A team of national guardsmen of the Alaskan Army extracted the 1940s-era bus with the number 142 from Denali National Park, known from the book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer. Bus 142, also known as The Magic Bus, was the home of Christopher McCandless for 114 days before he died on the bus after allegedly eating poisonous berries.
After graduating from college in 1992, McCandless looked for a different lifestyle. He donated his college savings, packed up some supplies and hitchhiked to the wilderness of Alaska. Krakauer documented the whole story in his book, which later became a major feature film directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch as McCandless. After the book was published, hundreds of people began to travel to Healy, Alaska, to hike about 25 miles through the wilderness and see The Magic Bus. Its remote location and dangerous hike across the sometimes rain- and meltwater-swollen Teklanika and Savage rivers led to several search and rescue operations to save stranded adventurers. Some people even lost their lives trying to reach and see the famous bus, which had originally been abandoned in the 1960s.
According to the U.S. Department of Natural Resources, the bus is now to be kept in a safe place until a permanent location is found. Bus 142 may then be presented to the public “in a safe place.”
