A longtime abandoned city bus in the Alaskan wilderness, the one made famous in the best-selling book “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, was removed by helicopter Thursday and transported to an undisclosed location out of safety concerns.
For 60 years, the old Fairbanks city bus sat in its remote spot about 25 miles west of the Parks Highway on the Stampede Trail before officials decided to take it away to reduce injuries, search and rescues, and even deaths that have been associated with the bus, the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media reported.
The bus, located near the boundary of Denali National Park and Preserve, had become a tourist attraction after Krakauer’s book and movie about the 1992 death of Christopher McCandless, 24, of Virginia. The 1996 book was made into a move in 2007.
There were 15 bus-related search-and-rescue operations between 2009 and 2017, according to the Alaskan Department of Natural Resources. Most recently, a 26-year-old Brazilian man was rescued in April after running out of food and becoming trapped when the iced-over Teklanika River melted.
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Last year, a 24-year-old newlywed woman from Belarus died after being swept away while attempting to cross the river after spending two nights at the bus. Another hiker drowned in 2010.
“It has long been a perilous attraction,” Denali Borough Mayor Clay Walker told the Daily News.
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Alaska departments of transportation, natural resources, and military and veterans’ affairs all participated in the operation to remove the bus, which was requested by Walker.
“I know it’s the right thing for public safety in the area, removing the perilous attraction,” Walker told Alaska Public Media. “At the same time, it’s always a little bittersweet when a piece of your history gets pulled out.”
National Guard soldiers helped remove the bus, cutting holes in its ceiling and floor to attach chains. The crew also ensured the safekeeping of a suitcase that holds sentimental value to the McCandless family.
The bus was airlifted from its location by a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and placed onto a flatbed truck. It was then transported to a secure location as the state considers its permanent placement, National Resources Commissioner Corri Feige said in a statement.
“We’ll be working through a process of what will happen to it next,” Walker told the Daily News.
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So how did this 1940s-era bus get into the remote area in the first place?
The Yutan Construction Company hauled it to the spot to use as shelter for employees during a pioneer road construction project, the Daily News explained. It was abandoned when the project was completed in 1961.
McCandless used it as shelter, too. He stayed alone in the bus for more than 100 days until his death. The “Into the Wild” book has been translated into 30 languages, so tourists from all over the world made attempts to visit the site.
Photos of the bus being airlifted by helicopter courtesy of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Alaska National Guard. Photo of campers at the bus courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.