A young Manitoba man rescued near the infamous 'Into the Wild' bus is warning others about the dangers of travelling to the site. "Don't go alone, if the Teklanika River (second larger river) looks too violent wait for the next day or go back, it’s an amazing experience to see the bus but it is not worth your life," he said Matt Sharpe, in an email to CTV News Saturday. Alaska State Troopers received a report of a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) near the “Magic Bus”, on Stampede Trail near Healy on Thursday morning around 6 a.m. Police said state troopers responded to the area via helicopter and safely located Sharpe. "Sharpe had sustained minor injuries during his trek and was unable to hike from the area due to heavy rain and rising river levels. Sharpe was transported by helicopter to Fairbanks, that he might seek medical treatment," the release said. Sharpe said to reach the "Magic Bus", he had to hike 30 kilometres and cross two rivers. He said the journey turned dangerous trying to cross the second river. "The first crossing went ok, the second river is much wider, deeper and faster. Once I was about half way across the current overwhelmed me and dragged me and my gear (50lbs) downstream for about 100 yards. I got pretty beat up while being dragged, was able to grab a fallen tree and get to shore. I was so hyped up on adrenaline the reality of what just happened didn’t yet sink in. I collected myself and continued hiking. After arriving at the bus I took some pictures and set up camp," Sharpe said. He said as time passed the extent of his injuries set in, and realized his body was badly bruised all over. "By the next morning I was so sore I was unable to carry my gear, let alone cross the rivers again and hike the 30km out. It took a lot for me to do it, but I activated my locator around 6 a.m., was picked up around 12 p.m." "I was alone the whole time, other than crossing paths with an Australian man near the trailhead who was returning from the bus, he said he had great difficulty with the rivers because of the recent rains." Sharpe said seeing the bus was a very emotional experience. "I have drawn a lot of inspiration from Chris' story," he said. The troopers informed him that it is very common for people to have to be pulled out of that spot because of the continually changing river levels. Sharpe advises future hikers to carry a personal locator beacon. "Also carrying a spot GPS, or other locator, is invaluable, I never intended to use the locator but I'm sure glad I had it," Sharpe said. "At this point I'm probably going to be billed for the rescue. The amount is unknown at this time. My body is pretty beat up, but I'll recover fine," Sharpe said. Matthew Sharpe, 22, poses next to the "Magic Bus" the Stampede Trail in Alaska. (Source: Matthew Sharpe/Instagram) The “Magic Bus” is the same remote location where American hiker Chris McCandless died in 1992 after he got trapped on the wrong side of a river. McCandless' journey was chronicled in the Jon Krakauer novel, Into the Wild, and later made into a film. In an email to CTV News Friday, Alaska State Troopers said Sharpe was by himself when he was rescued. "He certainly wasn't the first and won't be the last," said public information officer Megan Peters in a phone call Friday. Peters couldn't say how many hikers get stranded trying to reach the bus each summer, or require rescuing from near the location, but said incidents like the one involving Sharpe were relatively common. Peters said all the rivers were extremely high. "It has been an extremely rainy summer here and the night of the 24th, morning of the 25th, it rained extremely hard all night."
