Will and I had always been inspired by the movie ‘Into the wild’, sure it had some dark moments but the true story of Chris McCandless unrelenting search for freedom and adventure had always struck a cord with us. We had both seen the movie several times, most recently in Turlock around christmas though neither of us had read the book. After doing extensive research we were under no illusion about the risks involved in hiking to the magic bus (Chris McCandless final resting place). We weren’t going there in the hopes of some life changing do or die journey like some of the people we had read about, our Pan-am journey was thrilling enough as it was!
We set out at 8:30am on the 10th of April having slept in the Dodge the night before at the trail head. The weather was clear and calm but still so cold you couldn’t stand around for long and as we made our way the crisp dry snow crunched and squeaked underfoot. The trail it turned out was not a single route in fact there were multiple tracks running through the trees and we could see that some had recently been used by dog mushers and snowmobilers. We followed what seemed like the main track and at a crossroads we checked the phone GPS and followed the one that seemed to head in the most likely direction. Later we broke out onto an expansive open plain within a valley of snow capped mountains. We could just make out the formidable peak of Mount McKinley - also know as Denali - in the background. It felt like we were in a scene from the movie as Caribou grazed ahead of us. Scout soon got wind of them and was off on the chase, we let him go knowing he would never come close to catching up with the well healed Caribou.
Just before midday we arrived at the first river crossing, the Savage. We had not received any warnings about this river so were surprised to find that rather than being frozen solid there were large sections of open flowing water. It would be a certain death trap to try and cross the chilly open water especially due to the heavily overhanging snow banks on either side. After heading upriver a little bit we found a 20m wide section of ice that was still apparently frozen. We assessed the situation while Scout played unconcerned on the ice bridge. We had had little experience with spring ice but knew of the inherent dangers. It was decided that I being the lightest would carefully cross first. The ice seemed to have a surface layer overtop of the base layer and this thin surface layer was cracking underfoot making us both nervous. We jabbed the ice with our ski poles and everything seemed ok so dispersing my weight by crawling on all fours and pulling my pack on a rope behind me I made the crossing; and it was absolutely fine! The photo of me doing that still horrifies my Dad though. Will followed similarly behind with no drama and we continued on. Interestingly there were no footprints or tracks on the other side of the Savage…
About an hour later we arrived at the notorious Teklanika River but crossing that was no problem as far as we could see it was still frozen solid in both directions. There was a bit of surface melt and at one point you could hear the water rushing by underfoot as we crossed a bit of a dip before reaching the far bank but again it was fine. With the river crossings over we stopped for some lunch and I some snow angel making. As well as his lunch Will ate more than his share of the white chocolate and macadamia cookies but we still had plenty of food. After lunch we continued on but with our legs becoming tired and our packs becoming heavy we stopped several times to have a snack and just take it all in. Though we couldn’t stop for long without getting cold and shivery. It was ten minutes since our last stop when Will suddenly realised with a shock that he had left the camera behind hanging in a tree. There was nothing to do but drop our packs and go back for the camera. Without our packs we felt light but somehow more vulnerable and we joked about what we would do if we met a bear or wolf.
Back at our packs we pushed on a bit longer but our energy had dissipated. We decided to make camp when we saw a small frozen lake around 5pm. The flat surface of the lake was an ideal spot for the tent. We cleared the snow and put up the tent, Will even used the ice axe to make some holes for the pegs and by adding a little water he ingeniously froze them in place. Darkness wouldn’t come until after 11pm but a deep cold unlike any we had experienced before was setting in quickly, even Scout with his thick coat seemed to be feeling it. We gathered up some branches and lit a fire about 20m from the tent while heating up our ready made Walmart dinners on the cooker. Scout crashed out by the fire and we tried to keep warm but the thin dry sticks burnt almost as fast as we could put them on. We enjoyed a thick sugary hot chocolate for dessert then packed up our things. We didn’t have a bear canister to store our food like we had had in Yosemite so we put our food into a trash bag and slung it as high as we could into a tree. Unfortunately the spruce was rather bendy and our food only ended up about six foot off the ground which I’m sure a bear could reach, but it would have to do it was 7:30pm and time for bed.
Last time we had sept in the tent with Scout he was much smaller and it was a lot warmer so it would be an interesting night. Will and I both squashed fully clothed into our sleeping bags and were quite comfortable laying on our 2 inch thick thermally insulated Therm-a-Rest's, however because our Therm-a-Rest’s are mummy shaped and taper at the foot that left a gap in the middle of us at the foot end. We put Scout there on a jacket but by the amount he was moving around he was still feeling the cold coming up from underneath him. At some stage in the night Will jammed shivering Scout into his sleeping bag, it was a super tight fit but both were toasty warm. A few hours later Wills discomfort out weighted the warmth and he kicked Scout out. I felt sorry for Scout so let him sleep basically on top of me for the rest of the night. Even in the tight space with all the clothes we had on and Scout on top the freezing cold eventually crept through us and no one had any real sleep.
It was even harder getting out of bed in the morning, yes it was cold in the tent but it was much much colder outside. The need to pee finally got us both up but each of our boots had frozen solid and were almost impossible to get on. After much frantic grunting, pulling and twisting we finally had them on. For breakfast we had cereal with milk powder and sugar added to some hot water creating a warming hearty meal. After breakfast we packed up but before we could get going we both had to do some boot readjusting now that they had thawed out and become more malleable. I changed into a thick woollen pair of socks to try and warm my feet up while Will tried taping hand warmers to his frozen toes. It was almost 11am by the time we set out but we had walked two thirds of the 32km trail already so there was no rush. About 30 minutes later we started seeing some large paw prints only this time there were no sled tracks with them; so we could only assume they were wolf tracks! The prints were huge, at least three times that of Scouts. We kept an eye out but didn’t manage to spot any wolves. Later in a small valley with a hill on one side and trees on the other we came across some bear prints, it was exciting following them along the same path we were on but soon they turned off into the trees. We kept our eyes peeled and realised we had never before in our lives been so excited by foot prints but we didn’t see any wildlife just some other moose and snow hair prints.
It felt like we had been walking for yonks and our shoulders were feeling the strain, the bus surely couldn’t be too far away we hoped; but according to the map it was still a distance further. In this remote patch of Alaska we felt nervous anticipation as we entered a tightly wooded area knowing that this would not be a good place to meet a wild animal so we tried to make as much noise as possible by clapping and talking out loud. With the map now indicating we were very close we had the camera rolling as we rounded a bend and finally caught sight of the bus, my first reaction was amazement followed by a little sadness at the condition of the bus. It was littered with hundreds of bullet holes and a number of the windows had been smashed out. Some people had even cut down young green trees halfway up their trunk right outside the bus. We had a quick check to make sure there weren’t any bears sleeping inside then went in for a look. Despite the buses dilapidated state we could feel the history that surrounded us. Back outside we had a late lunch and made a plan. No way were we spending another night in the tent when we could be inside the bus with the fire roaring even if this was the same bed Chris McCandless had passed away in. We gathered wood a few hundred meters down the nearby frozen river cutting only old dead trees and hauling them back to the bus where Will split them into smaller logs. We also found a clean patch of snow and collected it into a rubbish bag so we would have clean snow available to melt for water. Next we hung up our sleeping bags outside in the sun to let them dry out a bit. With the work done I took some time to look around inside the bus.
There we signs of the people that had visited everywhere, from names written in black vivid all over the walls to to amount of food that had been left behind to ensure that no one again would go hungry there. There were several log books where people had expressed their thoughts on Chris and his story as well as sharing their own story of how they came to the bus. Many talked about their trouble crossing the Teklanika River while others had come on snowmobiles, ATV’s, rafts or even mountain bikes. We were surprised to read several entries where the person had brought no tent at all. There were also some messages from Chris’s sister about her thoughts on Chris, the bus and the choices he made. The place did have a sense of wonderment about it I thought to myself. While looking around I had a bit of a clean up and collected a bag of rubbish there was a fine line between leaving things behind that could be useful to others and leaving behind trash. I was just starting to read the first few pages of a copy of ‘Into the Wild’ that was lying around when I see Will walking around naked outside! He called out that he had just had a wash with some warm water and was now ready for some fresh clothes and some dinner. The cheek of him, literally!
While I cooked dinner Will lit the fire and we sat warm and comfortable in the bus with our socks, clothes and boots sizzling as they dried. After dinner we both wanted to read the ‘Into the Wild’ book so we started reading chapter for chapter aloud to each other. There were many things in the book we didn’t know about such as the moose hunters who discovered Chris’s body 32 days after his death had actually driven their jacked-up pickups across the Teklanika river then continued on ATV to the bus. We also questioned Chris’s keenness to live on such little food, the book talks about how Chris prided himself on how long he could live on a simple bag of rice. We read the book by the fire well into the evening and it was almost midnight before we decided to go to bed. Will closed the bus door as securely as he could and had an arsenal of weapons beside him including an ice axe, an axe and bear spray, but still it was a little spooky being there with most of the windows out instead covered by old tents and tarps which flapped in the breeze.
I had always wanted to see the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis but we usually went to bed before it was dark and you needed a clear night to see it. But here at the magic bus all tucked up in bed we looked out the one unbroken window up at the dark, clear night sky and finally saw the unbelievably majestic, dancing green of the Aurora. It wasn’t bright judging by some of the photos we had seen previously but we couldn't have been in a more fitting location. We watched it grow a little brighter and flicker before disappearing and leaving a fait green hue across the sky then suddenly it was back again always moving mesmerising us as we fell asleep warm and cosy with Scout beside the fire.
An hour or so later we were both woken bolt upright by Scout barking ferociously at something like we had never heard him bark before. I tried to ignore it and think of the many things other than large wild animals that could have spooked him. Will however was on edge and had to check things out with the flashlight before laying back down. Strange sounds filled the air but we were tired and sleep came eventually with Scout having retreated under the bed but still growling lowly.
In the morning we knew there was no time to muck around, we planned to walk the full 32km back to the Dodge that day rather than spend another night in the tent. We discussed the nights event over breakfast and Will will always tell the tale more exciting than I will as he’s convinced Scout was barking at something in the woods. After breakfast we packed up and as we were about to boil our second pot of water for drinking when the cooker ran out of gas. Conveniently others had left a propane cooker there so we got that going and despite the long walk ahead I crammed the bag of rubbish I had collected into my backpack. Given all the empty bug sprays and other rubbish lying around I could have easily collected ten bags more so we suggested it to others in the log book. Almost ready to leave we couldn’t help but write our names on the wall before heading outside to get ’the’ photo. The last photo ever taken of Chris was one he took of himself sitting outside the bus, it was later found still undeveloped in his camera along with a number of diaries from his multi year journey. Our photos wouldn’t be quite the same as his was taken in the summer but we got pretty close.
An hour or so later we were both woken bolt upright by Scout barking ferociously at something like we had never heard him bark before. I tried to ignore it and think of the many things other than large wild animals that could have spooked him. Will however was on edge and had to check things out with the flashlight before laying back down. Strange sounds filled the air but we were tired and sleep came eventually with Scout having retreated under the bed but still growling lowly.
In the morning we knew there was no time to muck around, we planned to walk the full 32km back to the Dodge that day rather than spend another night in the tent. We discussed the nights event over breakfast and Will will always tell the tale more exciting than I will as he’s convinced Scout was barking at something in the woods. After breakfast we packed up and as we were about to boil our second pot of water for drinking when the cooker ran out of gas. Conveniently others had left a propane cooker there so we got that going and despite the long walk ahead I crammed the bag of rubbish I had collected into my backpack. Given all the empty bug sprays and other rubbish lying around I could have easily collected ten bags more so we suggested it to others in the log book. Almost ready to leave we couldn’t help but write our names on the wall before heading outside to get ’the’ photo. The last photo ever taken of Chris was one he took of himself sitting outside the bus, it was later found still undeveloped in his camera along with a number of diaries from his multi year journey. Our photos wouldn’t be quite the same as his was taken in the summer but we got pretty close.
With one final look we left the bus at 10am and set an early strong pace. We made it back across the Teklanika River no problem and soon came across two guys on fat bikes. These are snow bikes with super fat tires to help float on the snows surface. Their tires were also studded so they could keep traction on the icy patches. They told us they were biking to the bus and also that one of them had fallen part way though the ice bridge over the Savage River. They didn’t seem too worried about it so neither were we as we pressed on. At 3.30pm we arrived at the Savage River and while it did have more surface melt it was still pretty solid and we both walked across it feeling no need to crawl this time. Even though we took a shorter route through the wide open plain the last 10km seemed to take forever! We were exhausted and stopped frequently. Finally just before 7pm we made it back to the trusty Dodge. We were too dirty, tired, hungry and cold to face a night in the Dodge so we hit the road towards Anchorage in search of a Motel. We used the Mile Post guide book to look at a couple of places but they were all too expensive, so we drove a bit further and settled on a $90USD room at a simple lodge. We took all of our dirty gear into the room and smuggled Scout in under Wills yellow down jacket, then spent the next hour cleaning and sorting out everything as well as putting on a few loads of washing. By the time we had finished the place hardly resembled a motel room, we had the tent strung up to dry along with our sleeping bags and other jackets as well as all of our gear. I then indulged in a steaming hot shower while Will went in search of dinner. He returned with a takeaway burger, chips and lemonade from the restaurant and we finally had the chance to relax on our individual queen beds! Will was soon asleep and I followed not long after.
Our magic bus trip had been everything we hoped for exciting, inspiring, difficult, yet successful. It will become just one of thousands of tails we will retell in the years to come about this trip but defiantly one of the special ones.
See you on the road to happiness…
Rochelle & Will
See you on the road to happiness…
Rochelle & Will