Braiding nature and humanity, past and present, urban sprawl and rural landscapes in surprising and serendipitous ways, author Nick Neely follows the trail of the first overland Spanish expedition into California 250 years later
In Alta California, Nick Neely chronicles his 650-mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco, following the route of the first overland Spanish expedition into what was soon called Alta California. Led by Gaspar de Portol in 1769, the expedition sketched a route that would become, in part, the famous El Camino Real. It laid the foundation for the Golden State we know today, a place that remains as mythical and captivating as any in the world.

Neely grew up in California but realized how little he knew about its history. So he set off to learn it bodily, with just a backpack and a tent, trekking through stretches of California both lonely and urban. For twelve weeks, following the journal of expedition missionary Father Juan Cresp , Neely kept pace with the ghosts of the Portol expedition–nearly 250 years later

Weaving natural and human history, Alta California relives his adventure, tells a story of Native cultures and the Spanish missions that soon devastated them, and explores the evolution of California and its landscape. The result is a collage of historical and contemporary California, of lyricism and pedestrian serendipity, and of the biggest issues facing California today–water, agriculture, oil and gas, immigration, and development–all of it one step at a time.

About the Author: NICK NEELY holds an MA in literature and the environment from the University of Nevada, Reno, and MFAs in nonfiction and poetry from Hunter College and Columbia University. He is a recipient of PEN Northwest’s Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency, a UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship, and an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award. His first book, Coast Range, was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal for natural history writing. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he now lives in Hailey, Idaho, with his wife, the painter Sarah Bird. Find out more at nickneely.com.