Secret Worlds of Colin Fletcher

by Colin Fletcher

Overview

In books such as The Complete Walker and The Man Who Walked Through Time, Colin Fletcher has established a reputation as a literate and witty apostle of roughing it. Secret Worlds of Colin Fletcher is a highly personal celebration of solitary backpacking (and day walking, too), in the wild places of the world, and of all the attendant pleasures: of finding a foothold in difficult terrain, of catching a glimpse of an unsuspecting coyote, of healing the wounds that civilization inevitably inflicts on human nature—of simply “mucking about.” Overflowing with fresh descriptions of nature and with the wisdom of a curmudgeonly Thoreau, this book is a must for backpackers and all unconstrained spirits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780679725541
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/30/1990
Edition description:	Vintage Books ed.
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Colin Fletcher (1922–2007) was born in Wales and educated in England. He moved to California in 1956 after serving in the Royal Marines, farming in Kenya, surveying in Zimbabwe, and prospecting in northern and western Canada. He is the first man to have walked the length of Grand Canyon National Park within the canyon’s rim. He is the author of numerous books on walking and the outdoors, including The Thousand-Mile Summer, The Man Who Walked Through Time, River, The Secret Worlds of Colin Fletcher, and three previous editions of The Complete Walker.

Editorial Reviews

Author of The Complete Walker , Fletcher vigorously values solitude, so he reveals only that the secret worlds of the walks recounted here are west of the Mississippi. One of them is in the desert, along the Colorado River, repeating a section of The Man Who Walked Through Time ; there are daywalks and a visit to Redwood Creek and the Tall Trees. The chef d'oeuvre of this collection is Fletcher's account of his only wilderness trip to Alaska, a three-week sojourn at a remote lake. It wasn't remote enough, however: infuriated by hunters camping at ``his'' lake, Fletcher deliberately disturbed their game. He conveys the pleasures of solitary walking--the rhythms of movement, a sense of timelessness and heightened sensitivity to his surroundings. Illustrations. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The author of the well-known book The Complete Walker III ( LJ 5/15/84) shares his favorite rambles in Alaska, along the Colorado, and elsewhere, never actually revealing his location because he intends to protect his privacy. Often he doesn't even reveal when he made his trip. Nor does he offer much instruction on walking and camping. Fletcher emphasizes the personal epiphanies of walking, but his book only hums when he confronts fellow campers or observes wildlife, from courting whales to grizzlies to a very determined mouse. Some delicious nuggets can be found amidst the banal philosophizing and tent-pitching. For public libraries.-- Beth Clewis, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community Coll. Lib., Richmond, Va.

Library Journal