Globerovers Magazine, July 2019

Guaranteed Rugged
Canada’s best hidden train journey
Lillooet, British Columbia
Words and Photos by Yrene Dee, a Lumby (British Columbia, Canada), based writer and adventurer.
The train adventure starts
in the small town of
Lillooet, a special place
surrounded by towering
mountains, deep canyons, roaring
rivers and crystal clear lakes. This
unique piece of heaven situated along
the mighty Fraser River captured
my heart the fi rst time I was in town.
Lillooet is accessible via the famous
Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver.
The rich history of Lillooet began
with the people of the St’àtäimc Nation
that continue to live in the area today.
Much later during the British Columbia
gold rush of 1860, Lillooet was Mile “0”
on the Cariboo Pavilion Road, the fi rst
wagon road to be surveyed in BC and
the route to the Cariboo gold fi elds.
When you travel through Lillooet
in July and August you will notice the
rock shelf in the Fraser River near
the town dotted with orange and
blue tarpaulins. The site belongs to
the Aboriginal people who still come
every summer to gather their salmon
for the winter as the fi sh make their
way upriver to spawn. You will notice
old drying racks scattered around the
banks of the river canyon.
often impassable. If you’re fortunate
enough to get on the ride you will
be amazed. The train runs along the
edge of Seaton Lake next to impressive
rock faces and cliffs and connects
passengers between Lillooet and
Seton Portage, every day of the week.
Most of the passengers travel between
the two towns for work, for family visits
and for shopping.
The Kaoham Shuttle is not meant
to be a tourist attraction and priority
to board the train is given to the local
people. Therefore, getting a spot on
this train is a privilege.
I soon found out that patience
and plenty of time were necessary if I
wanted to venture on this iconic train
journey. At the Lillooet Railway station,
I was told to phone the reservation
number listed at the door to get on the
shuttle the next day, but no one answered
my call. Booking ahead doesn’t
always seem to work and I waited
around until noon when fi nally the Kaoham
Suttle arrived from Seaton.
I was happy to talk to the friendly
train driver before he headed back
towards Seaton at around 3:30 pm
the same day. “I’ve been running the
shuttle for sixteen years and would like
to retire”, he said, “but no one wants to
take over my job”. That made me think
and wonder how much longer this train
journey will be available. I made sure
to let the driver know that I wanted to
get on the shuttle the next day, whatever
it takes.
Apart from Friday’s, there is only
one train run per day, Seaton Portage
to Lillooet and back to Seaton, so I
had to look for accommodation.
The train journey on the Kaoham
Shuttle is something you won’t experience
anywhere else. For the local
people, it remains a vital service in
an area where backcountry roads are
The railway track follows the edge of Seaton Lake
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Globerovers •· July 2019