Helicopter hovers near "Bus 142," made famous by the "Into the Wild" book and movie.

"415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30) 06/19/2020 at 22:30 • Filed to: None

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It needed to be done, there is a river you have to cross to get out there and people have died trying. Also the river can be low when you go out and then high when you come back cutting you off, so people try anyway. Several people have died trying to go sit next to a bus, the guy ate some stuff he shouldn’t have and died, then the movie happened. I do like the Eddie Vedder soundtrack to that film actually.

CNN:

The abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in Alaska — made famous by the book and film “Into the Wild” — has made its first journey in decades. This time by air.

An Alaska Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter airlifted the bus, also known as the Fairbanks Bus 142 and the “Magic Bus,” on Thursday afternoon, the Alaska National Guard said.

The decision to remove the bus in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources was made out of concern for public safety, the guard said in a statement. In its current location, near Healy, Alaska, the bus has drawn people into danger of the Alaska wilderness.

It will be secured while the department considers all options for its permanent placement.

Visiting the dilapidated vehicle became a kind of pilgrimage for hikers ever since Jon Krakauer’s book was published in 1996; a movie adaptation was released in 2007.

The nonfiction book chronicles the life of Christopher McCandless, who grew up in an affluent suburb of Washington. But after graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1990, he left behind his comfortable life and headed west without telling his friends and family members.

In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked to Alaska, where a man dropped him off at the head of the Stampede Trail, according to the book. A few days later, he came upon the abandoned bus and lived there for about three months before deciding to head back to civilization.

As he attempted to make his way back, he arrived at a crossing of the Teklanika River. But because the river was running fast and high from rain and the snowmelt from glaciers, he was unable to make his way across, according to Krakauer.

Defeated, he turned around and headed back toward the bus, where he survived for about a month before succumbing to death in August 1992.

Hikers from around the world attempt to retrace McCandless’ steps every year, but many have failed and have had to be rescued. Some even died.

Last February, firefighters and Alaska state troopers rescued five Italian hikers on the Stampede Trail as they were returning from visiting the abandoned bus.

Less than a year before, a Belarus woman died on the trail trying to cross the Teklanika River to visit the bus with her new husband.

ranwhenparked > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:39

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The bus itself is kind of an interesting survivor, there can’t be very many International Harvester K5 transit buses left anywhere in any shape. The only reason this one survived was that it had a broken axle and couldn’t be towed out and scrapped along with the other ex-transit buses that had been converted to dormitories for the road construction crew. Its taken on an important history of its own for a lot of people, hopefully they find a safe and sensible place to display it. 

ttyymmnn > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:40

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And I look at that photo of the Chinook and say to myself, “I would have used a slower shutter to get better prop blur.”

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ranwhenparked 06/19/2020 at 22:41

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Sounds like they will do something, they didn’t just scrap it. 

GLiddy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:41

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I think the term is “attractive nuisance”.  

facw > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:44

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!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

The CNN article gets it right, that’s definitely not a Black Hawk

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > facw 06/19/2020 at 22:45

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It’s my bad, they had a spotter chopper that I didn’t include.

shop-teacher > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:47

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Crazy that they have to do this, but good that they're doing it.

facw > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:48

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Ah, good enough. Not sure I’ve ever seen one with skis over the wheels, but Alaska is definitely the place you’d expect to see those.

For Sweden > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:49

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Good practice for rescuing E-3s who stuck a Humvee deep in the mud.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > shop-teacher 06/19/2020 at 22:50

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Well it caused people who have no skills to go out there and I bet they have spent a bunch of money rescuing people. Hopefully they put the bus in the town with a memorial for him and the people who died going there. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:52

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Have you read the book? It’s quite interesting. Really though, the book serves as an opportunity for Krakauer to tell his story of climbing The Thumb.

shop-teacher > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 22:55

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Yeah, that would be good. Hopefully people won't keep trying to get to the site.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 06/19/2020 at 22:59

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No I didn’t, but I have sort of been aware of him for a long time. I used to climb in the Himalayas and someone I know is friends with him. I have a signed copy of Into Thin Air that they got from Krakauer.  

SiennaMan > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/19/2020 at 23:14

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Folks will be better off with it in a museum or something in town. The loss of life would be reason enough , but it was also pr obably  cheaper for Alaska to haul it off than to keep rescuing people with no business trying to get there..

The Ghost of Oppo > ranwhenparked 06/19/2020 at 23:42

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User name checks out

Spaceball-Two > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/20/2020 at 00:11

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I have no opinion on removal of the bus I will say that Eddie Vedder album was quite good.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 06/20/2020 at 02:33

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Like this? 

zipfuel > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/20/2020 at 08:28

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Definitely for the best, this thing just seemed to be a magnet for idiots, going right back to the first one from the book.

ttyymmnn > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/20/2020 at 10:51

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Better. 

Jim Spanfeller > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 06/20/2020 at 16:18

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To be fair, McCandless did pick up a book on edible plants in the area to make sure he didn’t eat anything poisonous. IIRC, t he problem was that one of the plants he was eating contained a type of poisonous mold that nobody knew about at the time, which prevented him from digesting nutrients properly, causing him to starve to death. Kinda tragic, but at least his last journal entries suggested that he was totally at peace when he did die. Really, it is a fascinating story and the book  is very good. I recommend you read it sometime.