Christopher McCandless

Christopher McCandless
Self-portrait on the Stampede Trail, found undeveloped in his camera after his death.
Born	Christopher Johnson McCandless (1968-02-12)February 12, 1968 El Segundo, California, US
Disappeared	April 28, 1992
Died	ca. August 1992 (aged 24) Stampede Trail, Alaska, US
Cause of death	Starvation, possibly brought on by poisoning
Body discovered	September 6, 1992
Other names	Chris McCandless Alexander Supertramp
Education	W.T. Woodson High School
Alma mater	Emory University

Christopher Johnson "Chris" McCandless (/ˈkrɪstəfər ˈdʒɒnsən məˈkændlᵻs/; February 12, 1968 – ca. August 1992) was an American hiker and itinerant traveler, who also went by the name "Alexander Supertramp". After graduating from college in 1990, McCandless traveled the United States, and eventually hitchhiked to Alaska in April 1992. There, he set out along an old mining road known as the Stampede Trail, with minimal supplies, hoping to live simply off the land. Almost four months later, McCandless' decomposing body, weighing only 30 kilograms (66 lb), was found by hunters in a converted bus used as a backcountry shelter along the Stampede Trail, on the eastern bank of the Sushana River. His cause of death was officially ruled to be starvation, although the exact cause remains the subject of some debate.

In January 1993, Jon Krakauer published McCandless' story in that month's issue of Outside magazine. He'd been assigned the story and had written it under a tight deadline. Inspired by the details of McCandless' story, Krakauer wrote and published the more extensive biographical book Into the Wild (1997), about McCandless' travels. The book was subsequently adapted into a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, with Emile Hirsch portraying McCandless. That same year, McCandless' story also became the subject of Ron Lamothe's documentary The Call of the Wild (2007).