Into the Wild

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

Anyone see this movie?

I loved it, and it reminded me of the time that I hitchhiked 10,000 miles through Australia and 3,000 miles through New Zealand as a teenager. I turned 19 at a youth hostel in Hamilton, New Zealand. Little I've done has meant as much to me in my life as those six and a half months that I spent Down Under.

We have a lot of young people who participate on this site. To those readers I say: Get out and experience as much as you can now. NOW, while you have the energy and passion and courage, go for it!

(That doesn't mean that you go out there unprepared! Read some books. Ask some questions. Make sure that you've got what you need to fulfill your goal -- don't give the old folks a reason to denigrate your dreams and your potential achievements. That will take some hard work, and some deep thinking.)

If that message is all you ever take from IHC, then this site will have been worthwhile.

Thoreau wrote, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost. There is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."

Now go rent the DVD and tell me what you think. ;)

[-venom-]

*excellent* movie.

I read the novel some time ago, and as far as my memory serves me, the movie was very close to the novel.

[RichardGraham]

Hey Bob,

Yeah, the movie followed the book closely, but it had to -- it was a true story, not a novel.

I saw an interview with Sean Penn and Eddie Vedder on Charlie Rose about the movie where they went into deep detail about Chris McCandless's trip to Alaska that ends tragically, the effect on his family, the music, etc. Powerful stuff.

[rollerhcky09]

I knew the film would be amazing after I saw the preview for the first time. I ended up watching the preview about 20 times on demand while I waited for it to come out. I drove about 1.5 hours from Millersville to Oaks to see it, because it wasn't being shown anywhere close to me. Then, a couple weeks later a small one screen theater on my campus got it and I saw it again there. Of course, I had to buy it as soon as it came out. Definitely one of my favorites of all time.

I agree, nothing beats getting out in the wild and enjoying nature. Last summer I did backpacking in the Crazy Mountains in Montana. It was a time I'll never forget.

[RichardGraham]

Hi rollerhcky09,

So, I see you really got into the movie! ;)

I remember when "Mystery, Alaska" came out. I watched it twice, back to back, in the same theater.

I would love to see "Into the Wild" again. I'll probably buy the DVD one of these days.

I kept a journal during my Australia/New Zealand trip, but, unfortunately, it was written by a teenager. lol. Mostly, "I woke up, packed up the tent, and got back on the road. Waited two hours for my first ride." I've transcribed the journal into my computer, so now I'll have to go back over it, delete the boring stuff, expand on the interesting material, and see if it's worth showing to anyone. ;)

The Crazy Mountains? I read something about them... but I forget. Why did do they call them that name?

[rollerhcky09]

The Crazy Mountains were named after a women who supposedly went crazy after her family was killed. She then lived in the mountains. I think Crazy Mountains are actually short for Crazy Women Mountains. They are part of the Rocky Mountain range.

[RichardGraham]

Hey rollerhcky09,

If you liked Montana, you might like this book:

An Ornery Bunch
Tales and Anecdotes Collected by the WPA Montana Writer's Project
1935-1942

I think I picked it up when I was an editor at Sports Afield magazine. It's good, interesting and funny. You could probably find it on Amazon.com.