i read that book in 1996, as i was driving to alaska, where i've lived since 1994.

the old stampede trail is about 100 miles south of here. pass it all the time on the parks highway. little church on the corner.

i can't remember, but i think mccandless went out while the river was frozen, which is when the trail sees most of its traffic. hunters and winter sportsters. most of them on snowmachines.

all kinds of people travel them wilds regularly, and most of them belittle mccandless' survival skills. but (krakauer makes a fine case that) he would've survived if he hadn't eaten the wrong plant. and that's something that many (at least some) of the locals couldn't do: stay out there for an extended period of time without supplies or motor support. that said, there are plenty of people who pretty much live like that all the time.

i've never been out to the bus. a fellow student who visited it not long after alex died claims to have a pair of his jeans... all of his stuff was still there. i hear it's a bit of a shrine these days.

into the wild
into thin air
eiger dreams
under the banner of heaven

i read all of these and liked them. if you're into the "eiger dreams" thing... there's another book of mountaineering essays that escapes me now...

also, i really like david roberts. he was one of krakauer's teachers and a fellow mountain guy... his first books are classic climbing writing. now he writes on many topics, and i've read several of his historical research books:

in search of the old ones - about the anasazi
once they moved like the wind - about the apache wars
the pueblo revolt - about the native expulsion of the spanish from santa fe in 1680
four against the arctic - about 4 russian guys who got stuck on a treeless arctic island for 6 years

and finally... an interesting guy who is walking from tierra del fuego to england. he's in alaska right now, getting ready to walk across the frozen bering strait.

http://www.earthtrekuk.net/index.html

a funny guy. i see him at the coffeehouse a lot. waiting for everything to freeze up...