The Famous Chris McCandless Bus Was Airlifted Out Of the AK Wilderness

For anyone who’s ever read Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild – or the seen the movie for that matter – you’ll probably recognize the famous Fairbanks City school bus that Christopher McCandless called home during the summer of 1992. Yesterday, the Alaska National Guard airlifted the bus out of the wilderness via CH-47 Chinook helicopter, citing the fact that the schoolbus has turned into a dangerous attraction for adventure seekers.

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As chronicled in Krakauer’s book, the bus was home to Christopher McCandless during the summer of 1992, who gave up a traditional life in search of a simpler, more adventure-filled existence. McCandless, who went by the pseudonym Alexander Supertramp, spent 114 days living in the bus before dying. His body was found by a hunter that fall, and spurred Krakauer’s story.

Since then, the bus had become a bit of a tourist attraction, with hundreds of hikers traveling to Healy, Alaska to make the 25-mile trek into the wilderness to the site. The trek crosses two rivers that have claimed several hikers’ lives. To prevent any further accidents, on Thursday morning, the Alaska National Guard and Department of Natural Resources rigged the bus to a helicopter and lifted it to a “secure site while the DNR considers all options and alternatives for its permanent disposition.”