I guess I also pictured a scenario where they did have at least a simple tent and a sleeping bag and little bit of food and water. I wondered if they traveled by night because they realized the mosquitoes and flies weren't as active and they could travel close to what remains of PR 290 past Sundance. Then they would put up a tent and try to nap during the day. I do recall the forecast being posted on here though and there were nights where it got nasty rainy and cold. I also remember this story of that guy who got lost in Northern Montana a few days after they found Kam and Bryer in August and he made it 5 days on berries and insects but feared by day 6 he would be dead. Again, it's definitely also up to one's will to live. Like I'm sure Kam and Bryer were in starvation and dehydration mode but it could be possible they lived as long as 7-8 days after the 22nd if they had the desire and determination. Interesting, the other night my friends and I were talking about the case (of course) and we ranked each other who would last the longest in a similar situation. 6'3 and 170 lbs, I gave myself 6-7 days but then I have a ridiculously fast metabolism so I would be starving by day 2.
~Some more thoughts and opinion.
I think they had at least some basic camping equipment and possibly even food. I wonder what they thought they were going to eat in there though....
You'd be surprised what conditions human beings can physically endure. Like that show "I Shouldn't Be Alive." However, in order to survive you have to have the will to go on. I think their minds quit on them long before their bodies would have. Or in reality, they were out of options for a long time, and it took them that long to accept it, and they
really didn't want to go to prison.
Or, did KM simply steal it? I don't see KM's apparently hard-working dad just handing him the vehicle, unless it offered an exasperated 'last chance' solution.
I don't think it was stolen, as they likely would have been reported missing previously. Also, Bryer's grandma and great-uncle knew about the trip before it happened. It's really not that unusual for friends who are recent high school graduates to go on a road trip together. It was probably like a "they can have fun and get some perspective on the real world" thing.
Why was KM not already working in his father's business? I'd think any father would be proud to involve a son in his business.
Because he was 19? Most 19 year olds have a lot to learn, and I get the sense that Kam and Bryer were more immature than the average person their age. My guess is, his parents wanted him to show that he had work ethic first, and not just hand things to him.
BS's prospect of heading to a construction site from his dad's van every morning would inspire no one, but given Victoria's recent construction boom, how any average-skilled carpenter still lives this way is rather telling. The business card creation (contracting, not employed) is a sad attempt to impress an already gullable boy.
Bryer only worked construction for one summer, as far as we know. His dad said in the 60 Minutes interview that he had mental health struggles in the past few years, which likely would explain his homelessness and any lack of regular work.
In their long relationship, BS must surely have envied KM's apparent stability many times growing up although he appears to have accepted KM as his mentor. As this trip progresses, perhaps BS begins seeing himself ever more as an equal.
I think they already saw themselves as equals.
The burning of the campervan would cause KM some grave guilt issues by the end of their flight. Torching it himself for any reason, surely would have triggered an emotional end to his family life at the very least.
On the other hand, they felt that was their only option, and that they could never go back to their old lives anyway.
Perhaps BS unravels completely and wants to surrender, thinks he can go home to grandma. I don't see KS allowing that.
They made a video together. That shows they were on the same page until the end. I'm sure there were arguments and probably the blame game, at some point. But overall they always knew they would stay together. I don't think either of them forced the other into anything at any point.
Also if anything I think it's more likely that Bryer accepted suicide long before Kam, and was just staying alive so as not to abandon Kam. As you said, Kam had a lot more to lose.
All JMO.