Coquihalla Country: A Guide to BC's North Cascade Mountains and Nicola Valley

Coquihalla Country covers a broad diamond shaped part of British Columbia's South Interior. In the southern portion, this region is dominated by the North Cascade Mountains, a land of jagged peaks and narrow canyons. To the north lies a lake studded upland plateau, natural grasslands and wider valleys. In total, the region extends approximately 200 kilometres from Hope to Kamloops and 180 kilometres from Spences Bridge to Peachland, in the Okanagan Valley. Coquihalla Country details the outdoor recreational opportunities opened up in the past decade by B.C.'s Coquihalla Highway 5, Phases I and II, and Okanagan Connector Highway 97C.

In the south, the Cascade Mountains attract mountain climbers, hikers, cyclists, snowmobilers and back country explorers. The former Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) cut through the Cascade Mountains via the Coquihalla Canyon and the Coldwater Valley. This route has become the focus of rails-to-trails enthusiasts as well as cyclists and back-country explorers. It is also being considered as part of the British Columbia section of the Trans Canada Trail. In the Nicola Valley and surrounding plateau country, many of the previously mentioned opportunities are there, but the emphasis shifts more to fishing, birdwatching and cross-country skiing. There are seasonal variations as well as the climate and geographical influences that shape the region. While the mountains to the south attract considerable rainfall, the lower reaches of the Nicola River border on being desert.

In addition to kilometre by kilometre descriptions of the main routes, back roads and trails, the SECOND EDITION contains Global Positioning System (GPS) references to many of the points of interest. Of particular interest to birdwatchers is a special descriptive section by

Rick Howie on Highway 5A between Merritt and Kamloops. Rick is a recognized expert in the field and the string of lakes and grassland hillsides along the highway are productive year around.

Four-color cover, 51 b&w photos, 37 maps, index & bibliography. 224 pages, 6" x 9" format with a stay-flat perfect-bound paperback binding. Originally published in November, 1990. Completely updated and expanded second edition published December, 1997.

I grew up in the British Columbia mining town of Pioneer Gold Mines during the late 1950s. I developed a triple interest in outdoor exploring, photography and electronics while still a teenager. After a stint in the Royal Canadian Air Force in eastern Canada, I and my family moved back to B.C. to a job in electronics with writing and photography as my major side interests. In 1971, my work took me to Kamloops B.C., where I began writing a weekly Outdoor Scene column for the Kamloops Sentinel. From the column, I moved on to features in BC Outdoors and many other magazines. My wife Katharine and I now live in Merritt, B.C. where I write and illustrate newspaper and internet columns, magazine articles and books.

Selected Periodical Credits
More than 300 of my magazine articles and 1000 of my photographs have been published since 1965. They have appeared in such publications as: Adventure Travel, BC Outdoors, Camping Canada, Canadian Geographic, Field & Stream, MotorHome and Trailer Life. Plus photos and features in many other magazines.

Published Books
I have also written and illustrated nine books or book length publications since 1973.
Exploring Kamloops Country (1973) Back country exploring in the Kamloops area.
Fur, Gold & Opals (1975) Rockhounding, history and back country exploring.
Exploring the Nicola Valley (1981) A guide to Merritt and the Nicola Valley.
Cariboo
The Craigmont Story (1983) The history of a mid 20th century copper mine.
Backroads Explorer Vol. 1: Thompson-Cariboo (1985) Lytton to Barkerville.
Backroads Explorer Vol. 2: Similkameen & South Okanagan (1988) Manning Park to Kelowna.
Coquihalla Country: An Outdoor Recreation Guide (1990) Hope - Merritt - Kamloops.
Okanagan Country: An Outdoor Recreation Guide. (1992) Osoyoos to the Shuswap.
Coquihalla Country: A Guide to the North Cascade Mountains and the Nicola Valley (1997).

Stock Photography
In the course of my travels, I have accumulated over 30,000 35 mm transparencies. Although my selection leans heavily toward outdoor subjects in western Canada, I also have an excellent selection of images from Quebec, New Zealand and Costa Rica.

Writer's Workshop Speaker
In addition to a life-long interest in photography and exploring the mountains of western Canada, I have been a workshop speaker at writer's conferences across Canada and in the U.S.A. My writing and photography have received awards from the Outdoor Writers of Canada, the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association and the Macmillan Bloedel newspaper journalism competitions. In 1989, I was pleased to be honored with the Allen Sangster Award for contributions to the Canadian Authors Association. From mid-summer 1996 to mid-summer 1998, I served as National President of the Canadian Authors Association. I am also a member of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (PWAC).