Freedom at Fairbanks

"'I even offered to buy him a plane ticket to Fairbanks, which would have let him work an extra ten days and still get to Alaska by the end of April, but he said, 'No, I want to hitch north. Flying would be cheating. It would wreck the whole trip.' '"

Inspiration or Fool?

Chris's choice to live independently is shown clearly in this excerpt. It is also clear that he does not play by the rules of society. He has his own way of thinking and people's input seem to mean nothing to him. Some might think of his detached persona as inspirational. It is true that he is courageous to throw away a life of safety to live the life he wanted to live. Most people are stuck being unhappy, but Chris seized every opportunity he could to be the man he wanted to be.  At the same time it would be easy to just call him an outcast; someone who had an unrealistic perspective on the world. I personally think it is inspirational. Although I'm not going to follow his footsteps and run away into the Alaskan wilderness, he does not fail to make me think real hard about how life is a journey.