Despite wanting to live in the wilderness, Chris McCandless was ill-equipped to do so. His unfamiliarity with the Alaskan climate and landscape would have been better addressed with some preparation beyond his acquiring a book on the local plants. Krakauer's description of Chris' decision to learn about berries from books suggests he was fairly naive about what it would take to survive in the wild and avoid starvation. His lack of basic knowledge that most wilderness hikers would find crucial (how to attract attention in an emergency with flares, for example) and his failure to equip himself with emergency gear and food supplies led to his death by starvation (or possibly by poisoning, as he may have eaten plants he did not identify properly, but this was not fully determined). Although there was evidence described by Krakauer that Chris did some hunting, he obviously did not have the supplies or knowledge of preserving meat by drying, salting or curing it, which would have helped extend his food supply.
Chris also miscalculated his situation by willfully isolating himself from others who may have helped him, despite being not very far from civilization (only 30 miles from the highway and 16 miles form a hiking path). By not disclosing his whereabouts to anyone, he made it virtually impossible to maintain contact for emergency services to discover or rescue him.
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