Praise for "The Complete Walker", original version.

[fsacb3]

I was in a used book store and found a copy, written by Colin Fletcher in 1968. He's updated it several times since, but I recommend reading the original if you can. Why? For the same reason we read any history: to put things in perspective and give context. With forums and message boards we are inundated with information about the latest gear and news and it quickly becomes complicated and overwhelming. The internet also makes it seem like hiking was invented yesterday. The best thing to do is stop reading and go hiking. But another option is to read a classic book like TCW. You'll learn that some things have changed but the basics remain the same. Hikers have always tried to cut weight, they've always been using tarps as tents, REI has been around for 75 years, and wool is still the best. What's changed? Lighter materials, which allow for lighter footwear, lighter loads, and more comfortable hiking. Cook stoves were just starting to be used. The five day forecast was not something you could readily access. If you wanted to know how many calories were in something you had to go to the library and find "The Agricultural Handbook No. 8: Composition of Foods" printed by the US Department of Agriculture. After painstakingly looking up all his food, Fletcher concludes that his calculations must be wrong and trial and error is the best way to come up with a menu. At the end of the day that's true about most things related to hiking. You can google gear reviews til the cows come home and look up the hourly forecast and your pack can weigh 4 pounds but until you get out there and start walking you won't learn much.

Fletcher is informative and very, very funny in a British way. I'm learning some basics that I take for granted but never really examine and that don't get discussed on the internet very often. Some of the advice is of course out of date, but it helps to know history not only so we don't repeat it but also because it explains how we got here and why we now do things the way we do. It explains why some new gear is very exciting and some is just repackaging of stuff that's been around forever. The book is very subjective, which I like. Fletcher tells you in great detail how he hikes instead of offering broad generalizations about how one should hike. I prefer this specificity and find it more helpful. I'm not going to drink a hot cup of tea four times a day but I love reading about it.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying reading a classic. Anyone else consult the "hiker's bible" lately?


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[gsingjane]

I have the Third Edition and also recently read bits & pieces when I was "chomping at the bit" to get out there but couldn't. He is such a charming writer! I could read 17 pages on socks with rapt interest. There are lots of books about hiking and the trail but comparatively few that make for such compelling reading.

Jane

[Lyle]

I agree that this is the best how-to on backpacking. I always encourage folks who are interested to read this, with the caveate that equipment has changed and much lighter options are available, even for low cost.

The daily routines and the "whys" of hiking are timeless. If you enjoy this also pick up his other books. The Man Who Walked Through Time at least.

Colin Fletcher inspired me to love backpacking in general, Peter Jenkins inspired me to backpack across the country. Two very influential writers in my life.

[Venchka]

Welcome to the club. I cut my teeth on the second edition. I listed it recently in the Backpacking 101 thread here at WhiteBlaze.

Wayne

[WingedMonkey]

I was in a used book store and found a copy, written by Colin Fletcher in 1968. He's updated it several times since, but I recommend reading the original if you can. Why? For the same reason we read any history: to put things in perspective and give context. With forums and message boards we are inundated with information about the latest gear and news and it quickly becomes complicated and overwhelming. The internet also makes it seem like hiking was invented yesterday. The best thing to do is stop reading and go hiking. But another option is to read a classic book like TCW. You'll learn that some things have changed but the basics remain the same. Hikers have always tried to cut weight, they've always been using tarps as tents, REI has been around for 75 years, and wool is still the best. What's changed? Lighter materials, which allow for lighter footwear, lighter loads, and more comfortable hiking. Cook stoves were just starting to be used. The five day forecast was not something you could readily access. If you wanted to know how many calories were in something you had to go to the library and find "The Agricultural Handbook No. 8: Composition of Foods" printed by the US Department of Agriculture. After painstakingly looking up all his food, Fletcher concludes that his calculations must be wrong and trial and error is the best way to come up with a menu. At the end of the day that's true about most things related to hiking. You can google gear reviews til the cows come home and look up the hourly forecast and your pack can weigh 4 pounds but until you get out there and start walking you won't learn much.

Fletcher is informative and very, very funny in a British way. I'm learning some basics that I take for granted but never really examine and that don't get discussed on the internet very often. Some of the advice is of course out of date, but it helps to know history not only so we don't repeat it but also because it explains how we got here and why we now do things the way we do. It explains why some new gear is very exciting and some is just repackaging of stuff that's been around forever. The book is very subjective, which I like. Fletcher tells you in great detail how he hikes instead of offering broad generalizations about how one should hike. I prefer this specificity and find it more helpful. I'm not going to drink a hot cup of tea four times a day but I love reading about it.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying reading a classic. Anyone else consult the "hiker's bible" lately?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And you typed all that on an iphone?

[Leanthree]

Third Edition reader here. Great book. The "why walk" portion is one of my favorite parts of any book I have ever read.

I'd recommend someone read this and Skurka's book(for discussion of newer gear) if they wanted to complete picture.

[Lone Wolf]

it really is just walkin'

[fsacb3]

And you typed all that on an iphone?

It took a long time and a lot of cursing at autocorrect.

[fsacb3]

I'd recommend someone read this and Skurka's book(for discussion of newer gear) if they wanted to complete picture.

You're right; those two books would pretty much cover everything.

[bigcranky]

The Third Edition was my backpacking bible starting out in this hobby twenty years ago. I loved the way he wrote, and bought the 4th edition as soon as it came out. Then a few years ago I found a 1st edition at a used book store, and it's one of my favorite reads -- I just finished re-reading it a couple of days ago. The best part of Fletcher's writing is the "why to" rather than the "how to," though the "how to" still works well almost fifty years later, with some revisions for modern gear.

I do marvel at the difference modern gear makes -- I was looking at Fletcher's camp kitchen at 2 pounds 12 ounces and thinking, "hey, that's not so bad" then I realized that it didn't include his stove, which was another 2 pounds 10 ounces or so. Same thing with most of the items in his pack. But the basic technique and the basic reasons for doing this are still completely valid.

Highly recommended.

[rafe]

I've got III and IV. It's good reading, if you're into that sort of thing. IV is interesting in the dialogs and conversations, ie. not just one man's opinion. Colin's books cover a lot of ground, so to speak. Not much for specific conclusions or recommendations -- but "why" we hike as well as "how" in glorious depth and detail (and a good sense of humor.)

[forrest!]

Some of his other books are interesting reading to - the one about his hike in the Grand Canyon, the 1000 Mile Summer, and the Man from the Cave.

Anther interesting old writer is Horace Kephart - his Camping and Woodcraft is excellent reading. And "Our Southern Highlanders".

[Feral Bill]

I own both the original and IV, and read from both often. The explanations of the thinking behind the gear and technique are priceless.

[MikeN]

There's a nice bio of Colin Fletcher, who passed away in 2007, in Wikipedia if anyone's interested. It's here.

[Kerosene]

I read the original from cover-to-cover, but only after a few AT section hikes with Ed Garvey's The Appalachian Hiker as my first backpacking bible. I ran across Garvey's book as I was moving a few weeks ago, but I don't think I still have Fletcher's. That was the way you learned -- along with birds-of-a-feather groups -- before the Worldwide Web came along!

[Tuckahoe]

Thanks guys for the discussion. I've located several 1st editions for under $4 plus shipping.

[Venchka]

I don't get no respect.
I start a thread two days ago. I list The Complete Walker as a good read for novices. 268 views. Zero replies.
This thread gets 15 replies today.

Wayne

[rocketsocks]

I agree that this is the best how-to on backpacking. I always encourage folks who are interested to read this, with the caveate that equipment has changed and much lighter options are available, even for low cost.

The daily routines and the "whys" of hiking are timeless. If you enjoy this also pick up his other books. The Man Who Walked Through Time at least.

Colin Fletcher inspired me to love backpacking in general, Peter Jenkins inspired me to backpack across the country. Two very influential writers in my life.

No point in me writing, duplicating what you just said...so I'll just add...well said. I still read and refer to this book today, even after all these years.

[rocketsocks]

I don't get no respect.
I start a thread two days ago. I list The Complete Walker as a good read for novices. 268 views. Zero replies.
This thread gets 15 replies today.

Wayne

never saw it.....tons of respect comin your way

[WingedMonkey]

Got the first edition while still in high school. I had already been to Philmont the first of three times.

Just pulled it off the shelf here to copy cover, Price was $6.95 for a hardbound book.


I still find myself using the "House on your back" terms for packing list arrangement I learned from this book, even on thru hikes.

Foundation
Walls
Kitchen
Bedroom
Clothes Closet
Furniture and Appliances
Housekeeping and other matters

The_Complete_Walker.jpg