The first step in answering the question is to note that it conflates two different issues, sensation-seeking behavior and risk. One good approach to answering the question is to parse its assumptions and note the difference between sensation-seeking and risk.
The human brain does not fully develop until the mid-twenties. A combination of lack of impulse control and lack of experience can mean young people will take actions without understanding risks or will act in ways that give immediate pleasure without thought of long term consequences. For example, young people might try vaping or engage in other unhealthy lifestyle choices such as extreme dieting. The fact that these might have impacts on their health when they are in their 50s reflects the way in which 30 or 50 years seems an unimaginably long time scale to young people. Even realizing the dangers such as reckless driving or binge drinking require the ability to vividly imagine the future and to be aware that statistics apply to everyone. Someone who is older and has seen people die on car accidents has a much greater sense of the reality of the consequences of risky behavior.
A related issue is "sensation seeking behavior." Thrill-seekers are not motivated by risk itself but seek exciting experiences. An unintended consequence of this can be risk. For example, extreme skiers seek out peak (literally!) experiences. Many are highly skilled and seek to minimize risk through carefully maintaining equipment, training, monitoring snow conditions, and carrying emergency rescue gear. Wilderness adventure, extreme sports, or other forms of sensation-seeking must be combined with skill and discipline to be done safely. Unfortunately, some people, such as Chris McCandless, have the desire to seek extreme experiences but not the skills or discipline to survive them. One problem is a culture of instant gratification stoked by media in which young people are bombarded with images on Instagram and YouTube showing people effortlessly doing extreme activities but not emphasizing the years of conditioning and training needed to do them successfully.
Before developing a feasible thesis statement for this question, you might want to interpret some of the terms and phrases in the question and run your ideas by your teacher for approval. For example, "young people of a certain mind" is vague, which means you may have an opportunity to define the term according to your own ideas. For example, if your teacher accepts "young people like Chris McCandless, who have a seemingly insatiable impulse for adventure" as an interpretation, you are in a position to create an interesting argument for your essay. Other possible definitions that might interest you include "young people who seek an escape from their day-to-day lives" or even "young people who are running away from something painful".
Once you have determined what the phrase means to you, you can get to work developing your thesis and your outline. If your teacher approves your interest in exploring the connection between high-risk activities and escapism, for example, you may want to argue that young people are vulnerable to the romanticized notions of adventure that are linked with many high-risk activities. In order to support your argument, you would look for quotes in Krakauer's book that contain information about the romance of adventure and the danger that can come from taking such fantasies too seriously. Make sure your topic sentences all link back to your thesis statement, and write your introduction last; that way, you know exactly what you are introducing and your chances of creating a compelling hook increase with this certainty.
I would first look at other risk-takers, primarily Krakauer himself, that Krakauer discusses in his book, along with his explanations of their reasons for risk-taking. I might also explore another risk-taker extraordinaire, Alex Honnold, star of the documentary Free Solo. The question is, how does McCandless's reasons for risk-taking line up against theirs? Just thinking about Honnold, I might explore why he takes the risk he does versus why McCandless takes his risk.
As a starting point, I would list comparisons and contrasts. For example, Honnold and McCandless both appear to want to test themselves against an ultimate challenge. However, in contrast to Honnold, who seems to want to prove something to the world, McCandless seems to have been primarily pursuing an inward journey of spiritual purification. Is this kind of link between risk and spiritual growth a common practice? What spiritual figures might he be compared to? Perhaps Francis of Asissi, who also subjected his body to severe rigors for spiritual reasons.
A possible thesis might be that "Certain kinds of young people let high-risk activities take control of them as a way of testing and proving their mettle in facing danger. While this is true of Chris McCandless, he pursued risk-taking primarily as a form of spiritual challenge."
Of course, you will need to finesse this to suit the requirements of your paper, but since Krakauer puts great emphasis on the connection between McCandless's risk-taking and his spiritual journey, this seems an important angle to explore.
The writing prompt that is given is fairly vague, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. First, decide how to define "young people of a certain mind." What exactly is the certain mind that causes a person to pursue high-risk activities? Next, define which direction the paper is going to go with "high-risk activities." This will be key for your response, because Chris McCandless isn't an adrenaline junkie in pursuit of big wave surfing, skydiving, or bungee jumping. Instead, McCandless's high-risk activity is his pursuit of extreme isolation for long periods of time in incredibly rugged and harsh environments. Further develop this idea by pointing out that plenty of people enjoy this hobby or lifestyle quite frequently. McCandless took it to a completely different level by incorporating severe minimalism into his solitude. He would often go into the wilderness with poor gear or even not having the gear that he should. This is ultimately what got him killed, in my opinion. McCandless's mindset was heavily influenced by men like Jack London, who wrote quite romantically about the rugged wilderness. That influence, combined with youth's general "I'm indestructible" attitude, is perhaps what drove McCandless (and others like him) to pursue his extreme rugged individualism.
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