The Complete Walker the Joys and Techniques of Hiking and Backpacking

by C.L. Rawlins and Colin Fletcher

Book Overview

Filled with first-hand knowledge and sage advice on prices, quality and availability of equipment, changes in the backcountry, and the state of mind that Fletcher captures as no one else has. Another... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B003H93BR0
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

everthing old is new again

I balked when I first heard about a book on 'walking' when I was 17 and the first edition came out. I have climbed and hiked Colorado and its fourteeners since I was fifteen, and couldnt imagine a book on how to walk.Some years back I picked up a copy for fun and on sale. Now at 47 and still an avid camper and climber, I just ditched Walker III for Walker IV. Why? While similar in many aspects, it is indeed worth the $20 in additional information. After sifting through many titles on the camping and climbing [topics] this is one of the BEST single volume versions covering many topics, giving practical as well as theoretical advice. What distinguishes it from other excellent books is its plain language and examples. You need not be a techy to digest this book. It is a good read on its own if you have even a modest interst in the topics of hiking and camping.I might add that while there is more thorough coverage of topics such as Mountaineering and first aid, for the neophyte, the impatient, frugal, or generalist, this is the place to start. Jack of all and master of some trades.I personnaly feel that gear is a large part of the practice, by interest and by necessity. Thus the reviews are worthwhile, and while disclaimed to be what the authors found to fit thier needs, it is safe to assume they have the breadth of experience most of us lack. It is somewhat clear to me that the reviews are impartial and not the focus in least of the book.The sections on tents, clothing, food, lights, survival, and many old and new anecdotes give life and readability to this tome.Checklists are great and thorough. If you know a lot or nothing there are tips and suggestions that will help. As an example I was interested in improviing my food on trips, as I stick to a regimine established in the early 70's. While I am an avid and competant cook at home, I prefer simple, clean, and quick on the trail. After perusing gourment trail guides and the like, and finding some to be more intricate and involved than I feel practicable, Walker IV has great ideas which are easily implemented without multiple pots, dehydrating, etc., and using supplies from the grocery store as well as mountain shops. When looking to lighten my load, the information is there as well, and less evangelistic that the pamphlet that I examined on extreme light camping.This book is a great way to have a reference akin to an experienced friend /outdoorsman to talk with on a subject whenever you like. After thirty years of gear and hiking myself, I find the advice to be solid and verifed in my own experience. It gives a perspective to, as well as outside of, high tech, high fashion, and other recent marketing trends which are changing the gear available.

worth twice its weight in gold

i dragged my feet before buying this book. i thought "i've already read plenty of books about backpacking." i wasn't exactly satisfied with any of them, but i learned a little from each different title. i finally bought this book 5 days ago from the Lodgepole Ranger Station bookstore in Sequoia NP, on a crazy impulse. OH MY GOSH. 800+ pages of the most useful, precise information i've ever read anywhere (and i've read a lot). these two guys know their stuff, and are eloquent, realistic, CLEAR, and mildly humourous when they talk about it. this is so far above & beyond the quality of other books on the subject - i'm blown away. i've been reading it nonstop for 5 days. it covers everything: shoes (from full-scale boots to trail runners to hiking sandals & tons in-between), socks, packs, tents, clothing, weather, food, cooking, stoves, lights, hats, animals... the authors have EXTENSIVE experience and it really shines through. there is an extensive listing of additional reading material on every subject they discuss, plus gear lists from various trips of their own. this is a treasure trove.as a HUGE plus, the book is fun to read. witty, wry humour and their very honest accounts of their own dumb mistakes help readers not to feel like we're begging at the table for crumbs of their vast banquet of knowledge.if you feel like you could stand to learn a little more about ANY aspect of backpacking, this book will totally exceed your expectations. it's THE MOST useful book i've read in a long, long time.

Enthusiasm and Knowledge = Good writing

If there were 6 stars, that is what I would give this book. I read the other reviews after I had written mine and oddly (or perhaps not oddly) they seemed similar. Oh well.I was very interested in how this book would be revised to cover this quickly growing and changing subject. How do you take the overwhelming explosion of products and ideas about backpacking that have developed over the last decades and try to write about them? Well, Fletcher and Rawlins start by discussing that very subject. How do you keep 845 pages on gear and technique from being a long pedestrian trudge? I'm not sure, but somehow they combined personal experiences, wry humor and charming illustrations to do so. The book abounds with illustrations that are as beautiful as they are functional. Mostly though, they used their own unique writing styles to accomplish the task and completed a remarkable compilation of facts about backpacking gear and technique that reads like a novel. The two authors take turns writing about each subject, sometimes each idea. They seem to have similar philosophies (e.g., get out and do it, and gear is only a means to that end) yet the juxtaposing of ideas gives the book a fresh, and I think, healthy flavor. With many fine (and some not-fine) books available on the subject they still managed to write a remarkable, complete, and interesting book that is not just a rehash of what has already been said. Some of (the late) Vanna Price's familiar illustrations from the original edition again bring the subject to life. There is also some of the original text where appropriate. Hannah Hinchman's illustrations do a nice job of taking up where Vanna Price left off. More than just a "how to" book, the authors have managed to embrace "why to" appreciate the wilderness on foot. Reviewers often say things like "nothing comparable" or "Without a doubt a classic". This time it might be true.

Still splendid after all these years!

This book - in all of its previous editions - was always a delightful companion for the outdoors enthusiast, full of wit, cheekiness, and wry observational humor. It's also the single best source of information about camping & hiking gear (philosophically and materially). The text's new, "conversational" dialogue between Fletcher and Rawlins takes some getting used to, but the different perspectives of the two authors have really increased the book's usefulness and value - Rawlins seems perfectly suited to serve as Fletcher's authorial mate and foil. Again, the practical info. is priceless, but the real star of the book continues to be the writing. I don't know how many times I have (once again) found myself laughing aloud while reading passages from this book. This is the camping & hiking book against which all others are measured (and I've certainly read more than my share of them).