the Wild , the book of photographs by Christopher McCandless published in 2011 , with a paragraph written by McCandless ’ parents and imbued with the same type of religious motifs , suggesting that Chris McCandless , rather than dying , transcended the physical world :
Eighteen years ago our son , Christopher Johnson McCandless , left this world in a remote wilderness location in Alaska in the shadow of Denali . His farewell message gave thanks to the Lord for his happy life and asked for God ’ s blessing to reach each of us . […] Back to the Wild tells this story through Chris ’ original photographs and writings until his journey came to an end in Alaska . As it turned out , however , it was only the physical aspect of his journey that ended . Although we could not have imagined it during the grief-stricken weeks and months that followed Chris ’ death , in the ensuing years his story has reached beyond life and past death to touch millions of readers . ( http :// www . christophermccandless . info / backtothewild . html )
It is as if , according to his parents , McCandless ’ senseless death had been a necessary rite of passage in order to fulfill a greater purpose : their son “ left this world ” but “ it was only the physical aspect of his journey that ended .” We are to deduce that the journey McCandless was pursuing could only have been of a metaphysical nature , and from there to beatification , there is only a very short step .
Besides catering to the sanctification of McCandless ’ meanderings by turning them into a spiritual quest , Christophermccandless . info also provides information about how to get to the bus where McCandless slowly agonized , as well as some elementary advice for those who decide to undertake the pilgrimage , further legitimizing such endeavor : not only are we informed about the exceptional life and legacy of Christopher McCandless , we are as well invited to meditate upon it on site , an invitation reiterated by Carine McCandless , Christopher ’ s sister , who has made the trip to the bus twice , leaving a notebook each time for visitors to write their thoughts , in which she herself wrote her hopes for “ her brother ’ s philosophy of simplicity and honesty to one day be more spread .”
Among all parties involved , Carine McCandless has indeed been among the most active in maintaining her brother ’ s ever elusive legacy . On her webpage , her name appears written across the bus where her brother ’ s body was found , next to the bus number , 142 , and in the same font and color , as to better merge with her brother ’ s story , which , over the years , has all but become her own – her public Facebook page has always included the words “ into the wild ” in its very title next to her name , as well as a picture
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