Here is a quote from the book to reiterate my point ('Roman' is Roman Dial, of which more can be found out here: https://www.travelalaska.com/Experience%20Alaska/Alaska%20Lo...):

  I bring up McCandless's hubris and the dumb mistakes he made-the
  two or three readily avoidable blunders that ended up costing him 
  his life. "Sure, he screwed up," Roman answers, "but I admire what
  he was trying to do. Living completely off the land like that, month
  after month, is incredibly difficult. I've never done it. And I'd bet
  you that very few, if any, of the people who call McCandless
  incompetent have ever done it either, not for more than a week or
  two. Living in the interior bush for an extended period, subsisting
  on nothing except what you hunt and gather-most people have no idea
  how hard that actually is. And McCandless almost pulled it off.

  "I guess I just can't help identifying with the guy," Roman allows
  as he pokes the coals with a stick. "I hate to admit it, but not so
  many years ago it could easily have been me in the same kind of
  predicament. When I first started coming to Alaska, I think I was
  probably a lot like McCandless: just as green, just as eager. And I'm
  sure there are plenty of other Alaskans who had a lot in common with
  McCandless when they first got here, too, including many of his
  critics. Which is maybe why they're so hard on him. Maybe McCandless
  reminds them a little too much of their former selves."