Into the Wild Terms

Wild sweet pea

Krakauer says McCandless got poisoned by a toxic unknowingly in a potato seed which led to McCandless' weakening, paralyses, and starvation. Chris mistook this for a wild potato root.

Bullhead City, Arizona

Landed in early October 1991, stayed the longest here, had a job at McDonald's, and introduced himself as "Chris" instead of Alex.

Outside Magazine

Magazine that Krakauer was first commissioned by to write about Chris. He couldn't let Chris go, so he retraced his path.

Chris' Belt

Ronald Franz taught Chris the art of leather working and so Chris made a belt that served as a timeline on his journey. The name "Alex" is inscribed in the belt along with his initials "C.J.M." Inscribed photos of his journeys.

Wild potato root/seed

Edible food that looks very similar to wild sweet pea.

Carthage, South Dakota

Small town where McCandless found a surrogate home and family (Wayne Westerberg), developed a strong attachment to the town from then on referred to it as his home.

leather tramps

vagabonds who lacked personal transportation and were forced to walk or hitchhike

Jan Burres and Bob

A couple who met Chris on a roadside as they stopped to consult a map. Saw him gathering berries and camped with him for a week and maintained contact with him even though he wouldn't keep contact with his parents. Lived in Salton City.

Jim Gallien

A union electrician who picked up Chris 4 miles out of Fairbanks and dropped him off on the edge of Denali National Park. Warned him about his lack of gear and gave him a pair of boots, his phone number, and his lunch.

Fairbanks City Transit System #142

Abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail left behind by an old construction company, Chris found shelter here and his body and belongings were found in it.

El Segundo, California

Chris lived in El Segundo during the first six years of his life. He drove there in 1986 to learn about his parents' history there.

Teklanika River

River that crosses the Stampede Trail, icy stream w fast water that usually discourages people from going any further. Chris crossed this river twice in April and June in 1992.

Walt McCandless

Chris' father, married twice and has eight children.

Alexander Supertramp

Chris' free/wild alter ego that he uses after leaving Altanta, came from a book called "Autobiography of a Supertramp"

Billie McCandless

Chris' mother who he is estranged from, gives her a present for Mother's Day (Flowers and card) for the first time in 2 years. Lived in Annandale but moved to Maryland.

Carine McCandless

Chris' younger (blood-related) sister who he was very close and open with, she still grieves for her brother.

Emory University

College in Atlanta where Chris graduated from with a degree in history and anthropology. His last tie to society.

Devil's Thumb

Demarcated the Alaska British Columbia border. Compared to a medical school, Jon Krakauer refers to it as a mountain.

Denali

Denali National Park: started his journey into the wild here, Jim Gallien dropped him off.

The Slabs

McCandless stays with Jan and Bob Burres in the remnant of a demolished Navy Air base that has become home to a community of drifters. Chris helps Jan and Bob sell used books at a flea market and he tries to convince inhabitants of the Slabs to read Jack London's Call of the Wild.

Anza Borrego/Desert Hot Springs

Meets Ronald Franz and stays at a camp called Oh-My-God Hot Springs.

Ronald Franz

Pseudonym of man who knew McCandless from the Desert Hot Springs in Anza Borrego. Drove Chris from Salton City CA to Grand Junction Co in March 1992.

Wayne Westerberg

The owner of a grain elevator in carthage, south Dakota who meets McCandless when he picks him up in 1990, he gives McCandless jobs multiple times. Was arrested for his involvement in a "Black Box" scheme.

Stampede Trail

The route that Chris followed into the wilderness that runs through Mt. McKinley.

Rubber tramps

Vagabonds who own a vehicle

Sam McCandless

Walt's eldest child from his first marriage who first received a call with the detective involved in Chris' case. He identified Chris from a photo and had to break the news of his death to Billie and Walt.

Annandale, Virginia

Where Chris grew up after he was 6.

Colorado River

Where McCandless drifted through an Indian reservation, Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. He discovers a canal that was dug to irrigate rich farmland into the Imperial Valley Canal. Everett Reuss' belongings were found here.

Everett Reuss

Young artist, poet, and writer who explored nature alone and mysteriously disappeared in Utah at the age of 20. The letters he wrote during his travels have an uncanny resemblance to Chris' letter written half a century later.