Into The Wild

There are certain people in this world that leave strong and lasting impressions on others. Chris McCandless was one of those people. "McCandless made an indelible impression on a number of people during the course of his hegira, most of whom spent only a few days in his company, a week or two at most (48)." Chris was a well educated, smart young man who seemed to catch the interest of three people: Jan Burres, Ronald Franz, and Wayne Westerberg. All three spent a good amount of time with Chris to know he was not the same as the average person, rather he was unique and very determined. At the beginning of one of Chris's many adventures, he was picked up by Jan Burres and her boyfriend Bob, 60 miles south of Oregon. Chris got a ride with them and stayed with the two for about a week at Orick Beach. "Said he was tramping around the country, having a big old adventure. He told us about abandoning his car, about burning all his money (30)." Jan Burres thought that herself and her Bob could teach Chris something about life, but shortly after he left. Chris stayed in touch by sending a postcard about every month. Later on, Chris met up with Jan at the slabs, a huge flea market. He helped her out with selling and organizing the displays. "He had a good time when he was around people, a real good time. At the swap meet he'd talk and talk and talk to everybody that came by..(44)," said Jan Burres. Everyone loved having Chris around. Chris told Jan his plan for his trip to Alaska. Burres thought it was not a great idea, but Chris was very determined. Chris was like a son to Jan. She cared for him a lot. It was hard for Jan to see Chris leave. She thought he had it in him to make it out alive. Ronald Franz was 80 years old when he met Chris. It was in the middle of January and Chris was heading for the bajada when Franz came along and gave him a ride. The two men talked during their car ride together. "He seemed extremely intelligent