The Magic Bus
Posted by Dan in BlogSherpa, Books, Camping, Hiking, USA, tags: 142, Alexander Supertramp, Bus 142, Chris McCandless, Fairbanks City Transit, Into The Wild, Jon Krakauer, Stampede Trail, Teklinika River, The Magic BusThe Magic Bus was a place I had dreamed of visiting since I first saw the movie and read the Jon Krakauer book, “Into The Wild”. I think of it as a pilgrimage made by those who have felt some kind of connection with Chris McCandless and his story. Most people don’t realize the bus lies on the well known “Stampede Trail”, not all that far from civilization and can be reached in a solid day of hiking.
The Stampede Trail is fifty miles of rough, overgrown mining road that was abandoned in 1963. No bridges were ever constructed over the several rivers it crosses so it is primarily used by backcountry travelers on foot, bicycle, snow machine and motorcycle. The now infamous Fairbanks City Transit bus #142 was left behind by the Yutan Construction Company during the road building to serve as a backcountry shelter for hunters, trappers and ranger patrols.
Typical conditions on the Stampede Trail
I met two cool Austrian characters, Thomas and (roll the ‘R’) Roland on the Dalton Highway and it took all of 10 seconds to convince them to join me on a trip to ‘The Bus’. We were able to drive about 12.5 miles down Stampede Road before we had to leave the vehicles behind and continue on foot. The first hour and a half of hiking the next morning saw us travel on a really good quad trail, through some small swaps, through a couple of shin-deep river crossings and spat us out at the edge of the Teklinika River.
Ultimately, the ‘Tek’ was Chris’ downfall when he was unable to cross it and return to civilization, forcing him back to the bus. Although it was not the raging torrent Emile Hirsch faced in the movie, it was obvious we would be swept off our feet and downstream if we did not keep our heads about us.
We ummmed and arrred for quite a while and wandered upstream, where we had been told the river was wider and shallower. Once we got sick of our aimless wandering, Thomas picked a spot and after throwing in rocks and using sticks to measure the depth we all agreed it was our best chance. We tentatively forded one at a time, with our packs un-buckled so we could ditch them if we were to get swept in. It’s a shame you can’t see my face in any of the photos – I was more than a bit scared when it reached mid-thigh in depth and began to really push hard. Slow and steady won through and I was relieved to be on the other side. Roland came powering across like he was on a mission and in a voice that was too much Arnie to be true beamed “Bah, dat was easy”.
Crossing the mighty Teklinika River
Thomas and Roland are fitness machines and once we were back on the trail I was quickly left in their dust, alone with my thoughts. Chris must have felt such a sense of isolation and awe to be all the way out here, alone, not knowing if there was anything or anyone ahead. At times I yelled into the alder and clapped my hands, trying to avoid startling any neighborhood bears. At times I sang aloud and at times I was silently reflecting – I was actually going to the bus, the bus that Chris had spent four months living in, was essentially trapped in and finally died in. Wow.
When bus 142 appeared on the side of the trail, seemingly out of thin air I was quite startled. I’d been hiking on my own for 10 miles but somehow wasn’t ready to be there yet. I paused on the edge of the clearing for a moment, then again in the doorway, trying to take everything in. Even though I’d never been there before, it was very familiar – from the description in the book, the movie and also from the pictures I’ve seen online.
The front of The Magic Bus
I thought The Magic Bus would be a quiet, sad place to spend time – I was quite surprised to find the opposite was the case.
The stove and bed of The Magic Bus
It’s customary for visitors to inscribe their name on the wall of the bus and write a message in the “Guest Book” – a book placed in the bus by Chris’ sister Carine. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of exhilarating messages from people all over the world who had made the trek out to the bus. People wrote about how upon hearing Chris’ story they changed their lives so they could live their dreams, people wrote of hitching thousands of miles to be there, people wrote about how beautiful of a place Chris had found. Graffiti like ‘Solo trek to honor Chris’ and ‘Swept downstream by Tek, it was worth it’ made me grin from ear to ear – Chris has inspired thousands of people and and I was thrilled to be a part of that.
Jon Krakauer's message in the book
My message in the Guest Book captures my feelings:
You have inspired more people than you will ever know, not least of all me.
Your passion, courage and determination gave me the strength to believe I really can make my dreams come true.
And here I am, in Alaska, having been to the Arctic Ocean, on my way to South America.
Thankyou Chris.
Christopher McCandless Plaque
I spent many quiet hours in the bus, reading the walls and the many guest books.
Although I hunted high and low I could not find any writing from Chris himself – it seems they have all faded away over the years.
A quote by Thoreau on The Magic Bus
It was truly and amazing experience and all three of us couldn’t stop grinning and talking of adventures to come the entire hike back.
Roland Dan & Thomas at The Magic Bus
My hair is all wrong and my beard is not nearly long enough, but you get the idea:
Dan at The Magic Bus
-Dan
If you’ve just stumbled onto my site, I encourage you to have a look around and read more about my ongoing adventure from Alaska to Argentina.
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[...] into the wild Trek to the Magic Bus The road chose me Living the dream in AK [Show as slideshow] [View with PicLens] [...]
I have read so many opinions of Chris, and every one differs in some way. I think this shows how different all of us are and how we all have our own ideals and specific values in this world. Personally, I respect Chris immensely for what he did – He had lived in what he viewed as a poisoned society for so many years, and left fullspeed as soon as he could – i think he had been planning this for a long time, longer than some suspect. A reader of Thoreau, Tolstoy, London – he had his own philosophy of life that involved the wilderness in us all, the need for freedom from this controlling society and the spirit of adventure of someone still young enough to physically and mentally fulfill his dreams.
When people talk of his seemingly naive ignorance of the danger and risk, i feel that they just cannot or do not want to understand him, and what was important to him. You cant put a price on freedom and the act of living, truly living – he realized this and acted upon it. No map? He wanted to explore, like explorers of old, who set forth in wooden ships to blindly sail to somewhere they had no knowledge of. His unpreparedness did not showcase his ignorance or stupidity; rather it proves his dedication to find out for himself who he was and what he was capable of, without the need of modern technology. There is an element of animalism in this – shown by Primo Levi in one of his short stories (someone to read for sure) “To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head” This was in the movie and the book, and it adds another angle to Chris’ personality.
This is a brief opinion of mine of his opinion, and i feel that this represents my own philosophy. This is how everyone has a different view of Chris – our opinions of him all reflect our own ideas and thoughts, because through our thoughts is the only way we can feel we understand those of his. I am 17 years old, and the day after i graduate from highschool i am backpacking/hitchiking/train hopping wherever i feel at the time, at whatever speed i like. Money is irrevelant in the kind of adventure i seek. I am sick of this society, and i too am leaving it behind.
Right on Quinton – thanks for that man I really appreciate your thoughts!
This fairly well sums up the actuality of the experience:
• • • • •
Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian wrote:
“I am exposed continually to what I will call the ‘McCandless Phenomenon.’ People, nearly always
young men, come to Alaska to challenge themselves against an unforgiving wilderness land-
scape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent [...]
When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn’t
even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time
learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of
the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament [...]
Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide…”
• link to validate ranger’s comment:
http://nmge.gmu.edu/textandcommunity/2006/Peter_Christian_Response.pdf
{A good simple and practically free second-hand book in map & compass orienting
and a few more thoughtful learning experiences elsewhere may have turned this
sad fated story into a better coming-of-age-story; instead of a tragic misadventure.}
Too bad he was truly uninformed and unprepared for the wildland survival experience
that the great white north brings. Winter, harsh & subzero, more than 6 months long.
I’ve lived and worked in many remote and inspiring regions of Alaska; but was never
here for the money. If I’d have failed as miserably and died in an old bus, I’d be eternally
ashamed of the wasted education funds mu family had wasted on my behalf; had I been
this character. And I have met thousands of them. Some end up living in Anchorage.
And I am a real person, living without running water and sometimes no electricity; no
cell phone, and occasional access to a computer when visiting Little America, urban AK.
Think seriously before going on an emotional-based trip. You may as well stay at home
and watch the Nat’l Geo channel. Or, gear up your mind and learn tons of facts about life.
Sincerely,
in a small town (AK)
Hey In a Small Town,
I totally understand your point of view, and can see why you believe Chris essentially committed suicide.
When guys climb Everest without oxygen they are intentionally not taking something that would make their trip much easier and safer because they are looking for more of a challenge than going with oxygen provides. Sometimes those guys get seriously injured or die, but I don’t view that as suicide and I don’t think what Chris did was either.
I would love to hear from you’re perspective why you think suicide isn’t what Chris did in the least, and also would love nothing more than for you to help me wrap my mind around how a magical man in your situation can actually sit there, stomach the rage that I know you must have felt upon reading numbnuts’ comment up there, and actually utter the word ‘respect’ anywhere in the vicinity of what he had to say. I mean the collectedness one must have to possess to manage something with such gravity positively blows my mind— as I can relate only to Chris in ways of reason and in a similar quest for profound beauty that I have yet to find in this world I choose to surround myself with— when you’ve lived it in his memory and profound realism just seeps from every picture and blog on your page . I cannot even harness the willpower to address this clown in any way, because it physically hurts me PHYSICALLY HURTS ME to imagine how miserable this guy’s life must be to actually possess the fkn (pardon my French) audacity to sit there, allegedly living the same lifestyle as Chris did originally, and blab so much hypocritical garbage in that sense that I could actually puke everywhere upon reading it if I had anything in my stomach right now.
I FEEL that if you continued to fail miserably at life and died and that old bus, you SHOULD be eternally ashamed of the wasted bucks your family put into your sorry sense of intellect because based on what I’m reading all it’s done is give you an inability to ration with anything sensical and the compulsive need to make no sense what-so-ever. The whole point is that he knew it’s what he wanted to do with his life, he fully acknowledged and accepted the risks that WERE to come with it, and he died trying to LIVE— which I’m sure is more than you could say for your sorry excuse of a life being a “real person, living without running water and sometimes no electricity; no cell phone, and occasional access to a computer when visiting” when on the real, 1, you don’t even deserve water so good choices, 2, you are probably a hideous human and that’s why you live on the outskirts of this world, unlike Chris who just couldn’t handle breathing in people’s like yours stupidity any longer and you SHOULD remain in the darkness, and 3, you just seem like a fantastic individual so I have no idea why you wouldn’t want a phone when so many people probably want to be your friend. And you really must be living large when you take it upon yourself to abuse thesse rare computer visits pissing people off. Yes, I accept that I am doing exactly that by writing this reply, but I don’t claim to be living any sense of a fulfilled life nor am I okay with that. But reading your simply idiotic travesty of a perception pushes me so close to the edge I’d be better off dropping out of HIGH SCHOOL tomorrow and pulling a Chris McCandless just so I wouldn’t have to keep my eyes open in society every day knowing that I’m walking around choosing to tolerate a place where NINCUMPOOOOPS are even given free speech in the first place. Ill admit straight up theres ‘tons of facts about life’ I don’t know and don’t care to know to be quite frank but ill be able to go to bed later on tonight after my blood pressure lowers knowing that I know a hell of a lot more about living than a GENTLEMAN and SCHOLAR such as your apparent self.
And maybe I WILL watch the National Geographic channel cause that shit is just plain AWESOME.
Good riddance,
A very angry and opinionated soul
Hey you had lots of great information, just a question though. i’m going out to the bus in mid july and i’m plannig the trip. how long on foot do you think it would take to get to the bus, we are fairly swift hikers, especially with such an amazing goal on our mind. total hour would be great if you have a guess.
Hey Eric, We drove a long way up stampede road in our 4×4s and hiked in a single day. It was around 16miles of easyish hiking, only crossing the Tek slowed us down.
If you don’t have a vehicle to drive in very far, most people do the hike in two days.
Good luck & I’d love to hear how your trip turns out.
-Dan
Hi,
My name is Martin and I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina (not a Wild-Landscape in particular!).
I can’t offer you a wild-experience in Buenos Aires, but I can offer you a sightseeing tour through the city and a beer if you like!
Mail me if you decide to come to the South (i´ll be in the south-east asia from june to sept so if you happen to come here at that time I’m sorry! jeje).
So.. cheers! Hope you have a great trip!
Fellow traveller…
P.s.: As you can see my english is not that good !
Hey Martin,
Thank you for the fantastic offer. I don’t know if I’ll go to BA yet, but if I do I’ll send you an email for sure
You’re English is much better than my Spanish
Thanks for this great blog.
Thank you for posting this. I want to visit the bus since Chris is a huge hero of mine and I wanna know how I can plan this. I wanna go in a year or so during mid-August and I will be flying in from Florida, so I just wonder where the Stampede Trail is in distance from the nearest main airport and if crossing the Teklinika River can be accomplished at that time of year.
Thank you so much,
-Natalie
Hey Natalie,
Read through all the comments here, I’ve given that information many, many times.
I also want to stress you need to be very experiences in back country wilderness travel, this is not a trip for first-timers.
-Dan
Me grazy finnish guy have travelled unplanned and also moneyless,been in deadly dangers that I could have avoided easily.It was my youth,I survived..though sometimes I think I should have taken it deeper,and longer,I might think to be a looser because not suffered more.Im proud of my travelling years.I learned and experienced greatly.Diaries and drawings and travelling principally alone are great things..and books,hammock,nature,other travellers,one way tickets.No clock nor schedule.Noone here understood my experiences,I didnt even try to explain,Im not explainer. I dont have a career,I have love ones,no worries.
I learned:one is not dying for hunger when people around,I call it God.I was about to go into the wild from Vancouver B.C,but didnt,I thought its too big for me.I have been very ill(only diarrhoa),and died soon if water,salt and bananas been further than 30 meters.
If McCandless would survived I would blame myself of being a chicken.He died, I cried.
By his age I had been allready in..doesnt matter,main thing is going,not destination.
I read 30 min of how to sleep in the snow before I went to do so for days,and Im not specially intelligent.
Compass,maps,medicine etc not necessary,NOT BEFORE EMERGENCY.
-Finn
hello Dan, its nice theres a blog that can inspire ppl to travel, i myself wanna feel that rush of getting up one morning and saying stuff it and choose a road to life….i’m 28 male and traveling has always been a part of my life…yeah i travel, but its nothing like ur traveling…thats what i wanna experience, the air from an other country, the sunrise and sunset on the beach in mancora, peru, watch a soccer game in rio de janeiro (luv soccer)….not caring about time or tomorrow….well my biggest problem is i dont have any one to join me. so my questions are as fallow:
1. how much money do you need?
2. do you travel with a partner or if alone how do you do that?
3. how do you choose you’re destinations?
4. how do you do with money…i mean do you carry all ur money with you or travel checks
5. wat equipment do you need for traveling if u don’t have a car and have to do it on foot…
well i do appreciate ur time and hope you can help the future traveler….
you’re friend,
aldo
Hey Aldo,
It really is an amazing feeling to really get out there and go for it. I don’t even have a watch anymore so the time and date are completely irrelevant in my life.
Money really depends on how you want to live – hotels and buying every meal money will not last too long. Camping and cooking every meal can really help you stretch. I’ll be writing a lot more about my budget / money when the trip is done.
I’m traveling alone on this one, which has it’s ups and downs for sure. Lately I’ve been pretty lonely, so I’m going to try hard to get another backpacker to jump in with me for a while.
My destinations come from all over the place; other travelers, guide books (lonely planet), locals, etc. Anytime I hear someone say a place is worth going to, I go there
For money ATMs work just fine. My debit card and credit card have worked fine in every single country.
Start reading around the web about backpacking. Just load your stuff into a pack, catch a flight somewhere and you’re away. You really don’t need much at all and the Lonely Planet for whatever country is a great starting point.
Hope all of that helps – let me know when/where you decide to go!
thanx dan, and hope you’re traveling is going as wished….
youre,
friend, aldo
Chris is my hero. I love the guy. The guy is a fricken genius. If he were alive now I would probably make him my prom date (LOL).He had the courage of a lion despite how much problems he had in his life. Knowing he passed on feeling complete in this world is extremely comforting. His ambitiousness, courage, and passion will forever amaze me. If there was anything I would like to say to the man it would be that he was a very good man and will surely be missed forever. GOD BLESS YOU CHRIS!!!!!
After watching the film “Into the Wild” I too will soon depart on my adventure down Stampede Trail. I would appreciate some advice on how best to navigate the river once I reach the end of the trail. In addition, please list any items I will definitely require to make this journey.
Thank you very much for your help !!
Hey Michael – great to hear you have also been inspired by the movie.
How much back country hiking experience do you have? It’s important you have a lot before tackling the stampede trail, it’s not a little walk in the woods so to speak.
Have a read through all the replies I’ve posted here and you should get a pretty good idea of what’s involved.
If you have any specific questions I’m very happy to help out, though I hope you have the skills needed to plan the trip yourself.
-Dan
Dan’s question- How much back country hiking experience do you have? I served in the military for 20 years. However, have not ventured out in the wild for about 3 years. I will begin to take long walks 2 to 5 miles and work up to 10 soon. In addition, I will do some mountain climbing prior to this 25 plus mile journey down stampede trail.
Any other suggestions Dan?
Hey Michael,
I think I have an ´intermediate´ amount of backcountry experience, whatever that means. I have done probably about 10 hiking trips in the 3-8 day range and about 30 or 40 for one or two nights. I have had numerous bear encounters, camped well below zero, crossed rivers and dealt with serous elevation changes.
I would suggest spending time out in the wild – sleep in your tent, light a fire with wet wood and hike around with your full pack on.
hey,ahm you know what guys,,this so very inspiring story about mccandless, I’m just sitting on the couch, change the channel and there watch the story about him..that is my second time to watch that movie,but I can never forget. I don’t know can’t help watching.after watching I search in his life and all in the net where I found this and share my thoughts about the movie..
I’m just 16 yrs.old..wandering if I can also travel around the globe.but never in wild ones..I called mccandless stupid for leaving his home just to get suffered,I don’t want to do that..but as I go beyond the story..I’m touched, his happy, and he said happiness only real when shared..its true..I can see how life is so wonderful..with the people around us,but sometimes I just want to goof off,just like what he did, to forget how life seems to be hard and weary..someday I wanna travel but afraid of being alone..afraid to end up like him..sad..
my question is,he has his journal..I wonder where it is..can you post some pictures of it, and quote of what he wrote in it?please thanks..
Hey Katleen. As far as I know, Chris´diary has never been made public, though it´s something I am always on the lookout for. Good luck with your future adventures, I am sure you will find the right mix of adventure and solitude.
Dan, do you recommend I venture this solo? Thanks.
Many people certainly do. I did not. The river crossing and bear enconuters would be my biggest concerns.
well. then thanks Dan, good luck to you too..
we will have an RV and now thinkin of renting mountain bikes to start down the trail to the bus. Do you think the bikes would shave time off the trip? How rough is the trail for a bike? We will take the RV as far as we can then bike till we cant then hoof it. Also what town do we head out from?
Hey Sly,
Stampede Road, and the trail head out from just near Healy, just North of Denali Nat. Park.
I read a blog somewhere once where a guy took bikes to save time on the trip.. for sure it will help. There will be times you cant ride them, but dont be discouraged, further along you will cruise and save a ton of time.
If you can get them across the river, they will help greatly on the far side. Most of the trail there is a really good condition quad track from memory.
Good Luck, Id love to head how it works out.
Dan,
Do you recommend taking an air horn along to scare away bears and wolves?
Thanks.
A can of bear spray is highly recommended for sure.
Hey guys, I was very inspired by the book and movie “into the wild” read and watched both severel times and I have to say alot of the quotes are true to life. One day i plan on taking the trip, i myself am not a fan of the city life and I would be much happier living in the wild. I currently live in what i call hell (the middle of arkansas) and I hate it. Im not a big fan of hot weather and thats another reason why i will choose alaska (the climate) I thank you guys and its great to see this much love!
Hope to hear from ya!
Ted,
If you ever come up to Alaska look me up. I live only 2 hours north of Stampede Trail.
Thanks and good luck making it out of Arkansas!
Mike
“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.” -Chris McCandless
Wow, what a fantastic adventure you had! Thanks for sharing your experience!