Comments on: Thoughts on Colin Fletcher

By: Dr. Bob Wehrman

Dr. Bob Wehrman — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 00:38:57 +0000

A very interesting aspect of Colin Fletcher’s writing is the difference between what he was saying and what was actually going on in his personal life. He’s said many times that he undertook the river adventure because things were going too well and he needed to pare the fat off his soul and have the shit scared out of him.

In fact, in the three years leading up to his river journey he dropped a long-planned project, toyed with moving away from his home of 30 years, had a failed romantic relationship, two book rejections, poor sales of his recent book, coronary artery disease, skin cancer, and a two-year battle with the flu. He was not content, nor was there any fat growing on his soul. This is all in the book Walking Man – The Secret Life of Colin Fletcher.

I think he was really trying to say without complaining—for that’s the British way—he needed a big change.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 28 May 2014 19:33:14 +0000

Enjoyed your essay and I understand that longing to be outside backpacking for days, weeks. Everything is so simple out there. And you relearn to appreciate the simple things in life, like putting on dry clothes after a rainy, snowy day. Or the joys of sipping a hot beverage in camp, while watching the sunset. But the dreaming and planning of future adventures also makes it easier to get through the humdrum of working for a living. So it’s back to working, and dreaming of my next adventure. Summer is almost here, I’m going to make the most of it!! Lisa

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 27 May 2014 01:53:59 +0000

Fabulous essay!