Murphy Shewchuk has been writing and illustrating articles and books since the mid-1960s. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, he grew up in the British Columbia mining town of Pioneer Gold Mines and developed a triple interest in outdoor exploring, photography and electronics while still a teenager. After a stint in the RCAF in eastern Canada, he moved back to BC to a job in electronics with writing and photography as his major interests. In 1971, his work took him to Kamloops, BC, where he began a weekly Outdoor Scene column for the Kamloops Sentinel. From the column, he moved to features in BC Outdoors magazine and many other magazines. He now lives in Merritt, BC with his wife Katharine. More than 400 of his magazine articles and 2000 of his photogrMurphy Shewchuk has been writing and illustrating articles and books since the mid-1960s. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, he grew up in the British Columbia mining town of Pioneer Gold Mines and developed a triple interest in outdoor exploring, photography and electronics while still a teenager. After a stint in the RCAF in eastern Canada, he moved back to BC to a job in electronics with writing and photography as his major interests. In 1971, his work took him to Kamloops, BC, where he began a weekly Outdoor Scene column for the Kamloops Sentinel. From the column, he moved to features in BC Outdoors magazine and many other magazines. He now lives in Merritt, BC with his wife Katharine. More than 400 of his magazine articles and 2000 of his photographs have appeared in such publications as Adventure Travel, BC Outdoors, Camping Canada, Canadian Geographic, Field & Stream, MotorHome, Photo Life, Skyword, Western Living, and Westworld. His books include: Exploring Kamloops Country; Fur, Gold & Opals; Exploring the Nicola Valley; Cariboo; The Craigmont Story; Backroads Explorer Vol 1: Thompson-Cariboo; Backroads Explorer Vol 2: Similkameen & South Okanagan; Okanagan Country: An Outdoor Recreation Guide; Coquihalla Country: A Guide to BC’s North Cascade Mountains and Nicola Valley; Okanagan Trips & Trails; Coquihalla Trips & Trails; and Cariboo Trips & Trails. In addition to his life-long interest in photography and exploring the mountains of western Canada, Murphy has been a workshop speaker at writer’s conferences across Canada and in the U.S.A. His writing and photography has received awards from the Outdoor Writers of Canada and the Macmillan Bloedel newspaper journalism competitions. Shewchuk has been a member of the Canadian Authors Association and is active with Trails BC, the organization involved with the Trans Canada Trail in British Columbia. ...more