Thousand-Mile Summer [Paperback]

Colin Fletcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 1989

At three o'clock one sleepless night, Colin Fletcher decided that what he must do was walk the length of California. He could only fumble with the supporting reasons, but he knew it was a hike he had to make.

Fletcher followed lonely stretches of the Colorado, crossed the Mojave, walked the trough of Death Valley and wandered through the High Sierras. Along the way he stumbled across an unspoiled ghost town and visited frontiers unseen by most Californians.

William Hogan with The San Francisco Chronicle writes that THE THOUSAND-MILE SUMMER "is one of the most remarkable outdoor journals I have ever read and I recommend it unreservedly, as a rare treat."

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

7 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 14, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679723269
• ISBN-13: 978-0679723264
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,085 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Those thousand miles become the reader's, July 3, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Thousand-Mile Summer (Paperback)

It doesn't take long for the reader to get broken in along Fletcher's trail of adventure from the Mexican border of eastern California to the Oregon border. The author takes us along the Colorado trail following the river for a number of days until we spring for the Mohave desert. Fletcher had placed, before his hike, a number of strategic caches of water along his desert route. We are as anxious as he to get to the next cache, particularly as we approach Death Valley in early spring before the overwhelming heat sets in. His descriptions of desert flowers and rolling mounds of sand stretching to dark and spiney ridges rising from the valley floor compel us to make plans to visit Death Valley in the near future. We are relieved when we hop out of Death Valley into the Panamints and scrub forests of the lower Sierra. When we climb high into snow country, our eyes hurt in the glaring snow. But the chill of fourteen thousand feet is more than welcome after the hot Mohave sands. We walk along with Fletcher in the high Sierra to push our toe across the border and touch Oregon soil. We experience the heat, the rattlers, the desert poppies, the cool downsloping breezes from the high Sierra, and the icy waters of alpine streams by reading THE THOUSAND MILE SUMMER. Such a book is a rare treat for those of us seemingly locked into a time-pressure capsule of corporate work

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another World, May 3, 2002

By 

Jim Morrison (Hansville, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Thousand-Mile Summer (Paperback)

Colin Fletcher had a simple solution to the tedium of civilized live. He simply decided to walk the length of California from south to north. Including the Mojave Desert and Death Valley. He doesn't miss anything. He recorded the signts, sounds, people and his successes, failures and fears in wonderful detail. He found the purpose of the walk as he went along. The desert revealed its secrets to this man who took the time to experience the place on foot. Fishing in a creek, or climbing a mountain, or sleeping under the stars, Fletcher makes you feel as if you were there with him. A great writer and explorer, Fletcher is a joy to read. I have read most if not all of his books and this is perhaps the best. Whether you wander on foot or in you mind, you will, I think, love this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nonstop reading., August 6, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Diego County) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thousand-Mile Summer (Paperback)

This book will change your whole outlook on nature. Are you willing to spend the summer walking, alone, then come along for this journey into your thoughts.