Into the Wild is a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It is an expansion of Krakauer's 9,000-word article on Christopher McCandless titled "Death of an Innocent", which appeared in the January 1993 issue of Outside. Christopher Johnson McCandless grew up in suburban Annandale, Virginia. After graduating in May 1990 with high grades from Emory University, McCandless ceased communicating with his family, gave away his college fund of $25,000 to Oxfam, and began traveling across Western United States, later abandoning his 1982 Datsun after a flash flood. On April 28, 1992, McCandless hitchhiked to the Stampede Trail in Alaska. There he headed down the snow-covered trail to begin an odyssey with only 10 pounds of rice, a .22 caliber rifle, several boxes of rifle rounds, a camera, and a small selection of reading material-including a field guide to the region's edible plants, Tana'ina Plantlore. His backpack was later found to contain his wallet, holding multiple forms of identification, his social security card, $300, and library cards. A map of the area was also found in his backpack. He declined an acquaintance's offer to buy him sturdier clothing and better supplies. McCandless died of starvation sometime around the week of August 18, 1992, after surviving more than 100 days.