Overlanders is a fascinating, meticulously researched account of a western odyssey for gold, a great adventure story that was a pivotal experience in the history and development of Canada. In the late 1850s and early 1860s thousands of people from around the globe were rushing to the rivers and creeks of British Columbia in response to one of the greatest gold discoveries in the world's history.

In eastern Canada and the northern United States groups of men and a few women chose not to follow the normal sea routes but to go overland on unexplored and undeveloped trails. They formed a variety of disparate groups, large and small, fit, experienced, weak, young, old, children, leaders and followers. Their route, initially chosen to save money, resulted in the opening of the northern continent's vast interior.

Richard Thomas Wright tells the epic talc of the cross-Canada treks for gold. 1858-1862, following an unexplored overland route across North America to the goldfields of British Columbia. This is the updated story of that amazing adventure, with a new chapter and new photos.

Richard Wright was born in Vancouver in 1940 and is one of BC's foremost outdoors writers. He left the Vancouver Fire Department in 1970 to produce and direct CBC films, work for BC's Department of Recreation and Conservation, pursue freelance writing and photography, and begin a river rafting company. He has co-authored many guidebooks with Rochelle Wright and three histories. Richard has taken two treks with camels in the Cariboo, reconstructing the Cariboo Camel myth for a segment on National Geographic Today. He lives on Pioneer Ranch near Williams Lake, BC.

Richard Wright's profile page