The watch Emile Hirsch wears in the movie is Christopher McCandless' real-life watch, given to him as a present.
Sean Penn waited ten years to make the film to make sure he had the approval from the McCandless family.
On June 19th 2020, the "magic bus" Chris McCandles lived in for 114 days in the middle of an Alaskan forest has been air lifted out due to public safety concerns. This is because a number of people have tried to hike out to the bus and needed to either be rescued or simply did not survive.