McCandless Phenomenon

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The McCandless Phenomenon is a term coined by Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian to describe inexperienced people who seek personal fulfillment by attempting to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. He first used the term in an essay on Christopher McCandless, who perished after living alone for several months in an abandonded bus on the Stampede Trail near Denali National Park, and later was the subject of Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild.

"[As a ranger], 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 landscape where convenience of access and possibility of rescue are practically nonexistent... In reality, most people who make it as far as Alaska never get past the cities of Fairbanks and Anchorage because access is so difficult and expensive (usually by airplane), travel is so hard, the terrain is challenging, the bears are real, and so on. A very few competent and skillful people make a successful go at living a free life in the wild, build a home in the mountains, raise their children there and eventually come back with good stories and happy endings. A greater number give it a try, realize it is neither easy nor romantic, just damn hard work, and quickly give up and return to town with their tails between their legs, but alive and the wiser for it."

Christian is sympathetic toward McCandless, and says he was himself "one of those young men," but describes McCandless's actions as "not particularly daring, just stupid, tragic and inconsiderate."

External links

[Peter Christian's essay on "The McCandless Phenomenon" (PDF)]

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