Father of Modern Backpacking Dies at 85

The Sun Sentinel is reporting:

Colin Fletcher, whose ornate prose and prosaic tips on such subjects as choosing the right hiking boots helped start the modern backpacking movement, died June 12 in Monterey, Calif. He was 85.

Mr. Fletcher died as a result of complications of head injuries he sustained in 2001 when he was struck by a car while walking near his home in Carmel Valley, Calif., said Chip Rawlins, who helped Mr. Fletcher write the fourth edition of The Complete Walker published in 2002. Many wilderness enthusiasts consider the work to be the hiker’s bible.

I’ve never heard of this chap, but he sounds like a delightful fellow. I admit to feeling a strange, romantic kinship with anyone who, like me, has been cursed blessed with the travel bug.