It’s 1862 and 17-year-old Callum leaves Scotland to join the gold rush in British Colombia’s Cariboo region, hoping to save the family farm from foreclosure. Along the Harrison-Lillooet Trail, he befriends a colourful cast of fellow prospectors, and is forced to confront mortal dangers, including violent ruffians and a treacherous terrain. Callum witnesses how the onslaught of outsiders fortune-seekers and settlers alike—prove destructive to the First Nations communities and the natural environment.

COLIN CAMPBELL is the author of Trails of the Southern Cariboo. He was a high school teacher-librarian in Hundred Mile House and a columnist for The Hundred Mile House Free Press. Originally from Scotland, he now lives in Vancouver, BC.

Praise for The Cariboo Trek of Callum McBay:

“—(The author’s) sensitivity to place and to the original peoples of the Fraser Canyon add to this tale of youthful adventure . . . I expect today’s young readers will enjoy joining Callum’s trek just as I did.” BC Review of Literature, May 2025