Books and Movies
Into The Wild
If you haven't already read John Krakauer's Book or seen Sean Penn's movie, both are definitely worth your while. Though it can be said that both are somewhat romanticized, and that certain creative liberties were taken with the movie, the story telling is phenomenal and emotionally driven. For pure entertainment, and telling of the story, the book and the movie are top notch. It would be hard to watch the film, or read the book and not feel the freedom of the unknown tugging at you in some way.
Book
DVD
Blu-Ray
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills
This book is the end all of wilderness travel and should be consulted as such. Just about everything you need to know is in this book for any situation. This book is huge too. Aside from it's literary value, it also can be used to flatten things under it's extraordinary mass. That said though, no book is a replacement for experience. Read up, get out, practice. The more time you spend practicing your craft the better and more dynamic an outdoorsman (or woman) you will be.
Book
Featured Resources
This flickr group, which I started, has a lot of good shots of the trail and the bus. If you make the trip, join up when you come back and add your photos. The more the better.
My Other Video of the Stampede Trail
This is the video I posted after returning from my June 2009 hiking trip to the bus with my wife and friends.
Woman Drowns Trying To Cross Teklanika (2010)
This is a very sad story. Don't let this be you! The Teklanika is no joke and can kill. If it's too high just turn around. There is literally nothing in that bus worth dieing to see. The article states though, that they were not headed to the bus but simply hiking in the area. Either way though, the Teklanika is serious business.
EveryTrail.com Stampede Trail Page
This page give you a good graphical view of the stampede trail. You can also find both the .kmz file (for Google Earth) and the .gpx file (for GPSs) that I linked to earlier in this page.
If you want to know more about Christopher McCandless, or perhaps discuss his story in a forum, this is the place to go. Adam (who runs the site) was kind enough to ask me to write an article for his site about hiking to the bus. You can check that out while you're there.
FreeWheelings.com: Visiting Into The Wild Magic Bus
This is the blog of a guy who made an early season trip to the bus before the snow and ice melted, a good way to go if you can do it that way.
This is the blog of a man making a journey from Alaska to Argentina. This particular page is about his hike "Into The Wild" to see the bus.
Aaron Glaser: Stampede Trail McCandless Bus
Another good YouTube video, chronicaling some hikers' trek to the bus.
Shane Redman and Sean Mulcrone
Shane's YouTube channel has many videos of Shane and his friend Sean hiking to the bus. Highlights include his great footage of crossing the Teklanika River. I used these videos to plan my own trek in 2009.
Troopers Rescue 'Into the Wild' Wannabes (2010)
Here are some more guys who took on the Stampede Trail unprepared and ended up in the news. Be prepared, and be responsible for your own rescue in the event that something should happen. Let someone who is capable of helping you out, know when you should be back, just in case something happens. These guys should not have needed rescue.
More Resources:
Blogs
Stampede Trail Hike (Into the Sort-Of Wild) on Samara and AaronSkiing Into the Wild - A Night At Bus 142 on The Edventures
Forums
Hiking The Stampede Trail on Alaska Outdoor ForumsI Want to Go to the Into the Wild Bus on Alaska Outdoor Forums
The Magic Bus: Hiking the Stampede Trail on Backpacker Forums
Videos
Arriving At The Bus on YouTubeTrail To Bus 142 on YouTube
Photos
Stampede Trail 2003 on AlaskaPhotography.comStampede Trail on Lucid Front
Articles
'Into the Wild' Inspires Adventurers, But at What Cost? on ABC NewsTwo Hikers Missing Along Stampede Trail Rescued on Anchorage Daily News
Other
Into The Wild Bus on ChristopherMcCandless.info (I wrote this article about hiking the stampede trail)Stampede Trail on Wikipedia
Christopher McCandless' Abandoned Bus on Wikimapia
Do you have a site, blog, photo album (etc) that you feel would be a good addition to this resource page? Email it to me, I'll review your site, and post it here if I feel it pertains.
Every effort will be made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided on 'Hiking The Stampede Trail'. The information provided on 'Hiking The Stampede Trail' comes from a variety of sources and therefore no guarantees are made as to the accuracy or authenticity of any content. Using the information obtained on this site to aid in any decision making will be done at your own risk and the Last Frontier Adventure Club, Erik Halfacre, and any other site contributor will not be liable for the results of your actions. Read the full site disclaimer here.