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   dymatsuoka

   McCandless chronicled his meanderings after graduation in a journal snapshot album.  He traveled first to Lake Mead, where he ignored warnings posted against off-road driving and camped on the dry riverbed.  He "basked in his newfound freedom" until a flash flood struck; although he was able to salvage his tent and belongings, his car engine was soaked, and he could not get it started afterwards.  He abandoned the car, and took advantage of the opportunity "to shed unnecessary baggage", leaving many of his possessions and burning all of his money.  He then "tramped around the West" for the next two months, hitchhiking up the Pacific Coast to Seattle, heading east through Idaho and Montana, then south and west again to the Colorado River.  He worked occasionally, and met some interesting people, including Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota, and Bob and Jan Burres in northern California.  Chris's parents, terribly worried about their son, hired a private investigator to search for him, but the detective was never able to catch up to the boy.  McCandless bought a small canoe and paddled down the Colorado River into Mexico, where he got lost in a labyrinth of canals for a time.  Finally, he jetisoned the canoe, and in January, crossed back on foot into the United States.  He spent the next six weeks traversing the Southwest and eventually ended up in Las Vegas, thin and lean, "his spirit...soaring" (Chapter 4).

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   Posted by dymatsuoka on Friday December 5, 2008 at 5:09 PM