To Outside Magazine

Dear Outside,


I enjoyed reading this article. Even though many think he went to Alaska knowing he was going to die, I believe otherwise. Rather than this article being a suicidal message for people, I think Chris McCandless displayed bravery, passion, and a sense of adventure that hardly any Americans have today. He knew how to be happy and even burned and gave away all his possessions to show what really matters in life. This in itself would take a lot of courage for me to do. But he didn't stop there. His trip to Alaska was supposed to give him the feeling of adventure he had been missing, and it did. Unfortunately for him, he had one small fault in his otherwise seemingly great personality. He was over-confident in himself, and thought himself to be indestructible. This is the reason for his death. It was stupid of him to go into Alaska without at least researching the area and learning about the climate, food, weather, etc. Even though he was considered an intelligent person by all who knew him, I think he may have lacked common sense. He didn't even consider bringing a map with him in case anything terrible really did happen! But all in all, I admire his bravery even more for going into Alaska without any information on it. He seems to be one of the few real people in America and everyone who ever knew him must consider themselves lucky. He was true to the transcendentalist views and was a modern-day Thoreau. For those of you who believe he was an idiot, think about this: if he had succeeded in his journey to Alaska, he would have come back out anonymous to all but the few who knew about his trip. Why are you so quick to point out all the faults instead of recognizing all the good qualities in him? Before Alaska, he had near death experiences but managed to make it out alive. His trip just had unfortunate consequences and unfortunately, that is all many people can see. But his trip can be an inspiration to the young people who are just like him, and maybe even teach them a few things, like to bring a map and information, so their adventure won't end as tragically. Overrall, I believe McCandless should be recognized and honored for what he did, and he deserves the media and attention he is getting.