Few people are aware that the famous path to the Klondike gold fields -- through Skagway in Alaska, over the Chilkoot Pass, down the Yukon by boat -- was not the sole route. Less well known is the Stikine route, a treacherous passage up the Stikine River to Glenora and Telegraph Creek, to Teslin Lake and down the Teslin and Yukon Rivers to Dawson. Vancouver Sun reporter Larry Pynn retraced and trekked the 1500-kilometre Stikine route to the Klondike gold fields for The Forgotten Trail (Doubleday 1997 $29.95). Pynn travelled on the Stikine route in 1992 on foot, horseback and by canoe. His six-week adventure evokes the Gold Rush era while introducing current inhabitants such as commercial fishermen and gold mine operators. The Forgotten Trail was one of four titles marking the 100th anniversary of the the discovery of gold in Bonanza Creek on August 17, 1896. As the environment reporter for the Vancouver Sun, Tsawwassen resident Larry Pynn also published Last Stands: A Journey Through North America's Vanishing Ancient Rainforests (New Star, 1999). A contributor publications such as Equinox and Canadian Geographic, Pynn has won the Jack Webster Award for best print reporting, two Canadian Science Writers awards and various B.C. Newspaper Awards.

[BCBW 2004] "Forestry" "Outdoors"