Alta California

From San Diego to San Francisco, a Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State

By: Nick Neely

Narrated by: Tristan Wright

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 Portolá 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 12 weeks, following the journal of expedition missionary Father Juan Crespí, Neely kept pace with the ghosts of the Portolá expedition - nearly 250 years later.

Weaving together 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.

©2019 Nick Neely (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Cali full circle

From the de Portola expedition to current day (and a lot of history in between), the author does a fantastic job explaining paths that we Californians have taken.

A must read for anyone who loves California

I loved this book. It was tough to get into at the start, because of the density of facts embedded in eloquent, evocative prose. The prose carried me along and then, after a sentence or two, I'd have to go back to grok the facts that I missed. After a while, though, I was able to both enjoy his prose and absorb the facts in my first reading. The chapters are arranged by region, and by lucky happenstance I got to listen to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo as I drove from the Bay Area down to Santa Barbara, and i was able to listen to the Santa Cruz and San Mateo chapters on my way home. The author ended the book on a contemplative afternoon in Palo Alto. As a longtime Bay Area resident this book resonated with me on so many levels. This is my most recent book in the "conservationist" genre I have dubbed for books that describe our planet with such loving respect that my hope is that there cannot be but an increase in awareness and stewardship. It is worth noting that Neely's tone is never proselytizing or condescending. Throughout, he emanates wonder, appreciation and contentment with his surroundings. This is truly a historian's read and for those of you who are that, I highly recommend! (side note: the narrator is a bit dry but you will get used to him over time)

Alta California

The story was good. But the translations from spanish to english were hard to understand. Could have used a bilingual narrator for this story.

The history

I loved the story being a native Californian growing up in Sonoma where the last of the missions was located and being surrounded with the stories of General Mariano Vallejo But the mispronunciations of the narrator drove me crazy! Not only Spanish errors but English language got butchered. I finished the book but it was painful.

Alta amazing

This is one if the most interesting stories. The author got very detailed and really brought this book alive. All California residents or those born and raised in California should read the history of the state. Even if you are not a California person, it would make a great read of a one mans journey to relive the beginning of a beautiful state. The author is to be complimented in the detail and desire to learn about the beginnings of California and how important the missions were.

Unique and wonderful

This is the sort of book I’ve always wanted to read. There is a particular pleasure in reading a book by someone with whom I have some things in common: I’m just few years older than the author, I grew up in and have spent 3/4 of my life in California where I did lots of hiking, camping, botanizing, and long distance running. Also like the author, I moved out of state some years ago and my knowledge of the Indigenous Californian peoples was limited to the short module on the California Missions most Californian kids do in elementary school. A great deal of California’s population were born in other US states or abroad, and while this diversity is enriching, in my experience this made a sense of history and place the more elusive for it.

It was a pleasure to read Neely thoughtfully unpack the historical records of early California, weaving the narrative of his journey with those of the people and environments he encountered along the way. I know and love many of the places he passed through and it was really meaningful for me to learn more about the history of these places. What a wonderful way to contextualize modern California.

The audiobook narrator has a pleasing voice and cadence, better than many I’ve come across. However the majority of Spanish words and names are badly mispronounced, and some common English words are too. It’s a shame that the producer didn’t attempt to remedy this. I can’t see why the reader couldn’t have been given more help with the Spanish language words. It’s rather insulting to the sincerity and reverence with which Neely clearly has for California’s multi-cultural history and high numbers of Spanish speakers, especially for a book that is so focused on the Portola Expedition.

decent book, awful narration

it was a struggle to listen to this narrator butcher the pronunciation of everyday words as well as names of California places, flora, and fauna. if you're interested in this title, save yourself the frustration: get a paper copy and read it yourself.

Magnificent!

Alta California is an achingly beautiful book in which he retraces the sights, sounds, smells, and stories to be found along an 18th century Spanish expedition along the California Coast from San Diego to San Francisco. The book captivated me, especially since I have seen some of the sights but didn’t know the stories behind them. Nick reading poetry during his trek shows in his lyrical, poetic prose. I would enjoy taking this journey with him again. I highly recommend this book.

Way, way, way too long

Although I learned a lot about the Portola Expedition and the history of California, the book was hard to finish. The story drags on way too long and the thing is: nothing really happens. Nothing funny, nothing exciting, nothing interesting. It's just a guy that hikes a very long distance (kudos for that by the way) and talks about birds he sees and how cold the nights where.

Decent performance by the narrator.

A good idea badly executed

I have lived, walked & ridden this same part of SoCal for 60 years and know it well. I was unable to finish this book largely because of the recurrent and awful pronunciation of places and things, which tore deeply into the credibility of the effort. Tule is not "tool", it's "two-lee", the avocado is not "hahs", it's "hass" there seemed to be one of these irritants at every page. But the content- Neely spent way too much time telling us about himself- if he was cold or hot or scared or tired- to the extent the core issue of the tie between the expedition of Portolà and what is before us today is badly diluted.
I stopped listening just short of Lompoc. It's possible it got better as he moved closer to home, but my time was better spent elsewhere