Colin Fletcher
Encyclopedia
Backpacking (wilderness)
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping for an overnight stay in backcountry wilderness...
and writer.
In 1963, Fletcher became the first to walk the length of Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
entirely within the rim of the canyon "in one go" — only second to complete the entire journey — as chronicled in his bestselling 1968 memoir The Man Who Walked Through Time
The Man Who Walked Through Time
The Man Who Walked Through Time is Colin Fletcher's chronicle of his trek inside the rim of The Grand Canyon from one end to the other. He was the first person to do so in one continuous trek, and the second to do so completely....
. Through his influential hiker's guide, The Complete Walker
The Complete Walker
The Complete Walker is an in-depth guide to backpacking, written by Colin Fletcher with illustrations by political aide/women's rights advocate Nick Bauer. It was very influential and "could be credited with starting the backpacking industry." Since its first publishing in 1968, there have been...
, published the same year, he became a kind of "spiritual godfather" of the wilderness backpacking movement. Through successive editions, this book became the definitive work on the topic, and was christened "the Hiker's Bible" by Field and Stream magazine.
Early life and career
Born in Cardiff, WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
March 14, 1922, Fletcher was educated in England and served six years in the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After spending time farming in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, surveying in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, and as a prospector in western Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1956. Two years later, he walked the length of the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, a journey that was the basis for his first book The Thousand Mile Summer
The Thousand Mile Summer
The Thousand Mile Summer, in desert and high sierra, by Colin Fletcher, is the author's chronicle of his 1958 hike along the entire eastern edge of California. Fletcher writes of traveling on foot along the Colorado River, though Death Valley and the High Sierra. The book was first published in...
.
Writing career
Fletcher published a total of 10 books between 1964 and 2001, which included 4 editions of the The Complete Walker. His first book was The Thousand Mile SummerThe Thousand Mile Summer
The Thousand Mile Summer, in desert and high sierra, by Colin Fletcher, is the author's chronicle of his 1958 hike along the entire eastern edge of California. Fletcher writes of traveling on foot along the Colorado River, though Death Valley and the High Sierra. The book was first published in...
(1964) recounting his 1958 hike along the entire eastern edge of California. His second book was The Man Who Walked Through Time
The Man Who Walked Through Time
The Man Who Walked Through Time is Colin Fletcher's chronicle of his trek inside the rim of The Grand Canyon from one end to the other. He was the first person to do so in one continuous trek, and the second to do so completely....
(1968), in which Fletcher was the first person to walk a continuous route through Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park is the United States' 15th oldest national park and is located in Arizona. Within the park lies the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, considered to be one of the Wonders of the World. The park covers of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties.Most...
in 1963. The book covered technique, the journey itself, and reflections which included the concept of, after weeks, of achieving a state of mentally "merging" with the place that one is visiting.
In 1968, Fletcher published the first edition of The Complete Walker, his most popular work including three new editions with the last in 2001, in total selling over 500,000 copies. Fletcher's book is distinguished by its encyclopedic treatment of the technique and equipment of wilderness travel, as well as by what critics and readers have praised as its rousing humor and elegant, vigorous prose. While certainly comprehensive in its discussion of all aspects of wilderness travel, it also devotes a generous amount of space to Fletcher's self-confessed idiosyncrasies, ranging from his affection for walking staffs and corduroy shorts to his loathing of wilderness trail guidebooks.
In the early 1970s Fletcher returned to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
's Serengeti Plain, and Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
for a year, an experience he recounted in The Winds of Mara, published in 1973.
In 1981 he published The Man From the Cave, which tells how, after finding a trunk and a few belongings abandoned by someone
Chuckawalla Bill
Chuckawalla Bill was a Spanish-American War veteran, a sapper in the British army during WW I, a prospector, a cook, and vagabond. His birth name was William Anthony Simon, although he most frequently used the name Anthony W. Simmons. Later in life, he settled down in Palo Verde, CA...
in a desert cave in Nevada, he spent years piecing together the life story of "Trunkman". As he pieced together the mystery of the man's life, Fletcher saw in it a discovery and reflection of himself, "We both valued solitude and silence and square, smoothed-off granite boulders."
In 1989, Fletcher hiked and rafted the entire length of the Green/Colorado River from its source in the Wind River Range
Wind River Range
The Wind River Range , is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in western Wyoming in the United States. The range runs roughly NW-SE for approximately 100 miles . The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Gannett Peak, which at 13,804 feet , is the highest peak...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
to the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. He was evidently the first person ever to do this. He told the story of the journey in River (1997), adding to his customary description of the places through which he travelled a metaphor, comparing the course of the river and its emptying into the sea, to life itself and his own life in particular.
The last edition of The Complete Walker
The Complete Walker
The Complete Walker is an in-depth guide to backpacking, written by Colin Fletcher with illustrations by political aide/women's rights advocate Nick Bauer. It was very influential and "could be credited with starting the backpacking industry." Since its first publishing in 1968, there have been...
, The Complete Walker IV (2002), was written with Chip Rawlins
Chip Rawlins
Chip Rawlins is the co-author of The Complete Walker IV with Colin Fletcher. He also publishes under the name, C. L. Rawlins . Rawlins is a non-fiction writer, poet, outdoor guide and instructor. Previous jobs include: firefighter, science editor, and field hydrologist.-Biography:Rawlins was born...
.
Later years
In his later years, Fletcher became a prolific writer on environmental issues. He was publicity-shy, rarely responding to letters or interview requests, although always willing to incorporate reader feedback into revised editions of The Complete Walker.In 2001, at the age of seventy-nine, Fletcher was struck and seriously injured by an SUV while walking to a town meeting near his home in Monterey County, California
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
. His survival was attributed to his excellent physical condition. Within a year of the accident, he was back on his feet and walking daily.
According to published obituaries, Fletcher died on June 12, 2007 in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, as a result of complications from a head injury sustained from being hit by the car six years earlier.
Influence and legacy
Annette McGivney, editor of Backpacker Magazine, has written that "Colin was sort of the founding father of modern backpacking, the first person to write about going out for an extended period and being self-sufficient." Because many people started following Fletcher's advice in The Complete Walker, according to McGivney, "the book could be credited with starting the backpacking industry," including equipment makers and periodicals like Backpacker Magazine. Through his writings Fletcher "inspired a generation of young Americans to take up backpacking as means of filling a spiritual void," and to escape from the confusion of Vietnam-era America:"After Vietnam, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. So many of my friends had died from bullet holes," recalls Backpacker Magazine contributing editor Buck Tilton. "I read The Man Who Walked Through Time, and it was the only thing that made sense to me. Fletcher's words gave meaning to backpacking. I loaded my pack exactly the way Fletcher did and carried a walking stick like his. He was my hero."
Quotes
- God is light, we are told, and Hell is outer darkness. But look at a desert mountain stripped bare by the sun, and you learn only geography. Watch darkness claim it, and for a moment you may grasp why God had to create Satan—or man to create both. — The Thousand Mile SummerThe Thousand Mile SummerThe Thousand Mile Summer, in desert and high sierra, by Colin Fletcher, is the author's chronicle of his 1958 hike along the entire eastern edge of California. Fletcher writes of traveling on foot along the Colorado River, though Death Valley and the High Sierra. The book was first published in...
(1964)
- Dedicated urbanites "know" beyond shadow of doubt - because doubt never raises its disturbing head - that civilization is the real world: you only "escape" to wilderness. When you're out and away and immmersed, you "know" the obverse: the wilderness world is real, the human world a superimposed facade... The controversy is, of course, spurious. Neither view can stand alone. Both worlds are real. But the wilderness world is certainly older and will almost certainly last longer. Besides, the second view seems far healthier for a human to embrace. — River (1997)
External links
Obituary/Biography- Retracing Colin Fletcher at work
- Obituary, Backpacker Magazine.
- Obituary, New York Times.
- Obituary, Sierra ClubSierra ClubThe Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
- Obituary, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
. - Obituary, MetafilterMetaFilterMetaFilter, known as MeFi to its members, is a community weblog whose purpose is to share links and discuss content that users have discovered on the web.-Community:MetaFilter was founded by Matthew Haughey in 1999...
.
Misc
- Bibliography - descriptions of each book and publishing history
- California Serendipity, The Thousand Mile Summer Revisited Retracing Colin Fletcher's voyage 1958 - 2008