Saturday, June 7, 2008

FAQs, vol. 2

Q. Are you doing what Chris McCandless (or "Alexander Supertramp", or "that one guy from Into the Wild") did?
A. What a great question! (I've learned to say that after every single question that any tourist ever asks me.) The answer is yes and no. We both went to interior Alaska, But that's about it. Here's why what I am doing is way cooler:

1. Chris lived about ten miles outside of Fairbanks, the nearest major city. I am 200 miles from Fairbanks, and from any city.

2. Chris was below the Arctic Circle, and he never saw a 24 hour day. I am 55 miles above the Arctic Circle, and will see a 336 hour period of direct sunshine. It starts in just two weeks.

3. Chris ate plain rice, larva-impregnated moose meat, and toxic flora.* I eat fresh fruit and yogurt with pancakes and biscuits for breakfast, and then whatever the special of the day is for lunch and dinner. It is always delicious.

4. I got some suckers to pay me to be here.

5. Chris McCandless never met Jack Reakoff. (That article is old. He turns 51 this year.) Seriously, this guy is the real deal. If you continue reading this blog, you will tire of hearing about him.

6. Chris died during his sojourn, but I have years of adventures in my future! (Probably)

*Okay, there is something kind of cooler about eating just rice and funky moose meat. But it's nice to not get poisoned.

3 comments:

Grace Rich said...

I'm glad you're not wasting away up there, eating rotten meat and the like. When I'm scorching and it's only June, I envy your cooler weather. So, I found my old i-pod. It's yours if you want it. Let me know and I can send it to you. Have fun!

Kari said...

that is the greatest picture ever taken, could those tracks be gray wolf tracks next to TR tracks?! simply amazing.

FPrince said...

Yea for you. It looks beautiful. I really need to get up north.