This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/magazine/7018484.stm
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Call of the wild | Call of the wild |
| (3 days later) | |
| A POINT OF VIEW By Tim Egan | A POINT OF VIEW By Tim Egan |
| Wide open spacesWhen tired of lattes and rush-hour gridlock, urbanites like to get back to nature. But it's not the sanitised recreational backyard too many take it for. | Wide open spacesWhen tired of lattes and rush-hour gridlock, urbanites like to get back to nature. But it's not the sanitised recreational backyard too many take it for. |
| This time of year, the sands of daylight slip through the hourglass rather quickly for those of us who live in the northern latitudes. Every day, you feel the approaching cover of darkness creeping up, and with it the urge to get out into the wild one last time. | This time of year, the sands of daylight slip through the hourglass rather quickly for those of us who live in the northern latitudes. Every day, you feel the approaching cover of darkness creeping up, and with it the urge to get out into the wild one last time. |
| Salmon are racing up shallow rivers, in a frenzy to spawn and die. Among my friends, the seasonal impulse is only slightly less manic. They want one more climb up the glaciers of Mount Rainier. Or an overnight in a high alpine meadow, the heather flaming gold, a campfire in front of us, a starry ceiling overhead. Everyone wants to Get Out at least once before they start to hibernate. | Salmon are racing up shallow rivers, in a frenzy to spawn and die. Among my friends, the seasonal impulse is only slightly less manic. They want one more climb up the glaciers of Mount Rainier. Or an overnight in a high alpine meadow, the heather flaming gold, a campfire in front of us, a starry ceiling overhead. Everyone wants to Get Out at least once before they start to hibernate. |
| I live in Seattle, the most northern city in the continental United States. It is one of those new metropolises with a sheen of techno-urban sophistication. Inside a metro area home to three million, people talk of sports teams, restaurant openings and fears that our still-rising real estate market must collapse, and soon - with a thud. | I live in Seattle, the most northern city in the continental United States. It is one of those new metropolises with a sheen of techno-urban sophistication. Inside a metro area home to three million, people talk of sports teams, restaurant openings and fears that our still-rising real estate market must collapse, and soon - with a thud. |
| TIM EGAN I need wilderness as a yin to the urban yang. In the quicksand of rush-hour gridlock, I look away at the glow on the distant glaciers - it's freedom Hear Radio 4's A Point of View But just beyond us is the wild. As the British expat writer Jonathan Raban, a Seattle resident for more than a decade, put it: "Seattle is the only the city in the world that people move to in order to get closer to nature." | TIM EGAN I need wilderness as a yin to the urban yang. In the quicksand of rush-hour gridlock, I look away at the glow on the distant glaciers - it's freedom Hear Radio 4's A Point of View But just beyond us is the wild. As the British expat writer Jonathan Raban, a Seattle resident for more than a decade, put it: "Seattle is the only the city in the world that people move to in order to get closer to nature." |
| An hour away by car are places in the Cascade Mountains that have yet to feel a human footprint. Or at least that's what it feels like. Just over two hours away, by plane, is Alaska - which we like to think of as a recreational backyard. | An hour away by car are places in the Cascade Mountains that have yet to feel a human footprint. Or at least that's what it feels like. Just over two hours away, by plane, is Alaska - which we like to think of as a recreational backyard. |
| For the urbanite, these wilderness areas help define us. Atop a peak of eternal snow, or on a river of icy froth, there is that opportunity to lose yourself, on your own terms. Or to feel alone with the world, if only for a few fleeting moments. | For the urbanite, these wilderness areas help define us. Atop a peak of eternal snow, or on a river of icy froth, there is that opportunity to lose yourself, on your own terms. Or to feel alone with the world, if only for a few fleeting moments. |
| Wilderness, to these city dwellers, is not a lethal area. We don't fear it. We rarely even think of our place in the food chain while in the wild, except during the occasional encounter with a bear. For the most part, wilderness is a restorative, for body and soul. It is the Geography of Hope, as Wallace Stegner wrote. | Wilderness, to these city dwellers, is not a lethal area. We don't fear it. We rarely even think of our place in the food chain while in the wild, except during the occasional encounter with a bear. For the most part, wilderness is a restorative, for body and soul. It is the Geography of Hope, as Wallace Stegner wrote. |
| But I wonder if our relationship is somewhat skewed. I need wilderness as a yin to the urban yang. In the quicksand of rush-hour gridlock, I look away at the glow on the distant glaciers - it's freedom. | But I wonder if our relationship is somewhat skewed. I need wilderness as a yin to the urban yang. In the quicksand of rush-hour gridlock, I look away at the glow on the distant glaciers - it's freedom. |
| Off the road | Off the road |
| Every now and then, something comes along to remind me that the wild is not simply a playground - that, in truth, you live with it on its own terms, not yours. | Every now and then, something comes along to remind me that the wild is not simply a playground - that, in truth, you live with it on its own terms, not yours. |
| Into the Wild is Penn's new film Last week, Into the Wild opened in New York and Los Angeles. This is the film by Sean Penn, adapting a bestseller by Jon Krakauer. It tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a soulful young product of a good college and a solid middle class family. He was very bright, athletic, with a promising life ahead of him. | Into the Wild is Penn's new film Last week, Into the Wild opened in New York and Los Angeles. This is the film by Sean Penn, adapting a bestseller by Jon Krakauer. It tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, a soulful young product of a good college and a solid middle class family. He was very bright, athletic, with a promising life ahead of him. |
| After graduating with honours, he set out on a journey across the US - a somewhat aimless journey at that, in search of wilderness and self. He wandered and hitchhiked from prairie to desert to forest to roadless area. In one sense, McCandless was no different than Thoreau at Walden Pond, or Huck Finn in his raft on the Mississippi, or Jack Kerouac on the road. It was Kerouac who famously said: "The only people for me are the mad ones." | After graduating with honours, he set out on a journey across the US - a somewhat aimless journey at that, in search of wilderness and self. He wandered and hitchhiked from prairie to desert to forest to roadless area. In one sense, McCandless was no different than Thoreau at Walden Pond, or Huck Finn in his raft on the Mississippi, or Jack Kerouac on the road. It was Kerouac who famously said: "The only people for me are the mad ones." |
| But McCandless went deeper and darker than any of those American icons, and perhaps he was mad, in the Kerouac sense. He shed all vestiges of his comfortable life, giving up possessions and money, and lived as an ascetic who called himself Alexander Supertramp. | But McCandless went deeper and darker than any of those American icons, and perhaps he was mad, in the Kerouac sense. He shed all vestiges of his comfortable life, giving up possessions and money, and lived as an ascetic who called himself Alexander Supertramp. |
| In September of 1992, equipped with little more than a .22 calibre rifle and a 10lb bag of rice, he headed into the Big Empty of the Alaska wilderness, near Fairbanks, not far from Mount McKinley. "I now walk into the wild," he wrote. | |
| Look to the leftI know this area fairly well. Every day in September, another eight minutes or more of daylight slips away. Winter is at the doorstep. Nights are well below freezing. Brown bears, some weighing nearly 1,000lb, are in no mood for anything but gorging themselves on food before retiring for the winter. | Look to the leftI know this area fairly well. Every day in September, another eight minutes or more of daylight slips away. Winter is at the doorstep. Nights are well below freezing. Brown bears, some weighing nearly 1,000lb, are in no mood for anything but gorging themselves on food before retiring for the winter. |
| More than 20 miles from the nearest maintained road, young Alex found a broken-down and abandoned city bus. And this is where he died. His diary showed he lived 112 days, alone, in the wilderness. And when his body was finally found by a moose hunter, he weighed just 67lb. He was 24. It's likely that he starved to death. | More than 20 miles from the nearest maintained road, young Alex found a broken-down and abandoned city bus. And this is where he died. His diary showed he lived 112 days, alone, in the wilderness. And when his body was finally found by a moose hunter, he weighed just 67lb. He was 24. It's likely that he starved to death. |
| City slickers | City slickers |
| This story continues to fascinate us, and it goes to the heart of why urbanites long for wilderness. But the reactions of city dwellers and those who live close to the wild are very different. | This story continues to fascinate us, and it goes to the heart of why urbanites long for wilderness. But the reactions of city dwellers and those who live close to the wild are very different. |
| Tourists at the Trans-Alaska pipelineIn Alaska, where fewer than a million people live in a state that is more than three times the size of France, people scoffed at the McCandless story. He was a tenderfoot - an idiot, in less charitable terms - who should have known better. | Tourists at the Trans-Alaska pipelineIn Alaska, where fewer than a million people live in a state that is more than three times the size of France, people scoffed at the McCandless story. He was a tenderfoot - an idiot, in less charitable terms - who should have known better. |
| "He made some mistakes. He paid with his life. It happens pretty often around here." That was one comment - and typical - on the Anchorage Daily News website last week. | "He made some mistakes. He paid with his life. It happens pretty often around here." That was one comment - and typical - on the Anchorage Daily News website last week. |
| In the way of so many modern tragedies, the rusted hulk of the old Fairbanks city bus has become a tourist destination. People who feel a kinship with McCandless trek up the abandoned road, walking by spindly alder and dwarfed black spruce to the place of his death. | In the way of so many modern tragedies, the rusted hulk of the old Fairbanks city bus has become a tourist destination. People who feel a kinship with McCandless trek up the abandoned road, walking by spindly alder and dwarfed black spruce to the place of his death. |
| These McCandless tourists are a curiosity to Alaskans. The outdoor columnist for the Anchorage paper, Craig Medred, made a point shared by many who live in the Last Frontier state. "The Alaska wilderness is a good place to test yourself. It's a bad place to find yourself." | These McCandless tourists are a curiosity to Alaskans. The outdoor columnist for the Anchorage paper, Craig Medred, made a point shared by many who live in the Last Frontier state. "The Alaska wilderness is a good place to test yourself. It's a bad place to find yourself." |
| Search and rescue | Search and rescue |
| But the search for self is what McCandless was after, and that is still what drives so many people into the wilderness. I can see why people are drawn to the McCandless story. Here, after all, was a young man trying to free himself from our electronic cocoon. Here was someone trying to find something primal in his place in the universe. | |
| Where man himself is but a visitor who does not remain Wilderness Act of 1964 You can fault him, certainly, for his lack of preparation - perhaps it was even a form of slow suicide. But it's hard not to see something very human in his desire to walk up to the edge. | Where man himself is but a visitor who does not remain Wilderness Act of 1964 You can fault him, certainly, for his lack of preparation - perhaps it was even a form of slow suicide. But it's hard not to see something very human in his desire to walk up to the edge. |
| In the US, more than 100 million acres of public land are formally designated as wilderness. These lands, protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964, are considered areas "where man himself is but a visitor who does not remain", as the law puts it. | In the US, more than 100 million acres of public land are formally designated as wilderness. These lands, protected by the Wilderness Act of 1964, are considered areas "where man himself is but a visitor who does not remain", as the law puts it. |
| I use these wilderness areas quite a bit. It's part of the joy of living in a Western city close to huge swaths of wild public land. The biggest retreat outside of Alaska is called the River of No Return wilderness. It's in Idaho. You can only get in there by raft, or have a bush pilot take you to one of the small landing strips. | I use these wilderness areas quite a bit. It's part of the joy of living in a Western city close to huge swaths of wild public land. The biggest retreat outside of Alaska is called the River of No Return wilderness. It's in Idaho. You can only get in there by raft, or have a bush pilot take you to one of the small landing strips. |
| Once, on a long float down the River of No Return, I had arranged to have a pilot come pick me up on day five. On day four, a windstorm packing gusts of 40mph came charging through the mountains. This was followed by a ferocious lightening storm. Trees crashed to the ground, blocking the river behind us and flooding the place where the float plane was going to meet me. The next day, the woods above the river were on fire. | Once, on a long float down the River of No Return, I had arranged to have a pilot come pick me up on day five. On day four, a windstorm packing gusts of 40mph came charging through the mountains. This was followed by a ferocious lightening storm. Trees crashed to the ground, blocking the river behind us and flooding the place where the float plane was going to meet me. The next day, the woods above the river were on fire. |
| Helping out an injured climberWhat had been a serene stream through a valley of lush evergreens the day before now looked a bit menacing. We weren't lost. I knew we would eventually leave the canyon in a few days by floating downstream. But - for an instant - there was just a bit of panic. | Helping out an injured climberWhat had been a serene stream through a valley of lush evergreens the day before now looked a bit menacing. We weren't lost. I knew we would eventually leave the canyon in a few days by floating downstream. But - for an instant - there was just a bit of panic. |
| I realised, then, that the River of No Return had lived up to its name. We were on our own. There would be no plane ride out. It gave the rest of the trip an edge. | I realised, then, that the River of No Return had lived up to its name. We were on our own. There would be no plane ride out. It gave the rest of the trip an edge. |
| I'm planning one last mountain getaway this month. But as I compact my world - tent, stove, sleeping bag, extra clothes, a flask of whiskey and two-days of dried food - into a backpack, there's news about the place where I will go. A search is underway for a missing hiker. She is two days overdue. | I'm planning one last mountain getaway this month. But as I compact my world - tent, stove, sleeping bag, extra clothes, a flask of whiskey and two-days of dried food - into a backpack, there's news about the place where I will go. A search is underway for a missing hiker. She is two days overdue. |
| Oh well, I tell myself, they'll find the woman. I'm sure it's only a lapse. And then, a day later, they do find the woman - cold, hungry, dehydrated. She said she was lost. | Oh well, I tell myself, they'll find the woman. I'm sure it's only a lapse. And then, a day later, they do find the woman - cold, hungry, dehydrated. She said she was lost. |
| I'll be with friends, so I tell myself nothing like that can happen to me. But this search and rescue is reminder that when you lose yourself in the wild, it's never on your own terms. | I'll be with friends, so I tell myself nothing like that can happen to me. But this search and rescue is reminder that when you lose yourself in the wild, it's never on your own terms. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| There is a very high probability that McCandless was mentally ill. This becomes quite obvious when one takes the time to read Krakauer's fine book. I submit to those macho cretins from Alaska that there are plenty of places in the world where they wouldn't last more than a few minutes (try the streets of Newark, for example, or Baghdad ...).Ed C., Chapel Hill, NC | |
| I was born and raised in Alaska. I spent many years in Fairbanks. McCandless was within twenty miles of Healy, and if he had a map, could have found civilization. Like many Alaskans, I believe he must have been suicidal. If not, he was arrogant in his belief that he could survive in such conditions with little to no knowledge of his environment. That is the fallacy of many Americans in general; that the wilderness is merely a recreational pastime, and not what it truly is. A force and being that has little or no consideration for people, and can kill you. It has been "tamed" in most parts of the lower 48, and I hope that never occurs up North. That is the beauty of the land there. It exists as it is, not how we imagine to be. Sarah, Portland, Or | |
| I think Mr. Egan needs to go out and buy a map of the United States. Although Seattle is indeed not too far from the northern border of the country, it's hardly "...the most northern city in the continental United States". Hardly, indeed. Blaine, Washington, NORTH of Seattle, and many other cities located directly on the U.S./Canadian border would beg to differ.Jim Perham, Los Alamitos, California | |
| Great article. I can relate. I live in Colorado and so am privelidged to be able to access wilderness areas. Just this afternoon I was hiking alone in one of the designated "wilderness areas" Tim speaks of. I got to thinking, "What would I do if I met a bear or mountain lion?" I'm not sure what I would do but nevertheless I just kept on going, and I'll soon be going back for more. Toby, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA | |
| Mr. Egan gets it. Restorative, to be sure, wilderness pulls you in like a magnet. At the trailhead while making final adjustments to your backpack for the hard hike before you, images of mountain or desert beauty and a longed for simplicity tangle with those of danger and privation. Nothing but what you carry can buffer you against nature's harshness, but neither is any distraction from all that lies about you possible. Stay at least three nights and take bear spray. By the third day you'll feel as though you belong there, but a hot shower, fresh food, and a beer would be nice.William Innes, Missoula, Montana USA | |
| Perhaps that is the divide between urban humanity and non-urban humanity: the former think wilderness is wild and beautiful, the latter know that it is serious stuff. I grew up in the Mojave desert, not far from Death Valley, from generations of desert and wilderness settlers. Even the kids knew that a walk in the "desert solitude" might be interesting or beautiful, but was not harmless. I'm in the camp that thinks McCandless was foolish; there is no glory in being lost, starving, and dying.Cherie, New Haven, CT, formerly of Mojave desert | |
| "Seattle is the only the city in the world that people move to in order to get closer to nature." What nonsense. Many have come to Vancouver, and no doubt several other cities in the world, for the same purpose.Michael McLoughlin, Vancouver, Canada | |
| Humans are physically weak and fragile - fact. We are dominant on this planet - at present - because of brain development. Unfortunately our brains are also weak and fragile. Mr McCandless' fate illustrates what happens when ruminations - in his case apparently on 'Who am I? Where do I belong?' etc. eliminate common sense from the thinking process. If he was 'trying to find something primal', he certainly succeeded. What's more primal than death?Margaret, City of Blue Mountains/Australia | |
| To this should be added the numerous news stories published during the past ten years or so of people killed in the continental US by mountain lions, bears, alligators, sharks, and the bullets of unseen and careless hunters.david, Atlanta USA | |
Previous version
1
Next version