That iconic bus made famous by both the book and movie, Into The Wild, has been removed from its location in Alaska.
According to the Associated Press, Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said the decision was made due to safety concerns, as two people have died over the years whilst trying to reach the bus, whilst many others have needed rescuing.
The bus made famous by the novel Into The Wild and the film of the same name has been removed from its Alaskan location as a safety measure.
The 1940s bus was made famous by Christopher McCandless, the real-life 24-year-old Virginian whose story was depicted in Into The Wild. The bus had initially been used by a construction company, giving employees a place to stay whilst working on roads in the area. When the construction work stopped in 1961, the bus was abandoned. Three decades later, McCandless came across the bus and lived there for 114 days before dying of starvation in 1992.
McCandless’ story was immortalised by Jon Krakauer in the novel, Into The Wild, which was later adapted into a film by Sean Penn. The soundtrack, which was the first solo effort from Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, went down as one of the most memorable of the last twenty years.
Following the decision to remove the vehicle, the Alaska Army National Guard airlifted the bus out of the area. It has not yet been decided where the bus will now live.
“We encourage people to enjoy Alaska’s wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination,” Feige described.
“However, this is an abandoned and deteriorating vehicle that was requiring dangerous and costly rescue efforts. More importantly, it was costing some visitors their lives.”
According to The Washington Post, Krakauer has said that McCandless’ family was not made aware of the removal prior to its occurrence. “This place has been desecrated and now it’s been obliterated,” he described.
