One day either way and tale of Into The Wild explorer may not have ended in tragedy

The untimely demise of Christopher McCandless, or “Alexander Supertramp” as he was also known, has become a modern-day tale of wanderlust and tragedy. 

But the death of the 24-year-old American in 1992, immortalised in the book and film Into The Wild, could have been easily avoided if his failed plan to return to society had been mounted a day earlier or later, new research suggests. 

The California-born McCandless ventured without a map into the Alaskan wilderness in April 1992 with little more than a rucksack, some sandwiches, a bag of rice, a plant book and a gun. 

After turning an abandoned 1946 bus into his home - which he dubbed the “magic bus” - he tried to return to civilisation on July 5 but was thwarted by the raging Teklanika River which he had crossed with ease 10 weeks prior. 

Following his botched attempt to head home, he retreated back to the relative safety of his bus, where he would remain until he died in mid-August. His decomposing body was found in September inside his sleeping bag by passing hikers. 

Two researchers at Oregon State University, a water expert and an engineer, trawled through archives of data to learn about the conditions McCandless faced during his ill-fated attempt to leave the area. 

They found that between the nomadic Supertramp arriving in Alaska and trying to leave, there had been significant warming and therefore melting of snow, which had bolstered water levels at the already treacherous Teklanika River so that it was uncrossable on July 5.

But the researchers say data show the river is prone to wild fluctuations day-to-day and that rainfall and snowmelt can have dramatic impacts. 

They add that 1992 was a particularly bad year for the unpredictability of the river due to 20 per cent more rain than normal and the winter snow melting a month later than usual as a result of a frigid spring. 

“Our results demonstrate that the Teklanika River is very flashy during the summer, responding rapidly to strong episodic rainfall events,” the researchers write. 

McCandless’s diary revealed the exact date of his failed escape and careful analysis of weather and water patterns revealed his fording attempt “corresponded to a large runoff event, driven by rainfall”.

“We conclude that Mr McCandless had unfortunate timing and that, had he tried to cross a day or two earlier or later, the outcome may have been different,” the scientists write. 

“Attempting to re-cross the river on July 5th therefore appears to have been a case of bad timing by Mr McCandless,” they add.

Jon Krakauer, the author of Into the Wild, said the findings are “fascinating for deeply personal reasons”. 

“Over the three decades that have passed since Chris McCandless perished in Alaska, I’ve been eager to learn as much as possible about his experience from the moment he ‘walked into the wild’ in April 1992 until his death inside bus 142 some four months later,” he said.

“This paper sheds a little more light about a key event during that period – his attempt to return to civilisation halfway through his Alaska adventure.”

A daily diary documents McCandless’s 113 days in the area, with his last days being mere dashes. The last written entry, on day 107, reads: “BEAUTIFUL BLUE BERRIES.”

The cause of his starvation and death is still hotly debated, but the prevailing theory is that consumption of wild potato seeds poisoned him and rendered him too weak to leave, forage or hunt. 

The bus where McCandless lived and died became a tourist attraction following the release of the book and film based on his life and multiple people lost their lives trying to visit it. 

Authorities airlifted the vehicle out in 2020 via a Chinook helicopter and it is now on display at the University of Alaska Museum.

The research was published in Frontiers in Earth Science.