Western Canada’s colourful history manifests itself in many places, but few are more intriguing than the Cariboo-Chilcotin region of the British Columbia “Interior”.
Archeological digs indicate that the First Nations People have lived here for as much as 9,000 years. However, Alexander Mackenzie, the European first fur trader to traverse the region, didn’t make his epic overland journey to the Pacific until the summer of 1793; a decade ahead of Lewis & Clark’s famous crossing south of the 49th parallel.
In 1808, Simon Fraser became the first European to traverse the region on a north-south tangent, following the wild and spectacular river that now bears his name. For the next half-century the Cariboo remained the domain of the Natives and the fur traders. Then all Hell broke loose with the discovery of gold and the subsequent 1858 Fraser River and 1860s Cariboo gold rushes. The lure of gold attracted tens of thousands of miners — and “service-providers” determined to part the miners from their millions in gold.
While gold and minerals still bring many to the Cariboo, the other resources of this wild and rugged country attract people of all walks of life. The extensive grasslands support cattle ranching and the upland forests support a major timber industry. Outdoor recreation is also a major attraction with thousands of lakes to fish and hundreds of thousands of kilometres of backroads and trails to explore.
Murphy Shewchuk grew up in the gold mining towns of Pioneer and Bralorne, west of Lillooet, and has been exploring the British Columbia backroads for more than half a century. His combined interest in photography, history and the backcountry has resulted in more than a dozen guidebooks plus over a thousand newspaper and magazine articles.
In preparing Cariboo Trips & Trails, he has revisited numerous highways, backroads and trails in the Cariboo and Chilcotin and assembled a broad-base of up-to-date information. In true journalistic fashion, you’ll find the “where, when, how and why” of an extensive selection of “Trips & Trails”. You will have to provide the “who”, whether by vehicle or on foot or bicycle.
Whether you are an armchair traveller preparing for your next adventure or on the road watching for the next junction, you’ll find his detailed descriptions, maps and photographs both fascinating and informative. And if you are ready to embrace the latest technologies, you’ll find the GPS references to the key landmarks a welcome part of your adventure travels.
Murphy Shewchuk is a passionate wilderness explorer, award-winning photographer and author of numerous books about BC's and Western Canada’s outdoors, including Coquihalla Trips & Trails and Okanagan Trips & Trails. His writing and photographs have also appeared in such publications as BC Outdoors, Canadian Geographic, and Field & Stream.
Murphy Shewchuk is the winner of the 2008 British Columbia Heritage Award. Go to www.heritagebc.ca/bcheritageaward.htm to find out more about Murphy and the award.
Click here to visit Murphy's website.
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