Chris Townsend (writer)
Chris Townsend is a passionate hillwalker and author of over 20 books. He is also currently Hillwalking Ambassador for the British Mountaineering Council
Although Craig Caldwell was the first person to climb all of the Munros and Tops in one continuous journey, Townsend was the first to do so entirely on foot covering 1,700 miles and 575,000 feet of ascent over all 517 of the 3,000 ft Scottish summits listed in Munro's Tables. He was also the first person to walk the length of the Canadian Rockies, a distance of 1,600 miles. Chris Townsend has also hiked the 2,600 mile Pacific Crest Trail, the 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail, from Land's End to John o' Groats in the UK, south–north through the Scandinavian mountains, 1,000 miles south–north through the Yukon Territory, the 800 mile Arizona Trail, the 1,200 mile Pacific Northwest Trail and the 700 mile Scottish Watershed.
Townsend has been a long-term contributor to The Great Outdoors magazine, for whom he is currently the Gear Editor. His book The Backpacker's Handbook won the Outdoor Writer's Guild Award for Excellence in 1993. He is the co-author, with Annie Aggens, of the Encyclopedia of Outdoor & Wilderness Skills: The Ultimate A–Z Guide for The Adventurous.
