation like this" has become the start of almost all my sentences in common & professional parlance that aren't just requests & has reduced miscommunication and misunderstandings a lot. Extra helpful to end with a reminder that it's only speculation based on what can be observed & is therefore inconclusive, so they still don't walk away with the wrong impression (Especially if they operate on a faith based epistemology). Also, in considering this, I need this on a shirt to save me some time lol. If Dr Grande makes some ill 100% buy

Great word LEXICON is

Is why i forbid this story for my kid, she's 14 now so we'll see how much longer i can control this. I'm deathly afraid of this sort of influence. I'm happy you stayed in your path.

Ali living I read this book at 14. I didn’t see it as a story I wanted to emulate. I mean, take a look at how Chris’s life ended. He started with an ok idea, but was extremely ill prepared and it cost him his life. If anything, it can give the lesson of being well prepared for any serious life changes.

No friend, you just let the world change your mind. In this life, you make your own choices, no one forces you to follow in the footsteps of any one, and when you do, can not blame the outcome on the former. He died in Christ, and because He acknowledged Christ, he will live forever. I have nothing bad to say about this man, in fact, I feel we may have more in common than not.

@@aliliving7774 i grew up in that state. I got accidentally lost as a kid in a forest and it was frightening. But I never get lost when prepared. Please consider teaching your kid the basics of orienting and using the compass. (These days you can bring satellite GPS units that work anywhere.) But it might be a fun activity for your family . :)

I’m glad you didn’t....such a tragic story

Even if you survive, you’re still in Alaska. There’s no winning.

@@HkFinn83 Alaska is indescribably beautiful, I highly recommend a visit. Summer only though and watch out for bears--Anchorage area had three fatal predatory black bear attacks the last summer I was up (2017). I live in Oregon now and miss it (but not enough to put up with nine month winters again).

@@junipersages yeh I’m not worried about bear attacks, I go everywhere with my pet hippo.

Pride kills more often than the wilderness.

@@HkFinn83 haha, I would love to see that!

💙✌️

Same here

He's the 🐐

Agreed! God bless Dr. Grande. 🙏🏽

I know right?! 😁👍🏾

She wrote a book, too. I wonder if that doco was the same program that aired on my local PBS station; it was very good.

😢

@@sarah2.017 She did a TED talk too that was very informative.

Do you have a link?

@@melanie7466 It's called "Return to the Wild", you'll find it that way.

I hiked Mount Whitney with 2 guys who had beginners hiking experience, but we prepared with altitude sickness pills, not bring too much and use the water filter for natural water sources. They both didn’t make it to the top while I did, but it was grueling for all of us and fun at the same time.

Many people have actually died trying to imitate mccandleless and the bus he took shelter in. Eventually the bus was moved because of the deaths.

💯 my thoughts after seeing it twice, first at 22 and second 37.

I was a resident of the State of Alaska for 17 years. I remember the news about Chris. Everybody thought that it was an insane thing he did by not having the necessary provisions to survive in the wilderness.

I'm an Army veteran. It just baffles me people doing this stuff, when you can test yourself and what you can do and GET PAID FOR IT in the military.

I disagree with Doc on this one. He was a very young man and their frontal lobes aren't fully formed which makes them prone to stupid risk taking. It's probable that he would have grown more cautious about his risk taking with age. It also sounds like his dad's betrayal to his mother had affected him deeply and maybe he didn't feel he had much to live for.

@@robk2257 he was a total idiot and his parents never called him out on his bullshit. ... and he was the type who ran with it. ...... couldn’t hang the hinges for a shit house door but he was going to survive in Alaska.... sure. ..... 🤦‍♀️

@@ladyluck5248 His parents were physically and emotionally abusive to him. He made bad decisions because he had bad options.

@@robk2257 true. Tis a fact young men make all kinds of stupid choices. Jon Krakauer includes his own experiences as a young man that were very similar to McCandless in the book. He too, made bad choices and was underprepared, but for whatever Krakauer lived to tell his story. He also tells stories of young men very similar to McCandless.

@@ladyluck5248 If youv'e never had a parent who is, or had first hand and on going and been the target of a sociopath / psychopath. It can be very hard to understand just how much this can f_ _k a person over even if you follow channels like this. I can understand ownly to well how he could have made bad decisions later in his life because of the way he was treated by his parents as he was growing up.

Very well put.

A very young fool

Me too. Could of just been his personality or possibly something like bipolar.

@@badcornflakes6374 yes, a really dumb fool.

He wasn't an fool, he just wanted to get away because of the problems at home. Here on KZfaq is his sister's documentary. He sheds light on the history of his father's abuse and violence. It quite opens my eyes. Everyone reacts differently to the difficult family history, it is sad that he took him on the path that led to his too early death.

At least death wasn't Jim Morrison's only contribution that he left for posterity.

Alcohol had a lot to do with his downfall, crippled his body with it

Try jesus. Steps to christ by ellen white. The great controversy by ellen white. All the best

@@mattluszczak8095 I mean looking at Jesus life objectively, remove the supernatural mumbo jumbo and he's a cautionary tale as well.

Excellent 👍👍

He needed a community he could count on that was genuine; values were important to him, he did need to be out in the open, perhaps he could have been an organic farm hand. Why would you say not empathetic??? nah, I don’t agree with your diagnosis. some folks just can’t live in the city.

@@sahej6939 I think people did try to offer him a stable place to live but he was focused on the chaos in his head.

Yep. Dreams arent something you can cook with onions

I always wondered why he didn't want to stay in slab city (if that was the name). From the way the movie portraied him, he generally didn't seem too interested in the people he met along the way.

As a Canadian I thought he said it just fine 🙂

What’s alcohil ;)

Love Dr Grande, but on that one I wished he had called it more clearly out as alcoholism. I feel so bad for that McCandless kid. It is no joke growing up with alcoholics.

His father collected empty bottles

I don't know why society still counts "drug-related" crimes, but forgets to mention alcohol is involved in a huge percentage of them.

@JV Harbin she was the absolute sweetest animal. She has since passed away, in the summer of 2019. I miss her so much. She was cautious around people but would lay down and roll over for belly rubs. Her rescued male buddy, who was very bonded to her, died 2 months later after crawling into the den she had dug. It was heartbreaking. Wolves are amazing animals. I am not promoting ownership of wolves or wolf hybrids, I just had facilities to keep a pair of rescues at a time, allowing sanctuaries to have room for others.

What a great story! I think Barker was into animal rights very much!

That’s awesome!

@@bonniedunbar6717 yes he was. Great guy.

@@BurroGirl I'm so sorry for your loss. She was lucky to have you...and you her.🐾💙

Me neither, but think the author, Krakauer wanted to know what was driving McCandless to live the way he did, and risk his life.

I completely agree. Causing your family that much hurt is never heroic. It's mean and heartless. There are ways he could have done this and not initially Hurt oyhers

Same but then again he accomplished his dreams

@@charmainelouie5314 I don’t think his dream was to starve to death. All I’m saying is that what he did was selfish, his family suffered because of his failure to educate himself and plan well.

Meena H before Alaska

Oh wow. I'm happy you're home now and hope you recover fully very quickly!!

hugs to you! Please take great care of yourself. This is a great way to spend your recovery time, away from news and anything else that is exhausting.

Hey, hope you continue to heal! Much love 😘🙏

I hope you feel better soon! 🤗

I am so glad you're feeling better covid-19 it's not something to mess around

I think that comparison was unkind and disrespectful to Chris

I would say, he is more of the pathology of Waldo.

@@tracyfeldwick4311 and I found that comparison slighted Mr.Magoo

Mr Magoo dressed more fashionably

@@tracyfeldwick4311 I think the comparison was unkind and disrespectful to Dr Magoo! He lived....

A good analysis, and think you're pretty much correct.

Exactly. He knew he fucked around and found out…but by then it was too late. Not a bad kid, just misguided and unprepared. RIP Chris

terrible movie and not inspirational story at all. he was aggorant and thought he was better than everyone. zero knowlege or trainining to do what he tried amd he had plenty of time to figure that out andnturn around. he was ignorant and hard headed. entitled rich kid thinks hes able to do anything he wants and learns his lesson. its not an uncommon story. dont romantisize him or his actions or words.

That's very insightful. Thank you.

Hell isn't other people, it's no people.

​@@toniam.2080 I think it can be both. A life without people can be hell or bliss.

@@toniam.2080 It isn't no people, its the wrong people. Which is most people.

So true. 😮

Yes, the second family came to light later... the story was more complex than the movie.

Agreed! I don’t understand how this aspect of his psyche has not been given more attention. I believe it has everything to do with his lack of care for himself and reckless behaviour, so sad

Yup. I'd guess his turning away from the world was strongly linked from trying desperately to turn away from an unbearable home life.

Yes. His Trust was irrevocably destroyed. My father was a family-destroying philanderer and my mother 'the other woman'. It wasn't until teens that my 3 older siblings were disclosed. It Broke my ability to Trust, I have ZERO Respect for the Morals and Values they were bent on instilling, because they had NONE! Its laughable, really. The feeling of Betrayal is almost unbearable, because you realize that he threw away his 3 children, what's to stop him from throwing ME away?

His sister gave a sympathetic TED Talk which shed light on his motivations

Haha. You got that right.

Maybe they both have a point?

Coming from a town of "back to the land" type hippies/proto hippies (they started in the depression) most of them thought he was a moron too. City hippies for whom nature is a place they visit/dream about....yeah you're basically right.

I'm better prepared when I go out for a day hike than this idiot was. I feel bad for his friends and family but he should have known better.

@@ufc990 He didn’t really have either.

I think he was an avoidant personality.

@@robinabner3118 You're entitled to your especulations. I think he's perfect. Two opinions. Yours and mine.

lol @ the rotation of plants! Mostly cuz it's true.

Get in line!

“Difficultly regulating intake of alcohol.” Omg

@@wookieboss2643 Amen

Me too!🥰

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

I could see this.

People with bi-polar depression do flirt with death a lot. Even while manic. Like the guy who impulsively stole a plane at Sea-Tac. You can hear it in his voice the whole time, he's manic, but depressed as hell too. A passenger in his own head.

@@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking wait somebody stole a plane at seatac? What's that's mean and what happened

Doesn't the Bible say to give? The world didn't like the "patterns" of Christ either.

Leaving one's mode of transportation and financial resources to flee to an extremely harsh unforgiving climate alone not being organized about anything feeling like they can take on the world unrealisrically has nothing to do with Christianity and everything ti do with mental illness. I'm a Christian and have had bipolar people in my life. I'm not criticizing him just seeing things I've observed in my life

No, I don't think that's it. You are free to give as you please. He seemed more narcissistic abd/or naive as if he believed nothing could hurt him

@Phoenix to Detroit He was also at that special age when bipolar disorder usually begins to onset in young adults

@@alwaysflushinpublic except hippies grew out of it. You don’t grow out of being bipolar...in fact, it gets worse with age for a lot of people.

Yeah, he's basically Patrice O'neal

When running, I pretend I'm being chased by the Turnbull ACs.

Like Tam O’ Shanter.

I know LOL. I always used the "alligators chasing you" trick

I know, and he stays so deadpan too!

I wonder what’s worse; getting eaten by a bear or slowly starving to death. Ugh

@@piperhurtado4945 Getting mauled by a bear is probably a little more traumatic and painful I would say. Of course I'm only speculating...

@@Leadfoot_P71 the worst of it is they eat you while you’re still alive. Starting with the intestines. That’s what’s they eat first because they’re nutritious. Via the rectum. That’s the last thing I’d want, to have the intestines eaten via the rectum. That sounds extremely uncomfortable.

@@Leadfoot_P71 why don’t these people take up a hobby like gardening or something instead of playing with bears and eating poison berries in an old truck?

@@HkFinn83 🤮

@@sheepdog03 Who am I to judge? Somebody who, like McCandless, regularly travels in search of self-discovery. And somebody who, unlike him, isn't dead.

@@sheepdog03 Do you believe being dead is better than being alive?

@@sheepdog03 Well, in the case of self-discovery, it's really something you only enjoy while alive. I don't think McCandless was suicidal. But who knows. It seems like his death wasn't intended.

@@thoughtfuldevil6069 I think he was subconsciously very self-destructive and unable to be happy, therefore all of that "discovering himself" and spirituality. He was desperately searching for something which would bring him inner peace and happiness. But he had opportunities and didn´t see them, like with his hippe friends. Or with his sister who cared about him a lot but he went away selfishly and she was left stressed, which IMHO doesn´t make him much better than the selfish, money and power-hungry types he despised.

@@sheepdog03 The point is that I'm smart enough to prepare myself when I go out into the wilderness. Chris wasn't. That's how he got himself killed by starvation/poisoning.

He kinda does already. He's gone through a number of disorders and outlined the possible criteria. Maybe a Patreon request could be to add F-Codes to his scripts?

DSM-5 on audio by Dr G woulda been a hit

@@DonPeyote420 😍

🙄

Yeah, I felt bad for him too. His sister is an opportunistic horror though.

more likely "burning down the house to appreciate the house"

It must be another full time job!

😂😂😂

I got a little of that going on too. 😁

😂

Lol

Ha ha ha ha ha , GREAT !!

Right, that also explains why he'd choose to do something as boring as working for Burger King in California. It was such a stark contrast to his family's expectations so it felt like rebellion to him.

He did what he had to do. He paid the price but hopefully he was happy.

That's stupid, you're stupid.

Yes but did you? He did.

It really is..

why? he seems to have had more adventure then many who grow old..

@@runs_through_the_forest How does the amount of adventure define one´s happiness? It doesn´t and this boy was obviously chronically unable to be happy and was self-destructive.

@@runs_through_the_forest Where's the adventure? Hunting a little? Sleeping outdoors? Eating berries? He went hiking, stayed too long and ended up starving to death. That's not much of an adventure. Lots of people went hiking and returned alive, able to travel the world, see different places and cultures, maybe learn an unusual skill, meet different people ... they had a lot more of adventure than he did.

@@thatsalt1560 well yes indeed but wasn't he on the road, traveling and such for a while? i only saw the movie, which of course is a bit of a one sided view or romanticized i guess.. i've done a few hikes and i won't get myself killed like him thanks to being unprepared..

His parents were loaded

He had a trust fund.

His parents put the money into a fund for him. He had just graduated from college and was going to study law. They offered to buy him a brand new car but he did not want it.

It was his trust fund. He drove the Datson because he didn’t want to become materialistic like his parents (in his view)

Inheritance

Could be, but he may have thought the entire river was this way, plus he didn't prepare.

Starvation can do a number on your brain's ability to function. Reasoning and planning (2 of the brain's executive functions) are among the first to become impaired. In the early 2000's a young couple became so impaired that they froze to death along a highway, several hundred feet from their car. The car still had over 1/4 tank of fuel and additional clothing inside it. In this case the cause of the brain changes was different than starvation, it was the first time they had tried meth. They even contacted 911 but were so disoriented that they couldn't effectively communicate their location. They got landmarks and street names wrong. They were within sight of a farmhouse with people inside, but mistook the cows they saw for hostile humans that wouldn't didn't speak English. I really really wonder how this played out with Chris. His brain could have prevented him from generating more ideas on how to get out. Maybe he couldn't effectively form a multi-step plan.

That also had me wondering - why didn't he just continue along the river to see if he could cross somewhere else? Maybe he thought the river would carry less water soon so he just wanted to wait it out in the bus. The movie mentions that he had always been afraid of water. But we'll never know. What I didn't understand is why he never contacted anyone, not even his sister.

Mr. Magoo lived and made people laugh; this kid died and made everyone sad. Mr Magoo wins every time!!

Admirable qualities + flaws = homosapien. 😊

Elitist.😢

I loved the movie. I would think tho, that maybe the electrician could have checked on him and informed other people about him. Very sad, even wonder if he had a mild mental disability. (?)

Ooooh now that’s interesting!

I would love to see this complex topic explored on this channel as well!

Good idea! I’d love to see something on that topic as well!

Great idea!

YES. Please?

👍🏿

Freedom mixed with idealism requires responsibility, otherwise it can be a dangerous mix.

@@southerndiscomfort2412 nailed it. You see this general rejection of the importance of hard work and preparation in so much of the self help motivational material that's popular today. So many young guys think that working an average 9-5 is simply the product of a mentality or lack thereof. As if they can simply break free with their will alone. Skills, planning, saving money, nahh screw that. It's all about believing and conceiving etc.

lots of people are idealistic but practical.

@@southerndiscomfort2412 amen

@@alwaysflushinpublic Perhaps not the best idea to publish one's life on the internet for everyone to want to opine on. I think it may be better to stay quiet, humble, neutral and to keep speculating instead of diagnosing to continue growing a good channel.

Me too ✌️💙

Amen!!!

Likewise. I have learned and benefited by viewing his content for close 6 months.

*Enjoying the new plants! ☺🍀

It’s mentioned in his notes that he was now a prisoner of the wild. He left one prison for another.

Good suggestion.

Would love to see this

Excellent suggestion

Yes, this would be a fascinating one!

Dr. G has done the analysis of John Allen Chau. Watched that video right before this one.

@@sheilacooke1543 same

Pride mixed with naivete I would say.

Fits right next to "Grizzly Man." That one made me cry.

I agree let it go

People have died trying to emulate his blindness. That's the point here.

He needs insulting for his absurd poseing which has cost the lives of simpletons

This is what I don't understand; yes, you hate your family. A family friend gave you a bit of cash. Take it and your degree and do this crazy thing called: set up a life for yourself. Don't go consign yourself to a horrible death. Poor bastard.

Self-delusion comes from those that dont seek help

You’re mistaking cynicism for critical thinking

Naive.

top comment

It was essentially a self aggrandizing form of suicide in his case though. He didn't possess any of the skills necessary to take those risks. He did no legitimate preparation. It was basically an adult version of a child running away from home with a stick and handkerchief knapsack. Thinking no further than the apples and loaf of bread he took with him. I think he should be a cautionary tale for people with the spirit you are describing. The true explorers aren't JUST the product that mentality. You are either REALLY about that life or not. If you're not don't kid yourself. You aren't doing anything but killing yourself in an unnecessarily long way.

Shame it ended up being one of the world's longest, stupidest suicides.

@@thedorkone1516 beat the record?

Our ancestors never lived like that, though. They always worked in groups.

Also our ancestors grew up like this, so they were well prepared and skilled for a life unlike our modern one.

I can appreciate the allure of living off the grid. And I like a grocery store, electricity and indoor plumbing. Deep thoughts that concern the validity of sleeping on a bed don't keep me up at night. However, I am reviewing the question "How many frying pans do I really need to have?"

I understand the impulse and values but you have to plan, build your skills and be smart and patient. WInging it is courting disaster in the real and natural world, away from the artifice and the amenities of the USA, etc. We spent decades honing our sailing skills, knowledge, reading over 300 books, taking courses in navigation etc., practising our skills on a 28ft coastal sailboat for 8 years. We sailed as crew on friends boats in the Caribbean, learned first hand experiencing and second hand from around the world sailors. Picking up tips along the way. We bought a used 48ft motorsailor whose sisterships had sailed around the world. MY husband totally renovated all the systems, replaced through hulls, we bought new heavy duty and storm sails, etc etc I bought charts of the areas we planned to cruise. I replaced all the soft goods on the boat, sewed a sunshade, we had a cockpit closure made, we installed a computerized steering system for heavy seas that kept us on course better than any human could. ALtogther we spent 18yrs preparing while we worked for the money to retire and do it. We retired, I as a psych prof, my husband as a builder and developer, at 50 and 55. We managed every challenge fine. We met many sailing the western Caribbean to get away from the usual easier path of the eastern Caribbean, who were totally unprepared and they ran into trouble they could not handle. Many took truly stupid chances with weather, sailing without charts, etc etc. We helped save several boats while we were sailing. One steel hulled holed on a reef was able to get free but had no underwater epoxy. They thought they were invincible. No one is invincible! My husband repaired enough for them to get to a boatyard in Honduras. Boatyards are few and far between in the western Caribbean. Another boat was dragging anchor nearly colliding on a reef, etc etc. There is no Coast Guard to save you! You are totally on your own to save your own life, quite often. We were at Key West at anchor in a tropical storm that became a sudden hurricane with boats pushing past us, anchors not holding. LOts of boats were radioing the CG in Key West to get off their boats. They were told the winds were too high for the Dolphin copters (my daughter was a Dolphin pilot in the CG)and the CG small boats could not come either....they told the callers call in again with a NEW position when the winds die back. We had four anchors out and we found out later one was hooked onto an old WWII naval chain for ships anchored there wartime. We werent going anywhere, but one boat almost crashed into us. So we had a bit of luck there. We ended our sailing retirement ten years after buying the boat, we lived aboard all that time. Now we are on land in Central America in our lovely tropical home we built, my husband was contractor and we used local labor. That TOO we planned for years, knowing the day would come when a boat would be too much work for our older bodies. We were HAPPY to,have a next phase plan that became even as wonderful as our boat life. Exen at 20 in college I had a life plan. I knew I wanted to be in psychology, I did not know I would go all the way to a PhD and when I studied for that I prepared to be a clinical psychologist, an industrial psychologist, and a prof by teaching and doing published research before my dissertation. I always had a plan and really preplanned the sailig along with my husband who,is also a planner. You have to,have knowledge and SKILLS to do off the grid things, non tradtitional things, but the payoff if you like those sorts of things are HUGE and you get to tailor your life to the things YOU love to do. Pay zero attention to what OTHERS are doing...follow your own dreams , but plan!

I second this

Agreed

Word

I couldn't find it on Sticher.

Oh my god why is this literally- PLEASE

I read that book. He couldn't have lasted a year in the Midwest, let alone Alaska

Like those Dutch girls in Panama...😮

I have a strong sense of self preservation. I would have never gone on that trip. The best part is that he was free to do so. If everybody were the same, it would be boring. With that said, my heart aches for him.

@@anonymousadult because you’re normal

It is totally abnormal for any living thing to lack self-preservation. Ask any biologist.

It is absolutely mentioned in the book and movie. Many people tried to convince him to prepare better, especially the man who dropped him off. I believe he convinced Chris to take his boots.

***not only because his death was so senseless

If you like Dr. Grande you might like Live Abuse Free, she's great too. She goes into more detail, she's also objective. And, she has a wonderful voice, too. 👍

@@polarbearsrus6980 Thank You... I will check it out... 😄😄😄

That was a very tactful way of saying “The father was a raging alcoholic!”

Ikr, loved loved loved it! I'll try and use it in polite company, hahaha 😁

You would be surprised how many of these parents in such an affluent suburb live such seemingly "normal" lives...