Who was Chris McCandless?

Some argue that Chris was a rash, mentally ill lunatic who died due to a lack of preparation or sanity. I would disagree. Although Chris made some decisions in his life that are hard for us to understand, it is important to attempt to understand them before we judge his life. The book Into the Wild was, I beleive, an attempt to do just that. Having read it, I have made my decision about who Chris really was. He seems to have been a person who wanted to find the truth, for better or for worse. His acts were well thought out in principle, but not in much else. He was intelligent, and was on an amazing journey that would define his life. He was a good, sane person, who made a few misteaks that eventually killed him. Had he not died, I doubt if anyone would have questioned his mission, but he did so we ignore his triumphs and highlight his misteaks.