Colin Fletcher, the Father of Modern Backpacking
This was a great read.. Never heard of him but his life story was is one for the ages.
https://www.adventure-journal.com/20...n-backpacking/
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Any hiker my age or older was pretty much weaned on Colin Fletcher. It's good to hear his legacy is still alive.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
He carried fifty pounds of gear. Those days are over! He carried a svea stove. I had to divest myself in favor of alcohol. He also said to find a blank area on a map and go in to see what's there. No chance of that today. Some of it is now outdated. Meat bars are unavailable for "Flecher stew". Times have changed.
Originally Posted by NY HIKER 50
What I found interesting is that while he did question the idea of ultralight backpacking, he would incorporate some lightweight options. In desert climates he used a poncho/tarp as rain gear and shelter. Today it would be a Gatewood Cape. And in another trip discussion he wrote about his "tin can kitchen", utilizing a recycled steel food can as a kettle with a wood fire. Shades of a beer can pot and Ray Jardine fire. He always documented the weight of each item, so he was concerned about weight. Fletcher was was an interesting contradiction for me. Outwardly, he disliked ultralight but yet...........
Kind of reminds me of Tipi 😁 pngegg.jpg
However tipi is 2 × 's the weight : )
no doubt tipi is a throwback backpacker... but 100 lbs is a bit too much..
Not sure about "throwback" but there are modern backpackers carrying tremendous loads for long duration trips.
One is Tully Henke who pulled a 40 day backpacking trip in Russia with no resupply and with a 95 lb pack.
https://backpackinglight.com/packing...y-tully-henke/
His best quote is this---
"Instead of the desire to carry less and go further, (it's)the desire to carry more and go longer."
Amen, brother. I call it Expedition Backpacking.
Other excellent quotes are these---
"Instead of shaving weight to have the lightest pack possible, you choose the heaviest pack you’re willing to carry and go backwards from there to see how many days you can spend in the wilds."
"We all have different goals in our adventures. Some of us want to move fast, some far, some light. I’ve found that one of the things I value most is the time I spend in the mountains and the woods and even a tent. Sometimes that means packing differently and sometimes that means working hard and slow and pausing to let it all soak in."
Thanks for info Tipi!
I dont deny that there are backpackers who do that but aside from expeditions who have to that kind of loads how many hikers carry such loads?
PS I dont mean any negative connotation when I say "throwback" but what I mean is yesteryear ultralight dint exist per se, loads were much heavier..
Oh how you underestimate uncle fungus.
Yeah, in the beginning he gets under your skin sometimes and might smell a little funny - but he grows on you.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
A bit too much for...?
fortis fortuna adjuvat
strictly speaking for Me! ...you dont see that often that kind of weight been hauled around, at least I haven't seen it. It does not mean that there aren't any people who do.
He did an interview for Backpacker magazine in 1990---
"Worst Night Out Where and Why: "Many. World War II".
"Favorite Fantasy: "A politician-free universe."
"Greatest Fear: "Oddly enough, I think it is being bitten by a rattler when I'm miles from water, and solo."
"Smallest Fear: "Daytime TV resulting in cancer of the brain."
"Favorite Campfire Song: "Silence."
Wondering minds wanna what would be your answers to said questions?
I read his books in the early 1970's and copied his hiking style. Still do...
The old Wilson meat bars aren't around, but Epic meat bars are. https://epicprovisions.com/collections/bars
The bacon bar is really good with the Mushroom risotto from Good to Go dehydrated foods in Maine.
My Dad & I started with Fletcher's "Complete Walker", still a good read, as is his story of hiking the Grand Canyon (the Man Who Walked Through Time)
I'm going to have to check out the bacon bar. I', also going to have to dig up my copy of Complete Walker and The Man Who Walked Through Time and The Thousand Mile Summer. All are highly entertaining and full of wisdom, in my opinion!
Good to see. I have many of his books in the library.
I'm with that group here that's old enough to have started my backpacking career in the 1970s, reading "The Complete Walker" as our backpacker's bible. Even then, Fletcher espoused a minimalist style that was the precursor of today's ultralight philosophy. Follow his ideas, I trimmed my weight down at a time when my fellow backpackers (Boy Scouts all) were still schlepping around cast iron skillets and other heavyweight gear. Reading his ideas and exploits was a revelation and still forms the basis of my backpacking philosophy today.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
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