‘Into the Wild’ lures the unprepared to Alaska wilderness

RACHEL D'ORO Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — For nearly a quarter-century, the old bus abandoned in Alaska's punishing wilderness has drawn adventurers seeking to retrace the steps of a young idealist who met a tragic death in the derelict vehicle. For many, Christopher McCandless' legend was cemented in the 1996 "Into the Wild" book and later in the movie. But scores of travelers following his journey along the Stampede Trail just outside Denali National Park have been rescued and others have died in the harsh reality of back-country terrain. The area is marked by no cell phone service, unpredictable weather and the raging Teklanika River, whose swollen banks prevented the 24-year-old Virginian from seeking help before his 1992 starvation death. Now families of some of t