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Walking Man: The Secret Life of Colin Fletcher
Walking Man is the biography of Colin Fletcher, the man who walked through time.
He was an iconic American folk hero best known as the first person to force a passage through the length of Grand Canyon National Park in one arduous solo journey. He was the world's most famous long-distance walker.
He was the first thru-hiker.
Called the father of modern backpacking by Backpacker Magazine and others, Fletcher was the one who showed us the way--more than a million people followed his shadow into the green world.
Born in Wales, he was in the first wave of British Marines to hit the beachhead in Normandy on D-Day. After the war he farmed in Kenya, prospected in British Columbia, and then began his writing career in California where he wrote and published ten books.
Fletcher's was a preeminent and powerful voice for environmental concerns on par with Edward Abbey and John Muir. He was to the outdoor world and its preservation, what Leonard Bernstein was to music, or Walter Cronkite to reporting. When Colin Fletcher had something to say, people listened.
The impact of his work, while unacknowledged, is seen far and wide today.
Although most of them don't know it, the hordes of hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail today would not be there without Fletcher's pioneering work.
He was an iconic American folk hero best known as the first person to force a passage through the length of Grand Canyon National Park in one arduous solo journey. He was the world's most famous long-distance walker.
He was the first thru-hiker.
Called the father of modern backpacking by Backpacker Magazine and others, Fletcher was the one who showed us the way--more than a million people followed his shadow into the green world.
Born in Wales, he was in the first wave of British Marines to hit the beachhead in Normandy on D-Day. After the war he farmed in Kenya, prospected in British Columbia, and then began his writing career in California where he wrote and published ten books.
Fletcher's was a preeminent and powerful voice for environmental concerns on par with Edward Abbey and John Muir. He was to the outdoor world and its preservation, what Leonard Bernstein was to music, or Walter Cronkite to reporting. When Colin Fletcher had something to say, people listened.
The impact of his work, while unacknowledged, is seen far and wide today.
Although most of them don't know it, the hordes of hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail today would not be there without Fletcher's pioneering work.
636 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 20, 2016
34 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 21, 2017
If, like me, when you were young you picked up a copy of The Complete Walker III (or another edition) hoping to find insight on the outdoor realm and ended up devouring it cover to cover, you'll want to read this book. If you were introduced to Fletcher through "The Man Who Walked Through Time," "The Thousand Mile Summer", or most of any of his other tomes you will want to read this book. If you have any interest at all in the life of this sometimes enigmatic author you will want to read this book.
I'm not going to go into the why's of why "you *should* read this" nor preach to those who aren't in the choir. For those interested it's likely you've had the same questions about Fletcher's life that I had; piqued by the references in Complete Walker, Time, or the occasional magazine interview, but never fleshed out.
"Walking Man" answers a lot of question his fans have had, and fills in nearly all of his notoriously secret background. (Fletcher apparently was working on an autobiography but was unable to finish it. ) Using fairly recently revealed notes and sources the author tells us about Fletcher's early upbringing, school, fascinating (to me) combat experiences with the Royal Commandos, and then his life post-WWII.
I had vaguely known of his time in Africa after World War II but Wehrman puts it in context, along with his marriage, and his eventual emigration to America, but again Wherman has the entire backstory to make sense of it all.
I found it fascinating to learn the background to his California hike in 1958, and his predilection to hyper-organization; a bit OCD, which explains his famous gear lists.
This seems, to me, the definitive Fletcher biography.
There are a lot of shortcomings in this book likely caused by lack of professional oversight .
I say that because there are a lot of typos and grammatical errors throughout this self published book, but the underlying content is a revelation to those of us who have always wondered about Fletcher's background.
I'm not going to go into the why's of why "you *should* read this" nor preach to those who aren't in the choir. For those interested it's likely you've had the same questions about Fletcher's life that I had; piqued by the references in Complete Walker, Time, or the occasional magazine interview, but never fleshed out.
"Walking Man" answers a lot of question his fans have had, and fills in nearly all of his notoriously secret background. (Fletcher apparently was working on an autobiography but was unable to finish it. ) Using fairly recently revealed notes and sources the author tells us about Fletcher's early upbringing, school, fascinating (to me) combat experiences with the Royal Commandos, and then his life post-WWII.
I had vaguely known of his time in Africa after World War II but Wehrman puts it in context, along with his marriage, and his eventual emigration to America, but again Wherman has the entire backstory to make sense of it all.
I found it fascinating to learn the background to his California hike in 1958, and his predilection to hyper-organization; a bit OCD, which explains his famous gear lists.
This seems, to me, the definitive Fletcher biography.
There are a lot of shortcomings in this book likely caused by lack of professional oversight .
I say that because there are a lot of typos and grammatical errors throughout this self published book, but the underlying content is a revelation to those of us who have always wondered about Fletcher's background.
September 13, 2020
Colin Fletcher was a fascinating man. He did things no one had ever done before — walking the length of California via the desert, walking the length of the Grand Canyon in one trip, walking and paddling the length of the Colorado River. His The Complete Walker book is widely credited with creating the backpacking craze of the 1970s. He also lived in Kenya for three years and spent ten years unravelling the mysterious discovery of a once occupied desert cave and wrote a book about that as well.
Fletcher could be charming, funny and surly (his neighbors barely knew him) and protective of his privacy. He was also convinced that we were destroying the planet at a frightening rate.
All of these factors, plus Robert Wehrman's skill in telling the tale make this book great. It's no wonder this book is a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.
Would I have started rereading all of Fletcher's books without this nudge? Maybe. But this book ensured that I'd want to explore the world with Colin Fletcher as my guide once again.
Fletcher could be charming, funny and surly (his neighbors barely knew him) and protective of his privacy. He was also convinced that we were destroying the planet at a frightening rate.
All of these factors, plus Robert Wehrman's skill in telling the tale make this book great. It's no wonder this book is a finalist at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.
Would I have started rereading all of Fletcher's books without this nudge? Maybe. But this book ensured that I'd want to explore the world with Colin Fletcher as my guide once again.
January 14, 2017
I really wanted to love this but simply didn't, for all that I devoured it in two large bites-- on the airplane and on my first day of vacation. Colin Fletcher was a complex guy and had a complicated life, and Mr. Wehrman didn't gloss over any details. But neither did he make them sing.
The section on the writing of The Man From The Cave disappointed me. Of course he (Fletcher) had already told it all in the book; there was no point in repeating it. But I'd hoped for some deeper insight into the connectedness he felt with his research subject.
So I'd say Mr. Wehrman did an extremely good job of research but didn't put his parts together so well. The writing was just a tad bland, and he seemed to be going off in too many different directions with his conclusions. But I still enjoyed the book, a lot.
The section on the writing of The Man From The Cave disappointed me. Of course he (Fletcher) had already told it all in the book; there was no point in repeating it. But I'd hoped for some deeper insight into the connectedness he felt with his research subject.
So I'd say Mr. Wehrman did an extremely good job of research but didn't put his parts together so well. The writing was just a tad bland, and he seemed to be going off in too many different directions with his conclusions. But I still enjoyed the book, a lot.
August 30, 2025
Really enjoyed reading this book -- enjoyed seeing some similarities between Colin Fletcher and my husband. Of course I think my husband has figured out some things that could've added joy to Fletcher's life: for example you can walk and live a fulfilling life AND be married, have a family, experience love for a lifetime.
I found all the writing/ publishing bits interesting too, because it will probably become more and more relevant for our lives in the coming years.
I found all the writing/ publishing bits interesting too, because it will probably become more and more relevant for our lives in the coming years.
July 26, 2025
This is a super, comprehensive read especially if read in tandem with Fletcher's The Thousand Mile Summer and The Complete Walker.
If you can't get solid dirt time, this biography will certainly help you escape. I turn off all my apt lights, put on my head lamp beam, snuggle onto my Thermarest and disappear.
If you can't get solid dirt time, this biography will certainly help you escape. I turn off all my apt lights, put on my head lamp beam, snuggle onto my Thermarest and disappear.
March 13, 2017
An amazing story told in excellent style.
Like so many others, I've long wondered about the walker whose books made backpacking seem so much more attractive and interesting than civilized life. This biography delivers the whole story of a fully human life.
Like so many others, I've long wondered about the walker whose books made backpacking seem so much more attractive and interesting than civilized life. This biography delivers the whole story of a fully human life.
September 8, 2016
The only book on this great American icon! It's a great book about a great man.
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September 9, 2016Banff Mountain Book Festival entry.
February 1, 2018
Fueling my obsession with Collin Fletcher. I was absorbed by his life and now onto more of his own original works.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews