McCandless leaves Carthage, South Dakota, on April 15, 1992, and makes it across the Canadian border three days later. On April 21 he arrives at a place called Liard River, close to the Yukon Territory. There he meets a man named Gaylord Stuckey, who drives McCandless 1,000 miles to Fairbanks. Once in town, Stuckey takes McCandless to a grocery store, where he buys a large bag of rice then drops McCandless off at the University of Alaska campus.

While on campus McCandless finds a book on the edible plants of the region. Using the classified ads, he purchases a gun to hunt with. McCandless camps four miles west of Fairbanks after he finishes gathering his supplies in town. On the morning of April 28 he is picked up by the first car to come by, Jim Gallien’s truck. Gallien drives him three hours along the George Parks Highway to the Stampede Trail, where McCandless begins his trek into the woods.

McCandless heads into the Alaskan bush with no food except his bag of rice and the sandwiches gifted him by Jim Gallien. On his second day he reaches the Teklanika River and wades through with little difficulty. On May 1 McCandless finds the bus by the Sushana River and decides to stay for a few days.