In 1963 Colin Fletcher became the first man to walk the length of Grand canyon, below the Rim. It began with a dream, when he and a friend detoured...
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Jun 16, 2010
Bryony
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I like it very much. Hypnotic. Almost felt like I was meditating while I read it - his writing VERY much made you feel like you were there. Makes me realize how much I missed when we went to the Grand Canyon and meerly peered in! Also, I found this inspiring, and showed the power of something as simple as walking, because this man's walking trips have showed him such amazing things (going slow enough to really notice things, getting more up close and personal than whizzing by in a car or plan
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Dec 14, 2011
Ensiform
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Fletcher, supposedly the first man to walk the length of the Grand Canyon, below the Rim (seems unlikely), wrote a book about it. I must say I’m sorely disappointed in the result. It’s horribly repetitive and boring, to begin with. But my main objection is that Fletcher was determined before he left to have some sort of “break” with his old self, to become a new man, to have new heights of understanding. So every time he had some new impression of the Canyon, he would go on and on about how
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Mar 01, 2010
Stephen
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“By now I had accepted the terrible sweep of geologic time and I had felt, superimposed on the deliberate rhythm of the rocks, the pulse of life and the throb of man. I had glimpsed the way these different arcs of time fitted together, one with the other, interlocking. Above all, I had overcome the fear that lurks somewhere deep in most of us, the fear that comes when somebody first says: “Man is a newcomer on earth,” the fear that threatens to overwhelm us when we first look back and down More...
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May 16, 2009
Jacob
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I'll admit it took me a while to adapt to Fletcher's writing style. He uses humor sparingly and poorly. His continued socio-political commentary is grating in a nature book, with references to a piece of land a bug is defending as looking suspiciously like Cuba or Formosa (whose outlines are very dissimilar, making their political significance at the time their only unifying factor), the White Man intruding and corrupting the noble capable Native American, etc. Equally irritating was his repu
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Jan 21, 2012
Cervus
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I've got to say, that after having enjoyed Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods", this book was rather dull. Colin Fletcher hikes from one end of Grand Canyon National Park to the other...and has a perfectly safe, enjoyable time. Nothing dramatic happens to him. He doesn't run out of food or water, he doesn't twist an ankle or get sick or snakebitten. No boulders pin him into an emergency situation requiring a harrowing escape. While I certainly am glad he had a good, safe trip, it does
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Oct 17, 2011
David
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Colin Fletcher's 'The Man Who Walked Through Time' is a long distance hiking classic. On foot, with a 60 pound pack (!?!) Fletcher hiked the Grand Canyon beneath the rim from one boundary of the national park to the other. He had two or three caches of food en route and three air re-supplies. Half way through his epic hike, he descended to the canyon floor and spent a week's vacation at a lodge. They entire journey took two months with each leg about a week long. It is a remarkable hike. And, it
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Dec 28, 2010
Tom
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Am pleased to revisit one of the authors who filled in many gaps in my understanding about backpacking. Back in the late 1960's I bought gear from Trailwise from Berkley, CA, and outfitted myself with the same gear Fletcher used: Svea stove, pack, sleeping bag, dry milk plastic squeeze bottle. His The Complete Walker was my bible. The best part of this book is the end, beginning with the day that Fletcher spent several hundred feet up a cliffsjde in a old set of caves where a family once lived.
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Jul 07, 2010
Joe
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"You cannot escape the age you live in: you are a product of it. You have to stand back from time to time and get your perspectives right. But then you have to come back and resume the task of contributing in your own way in your own age. And this is why the world suddenly caught up with me."
Colin Fletcher expressed in that thought what I often feel. Later he said, "Organisms themselves are relatively transient entities through which materials and energy flow and event More...
Colin Fletcher expressed in that thought what I often feel. Later he said, "Organisms themselves are relatively transient entities through which materials and energy flow and event More...
Dec 02, 2011
Scott
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In the spring of 1963 Colin Fletcher strapped a 66 lb. pack to his back and set off to walk the length of the Grand Canyon from Hualpai hilltop on the south rim all the way to Point Imperial on the north. On his feet he wore 5 lb. full-grain leather Italian boots, a pork pie hat protected his pate, and for part of the trip at least, he sported a pair of durable corduroy shorts. Resupplied by airdrops, he spent two months watching the river, reading the rocks, and learning the rhythms of the cany
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Nov 12, 2010
Cathy
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Seredipity made me pick this book up and finally read it years after I purchased it in a library booksale. My husband and I were embarking on a rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon and the woman next to my @ the symphony asing if I knew of the book. all in all a great read form the "complete walker" himself although a little preachy at the end. My copy was from 1967 or so - in a red buchram cover - so I'm wonding of newer editiong might have a less stirdent epilogue.
Feb 11, 2009
Benny
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An amazing story of an amazing trip. This book is both a spiritual journey and a guide to wilderness survival. To think that Fletcher was able to walk the entire length of Grand Canyon without the help of technology in 1963 is a truly amazing feat. To put it simply, had he screwed up, he would have died. No GPS, no radio, and most often no trail. A must read for anyone interested in backpacking. Fletchers wilderness skills put Survivorman to shame.
Oct 29, 2010
carl
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I do quite a bit of hiking myself, however personal outdoor
experience books never appealed to me. I read this as a
friend said 'here', so I progressed with hopes of at least
finding some things out about the Canyon.
I found the detailed story intriguing, Fletcher gets
down to how much water he's using, how to get around
that almost impassable bend in the river. Easy to put
one in his hiking boots as he trundles down the canyon.
Jan 03, 2012
Kat
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I liked this book because it's realistic. Fletcher's descriptions of his pre-trip feelings, the details of a hiker's routine, and the surprising challenges one meets during an extended backpacking trip brought back fine memories of my own tramping.
And as odd as this may sound, I even liked that Fletcher's civilized personal habits made me feel like a wild beastie, in comparison. It would never occur to me to bring rubbing alcohol on a trip to refresh my tootsies after a day on the More...
And as odd as this may sound, I even liked that Fletcher's civilized personal habits made me feel like a wild beastie, in comparison. It would never occur to me to bring rubbing alcohol on a trip to refresh my tootsies after a day on the More...
Jul 24, 2009
Rebecca
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Strange, I suppose, to be living in one desert and reading about another. On of the joys of reading ... the ability to be in at least two places, two lives, at once. I'm greedy that way.
Written before I was born, this is an account of the first (known) person to cover the entire length of the Grand Canyon on foot. Full of discovery about the natural world and our connections/disconnections to it. A journey to savor.
Written before I was born, this is an account of the first (known) person to cover the entire length of the Grand Canyon on foot. Full of discovery about the natural world and our connections/disconnections to it. A journey to savor.
May 02, 2010
MsLarkin
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A longer, less poetic, and less philosophical 60's attempt to recreate Walden out West.
First half is much stronger than the second. He seems to learn the majority of his (few major) lessons in the first 150 pages. The second half is simply a slight variation of the first. His detailed descriptions are at first beautiful and haunting. They transport the reader to the pace of the Grand Canyon. However, by the second half- there are no more major obstacles, or lessons. Thus begins a lon More...
First half is much stronger than the second. He seems to learn the majority of his (few major) lessons in the first 150 pages. The second half is simply a slight variation of the first. His detailed descriptions are at first beautiful and haunting. They transport the reader to the pace of the Grand Canyon. However, by the second half- there are no more major obstacles, or lessons. Thus begins a lon More...
Mar 19, 2011
Brooks
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Preparing for spring break trip to the Grand Canyon. This guy in 1967 walks the legnth of the Grand Canyon National park - below the rim. Four weeks. Has to have air drops of food. But to spend four weeks of solitude. Spends two days on a sand bank with a family of beavers - watching them go through their lives. He spends a night in an ancient cave dwelling. 66 lbs pack.
Feb 23, 2008
Mollie
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I am fascinated by this book because I went to the Grand Canyon and hiked a sliver of it in October. This dude-- hiked-- by himself--- in the 60s--- the whole thing I mean length and breadth and a few swims in the Colorado. Pretty impressive. He is clearly an educated writer and you definitely finish feeling a fraction of the sense of solitude and temporal perspective he gained. The mission is interesting and I learned a fair amount about Canyon history and geology. There are definitely pass
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Nov 19, 2011
Susan
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Where was the color? All the beautiful color! This was both puzzling and frustrating for me. I expected to read about the various layers of color and how the walls of the canyon appeared as the sun rose and then retired for the evening. Indians? How about some details? Pictures created with words.
Then it clicked (although one may have thought the title would have been a clue.) Mr. Fletcher was not interested in scenery, it was nice, but not his objective. He wanted to be alone More...
Then it clicked (although one may have thought the title would have been a clue.) Mr. Fletcher was not interested in scenery, it was nice, but not his objective. He wanted to be alone More...
Jan 19, 2011
Dan
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This book was okay. Parts of it I really liked, and hiking in the Grand Canyon really interests me, but at times his account drifts away from his hiking trip. He spends time almost letting his mind wander on the pages, and he seems to describe his daydreams. The book dragged for me through these parts, and I found myself wishing he had left them out.
Aug 06, 2011
Mike
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Considered a classic. Fletcher's account of his walk through the entirity of the Grand Canyon......the first. The book is about Time (human & geologic), the unique interplay of rock, sky and solitude experienced in the American Southwest and those small moments of grace that make up a day (or a life). The most famous of his "Long Walks".
Dec 26, 2010
Steve
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I read this about a year after my first visit to the Grand Canyon. I think it made the book more interesting in that I was better able to visualize the places and conditions he describes. He went on an amazing trek and his writing skill does the effort justice. A great read regardless of whether or not you've been to the canyon.
Jun 16, 2011
Cheree
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Published in 1968, this book details his experience as the first man to walk the full length of the Grand Canyon. What he did was intriguing, but I didn't like this book nearly as much as The Thousand-Mile Summer, I think it was because he spent so much time contemplating the evolution of the world. I wanted to read about his hiking experience and not just dreamy thoughts one man had about the past.
Mar 04, 2008
Malcolm
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This classic book details the author's 1963 trek from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other. He was the first to do it from within the canyon itself. Fletcher, who was known for his long hikes, brought to his trip his tried and true system of backcountry living, acute and knowledgeable powers of observation, and a somewhat transcendent philoisophical apporach to the meaning of time, the age of the rocks, and the place of man within the world of rock.
The book reminds me of the work More...
The book reminds me of the work More...
Jun 11, 2010
Anna
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I can't finish this book. I read half. Frankly, it is just a bit dull. I like travel books, the Grand Canyon is awesome and yet, I'm bored. Thinking about Colin Fletcher naked in the sleeping bag just finished me off. I absolutely did not need to know that.
Jun 29, 2009
Clay
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I read this just before we visited the Grand Canyon as a family. I loved this account of one of the first real explorations of the inner canyon. I have a bit of wanderlust in me, and this was a real inspiration!
Aug 17, 2009
Keith
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Good account of a man's experiences walking through the Grand Canyon. It was quite an ordeal. One part told of coming upon the wreckage of the big passenger plane that had crashed there many years ago.
Jul 07, 2011
Bonnie
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Amazing story of Fletcher's solitary walk through the length of the Grand Canyon. His brushed with death reveal the violent, unknown world at the bottom of the canyon.
May 04, 2009
John
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Started this in prep for a trip down the canyon, but found it boringly written and quit halfway. For same purposes, I recommend Stegner's book (see my list.)
Jan 18, 2009
Suade
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Quite an interesting account of the first man to walk through the Canyon. If you like travel/adventure books read this.
Nov 11, 2009
lynn
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Very good if you are interested in hiking and survival. Plus, learning abou the inside of the Grand Canyon was amazing.
