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Thought I'd read this--now posthumous--classic by Colin Fletcher, and I'm in the middle of it now. I'm not enjoying his style very much, as I prefer a more 'nuts-and-bolts' approach to climbing/hiking/outdoor sagas. Fletcher would devote a small paragraph to his actual hike, then several pages waxing philosophical on existential issues. Anyone have a similar [or opposing] take on this book?


The book is about the title, "the MAN who walked ......."

The title wasn't "The HIKE through Time", which would be somewhat restrictive.

Other than a half dozen or a dozen tricky spots, there was nothing that unusual about the hike. Other than the extensive use of game trails and the topo maps. And the episode of ultralight clothing - nude hiking.

Most of the hike was being alone and thinking and observing and even some meditating.

I enjoyed that 25 years ago, and enjoy that now.

If you want to know about solo hiking, the book is a treasure of at least one man's solo hiking adventures. A little action, and a lot of reflection.

If you want "nuts and bolts" of hiking, all there are are some short books of tips and perhaps Ray Jardine's older stuff.

Ray Jardine doesn't bore you with philosophical reflections and introspections of nature, so it is probably your best "Nuts and Bolts" read. Jardine's book doesn't hold up well on the sixth reading, or even the third, in my experience.

Plain old "how to" isn't full of interesting human insight, no matter how great the "how to". No one would ever call that sort of stuff "literature".