Hermits and Hubris

We are all familiar with the cartoons of the hermit who sits atop the mountain top waiting for people to come up to greet and obtain advice.  Independent living, however, alone or in small groups goes far back in human civilization.  Think of the small Essene group of Jewish traditionalists who lived in the desert, and are thought to have written or accumulated the Dead Sea Scrolls.  There of course, are the Christian monks who lived in small communities.  Some would take solace as a lone monk in the wilderness for a time. Several years ago I read the book "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer which focused on the solitary exploits of Christopher McCandless in his quest to go "into the wild" of Alaska.  This post will be about the hubris of Christopher McCandless.

Excavations of the Essene Settlement (author photo)

After graduating with high honors from Emory University, he set out cross country and eventually removes all papers that identify him by his given name.  Taking on a new moniker, Alexander Supertramp, he takes varied journeys across the western United States. He gives the remainder of his school fund to charity, burns the cash he has on hand in an attempt to live off the land.  Over time, of course he needed cash, and how he obtained jobs at a fast food restaurant, or on a combine crew without a social security number is beyond me, unless he used his real one. Eventually he made his way to Alaska and on April 28 was dropped off at the Stampede Trail by a person who had given him a ride.  Realizing that McCandless lacked wilderness experience, and the lack of appropriate gear, the driver attempted to dissuade him, as did others he told about his adventure, from going into the wilderness of Alaska.

McCandless in Alaska

As he made his way, he came across an old Fairbanks bus which was used as lodging.  While he wanted to make his way to the Bearing Sea, the undergrowth was too dense for him to navigate.  he decided to make a home at the bus.  The bus provided him with some accouterments he would otherwise have lacked.  Even though it had some broken windows, it had a wood stove for cooking and heating, and a mattress. If he had not come across the bus one wonders how he would have lived off the land lacking certain supplies we take as necessary, such as an ax.  Would his small tent provided sufficient shelter in the cold deep snow of the last Alaskan spring?  While the movie shows him having difficulty securing food, other sources say game was plentiful, but he lacked the ability to properly preserve the food.  In the wild, shelter, water and food are important.  It is reported that in July he wanted to leave, but the swollen river prohibited his crossing.  A bus does not get into the wilderness without some help, and I wonder why he did not try to find the route the bus took.  Also, a hand operated tram across the river was only .8 miles from where he first crossed the river. Lack of a map again showed the young man's hubris.  Even Lewis and Clark depended upon local Indians to make their way across the western United States.

Fairbanks bus 142,
the "Magic Bus"

Take Richard Proenneke, for example, who as a more experienced naturalist moved to the shores of Twin Lake in Alaska, and built a hand made cabin.  But, first he lived in a cabin nearby of some friends. Supplies would be flown in on a fairly regular basis.  For thirty years he lived in the cabin, only occasionally making trips to visit family in the continental United States.  A man who obviously wished to make some money off his adventure, he documented his lifestyle by film and journal.  PBS made this into a several part documentary called "Alone in the Wild."  Showing the draw of the wilderness, this documentary has been shown several times over the years on PBS, and is one of their highest drawing shows.

Richard Proenneke in his Alaskan Cabin

Today, McCandless, years after his death his story still has this odd type of draw on the American public.  PBS did a documentary indicting that, according to his sister and step sisters, over-bearing parents were the reason for his death.  Nothing like laying out the dirty laundry for all to see. Journey's into the wilderness and the "go west young man" mantra have always been draws for an American character more driven to individuality than for the common good.

Plaque on bus--does it memorialize Christopher McCandless or it
to assuage the grief of his family?  

Both McCandless and Proenneke were men in the wilderness of Alaska, one who was visited and hunted with others, the other in total solitude.  McCandless was unprepared for the adventure which would await him.  In this sense he had an arrogance about him, an uncaring attitude. While Krakauer, an outdoor writer, along with the movie, romanticize his lifestyle choice which now draws persons in almost cult like mission to what he dubbed the "magic bus."  McCandless has become cult figure.  Ivan Hodes a teacher in Anchorage, has written that Krakauer's personal investment in McCandless makes it difficult for him to accept the young man's fate. He goes on, “Krakauer needs to know what happened because he looked into the dead face of McCandless and saw his own,” One Park service naturalist was more blunt in terming the means of McCandless' entry into the wild of Alaska was plain suicide. Others see a beatification of McCandless as a "poor, romantic soul lost in the wilds of Alaska", where others refer to him as a poacher, and claim he had burglarized cabins in the past and some speculate he may have done so while in Alaska. Ivan Hodes as a good piece on McCandless which can be found here.

Tomb for the head of John the Baptist (author photo)

Nature can be unforgiving, and McCandless realized this too late.  If he had been better prepared, had a map, and more knowledge of local flora and fauna, and not just from a book, perhaps he would have lived the two more weeks until hunters came across the bus.  In one of the last movie scenes, while he still has strength before dying of starvation (some wonder if he ingested a root of a poisonous plant that eventually killed him others that he stored seeds improperly and they developed a toxic mold), he writes in his journal, "Happiness is only real when shared."  This quote shows the essence of what it is to be human.  Humans are a social animal,and it is in service to others that happiness can be found.  In entering the wilds of Alaska, did not McCandless show a certain selfishness in addition to his hubris?  Humans often think they know better than nature.  As the wildfires, and mudslides in California show, nature is intractable.  McCandless discovered the essence of life too late.  Perhaps he needed his alone time to figure that out.  Even the hermits and monks share what they have.  John the Baptist, likely thought to be a member of the Essene group, shared with others the need to prepare for the coming of Christ. The apparent last words of Christopher McCandless, who actually used his real name as the end drew near, were:  "I Have had a happy life, and thank the Lord.  Goodbye and may God bless all."

 Unless otherwise noted, photos from Google images