Magic Bus 142 Front
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL:
Dan is an outdoor adventure kind of guy who believes dreams are meant to be lived.
I've set out to drive my Jeep Wrangler 80,000 miles in a circumnavigation of the African continent.
Read the announcement
Here on The Road Chose Me you can read all about my ongoing adventure, see my photos and watch my videos.
You can also read back through my 40,000 mile, 22 month adventure in a Jeep Wrangler through 17 countries from Alaska to Argentina.
How do I afford all this?
What about Travel Insurance?
Dan is an outdoor adventure kind of guy who believes dreams are meant to be lived.
I've set out to drive my Jeep Wrangler 80,000 miles in a circumnavigation of the African continent.
Read the announcement
Here on The Road Chose Me you can read all about my ongoing adventure, see my photos and watch my videos.
You can also read back through my 40,000 mile, 22 month adventure in a Jeep Wrangler through 17 countries from Alaska to Argentina.
How do I afford all this?
What about Travel Insurance?
hey Dan, cheers for the info! Did they really use the original magic bus for the film?
How are the adventures going? How long you been on the road now? Were you inspired by Chris’s adventures?
Be great to hear from you!
See ya, Andrew Finch (United Kingdom)
Hey Andrew – I don’t actually know for certain, but I don’t think they used the real bus. When I was there I compared a photo from the book of Emile Hirsch sitting on the bus in the movie to the real bus. It was very very close, but with careful examination the paint and damaged areas were not consistent. I’m sure it would be in the credits if filmed on location in Alaska
They didn’t use the original bus because it was too remote and because they didn’t like the background. A replica was build, some 50 miles to the south, which had a nicer backdrop. This is a Hollywood production, after all. Here’s a photo of the movie’s (fake) Fairbanks 142: http://www.thaliesworld.com/?p=372
Hey Rien, You are correct, a replica of bus 142 was used for filming. Another reason was out of respect for Chris’ family and his memory.
I’ve seen the movie again since visiting the bus and I have to say, it’s an extremely accurate replica, I couldn’t spot a single thing that was incorrect.
They did not use the original bus for filming out of respect for Chris and his family
Steven, Do you have confirmation of that somewhere?
When I was at the bus I compared the photo on the cover of the latest edition of the book with Emile Hirsch sitting on the bus to the actual bus. The differences were very hard to spot, but I concluded it was not filmed at the actual bus.
Hey Dan, im in highschool and formally reading this book i was wondering if you could email me more information about the bus and conditions i am volunternly doing a project in school because this book has really fasionted me please get in touch with me at
thanksHey Cody,
What specifically do you want to know? Just ask the questions here and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Also make sure you read through all the comments, I have answered tons of questions about the bus & Chris
I am wonder the condition the bus is in inside and outside how long Chris really survived and for a fact how did he get injured?
Hey Cody,
The bus has been sitting in it’s current location for a long time, and so it’s pretty beaten up. Lots of rust inside and out, and most of the windows are smashed or completely missing (which is a shame because it’s hard to sleep inside now with all the mosquitos in summer, or cold in winter.
I don’t remember exactly how long Chris lived in the bus, I think it was something like 4 months, though you should check that.
As for why he actually passed away, that is a topic of debate, and nobody knows for certain, only that he starved to death. Why? we don’t know for sure.
I hope that helps, let me know if there is anything else you would like to know.
-Dan
Thank you for the help, also was there actual proof that chris really was there?
Chris’ body was discovered in the bus… I think that’s proof enough.
Ah. Okay thanks, like i said i wasn’t trying to disrespect Chris and His Family. also do you know what happened to his belt that he made?
No worries Chris. I think I read somewhere that Chris’ family has the belt he made, though I don’t remember where I read that, so I could be wrong. Have you read the book “Into The Wild”? It has a lot of very good information not covered in the movie.
Yeah im reading it again for the second time, still need to see the movie though. Also i heard there is a new book coming out called Back To The Wild, its about chris, from all his pictures and his journals suspose to be out this month.
Hello ‘Im Leon from Liverpool, UK. I have just watched this film, and has deeply moved me! (hence the reason I am on this site now) I would love to have met Chris, a lot of his thoughts resonated with me! Profoundly tragic… The end of the film left me thinking that his thoughts changed as he was about to die! I notice he wrote in his journal that life is not the same unless it is shared… Is there anywhere that has published his Journal or extracts from it? I am eager now to read the book now, to find out more! I loved his intense grasp of life ,and his boundless energy for it… My heart goes out to his family! What a man he was!
Hi Leon,
Very recently Chris’ journal and the photos he took on his adventure have been published in a new book, called “Back to the Wild”
You can read all about it, and find a link to buy it on the official Back To The Wild website.
-Dan
I think it’s nasty he would live in a place like that when he could of lived in a nice home with heat and air and family. I find him ungreatful and very stupid. Theres not even a fridge that means he couldnt have pickles because they would spoil. :/
Chris’s story is so amazing and inspiring. Here he gave up everything only to find what most would call “nonthing”, but he made the most of his adventure with out any complaint.
What Chris did was a amazing attempt to find the real reason of life. For most of us a dream that stays a dream because it doesn’t fit into the every day life of being more or less succesful in this society. Living means making choices: good or bad ones. Personally I think Chris made all the right ones, yes even if he lived only short but at least to the fullest and that in the end is what counts.
All those years later we still speak about him, that says it all.
-Joop
While I do admire his sense of adventure, that is apparently a the only sense he had. He died from stupidity.