British Columbia- Part 2
From Monday 5th, to the 11th, we stayed at a dude ranch. Big Creek Lodge was set back on a dirt road deep in the BC wilderness. The second day, we were paired with our horses. Sisco was my horse, he was a beautiful chestnut colour, and very sweet. That day we went on a 4 hour trail ride, with 10 other people including our guides. While that was fun, it wasn’t my favourite day, by the time we reached the lodge I could barely walk.
Day three was better, and this time I had a mare named Dyno. She was very pretty, but on that particular day everything seemed to irritate her. Every branch that slapped her in the face, she tried to bite at, that didn’t stop the trees from retaliating. That was another 4 hour ride. The scenery was breathtaking and the quiet serenity of nature was abundant.
The next day was our overnight trip. We would ride 5 hours into the wilderness and stay in a hunting cabin overnight and ride back the next day. I thought the lodge was quiet and peaceful, I was sure in for a surprise when we got to the hunting camp. There were no sounds, not even any crickets, the mountains made for beautiful scenery. After we ate, we sat around a campfire watching the moon slip over the trees, not one of us spoke as we watched. We pointed out the different consultations, and the planets that we could see like Jupiter. It didn’t take long for sleep to begin beckoning, I retired to the cabin, and slept in my jeans and 3 sweaters. It was certainly cold.
Throughout the night there were many different animals walking about and attempting to get in and I was sure whatever it was trying to get me as I laid awake. I figured one of them was just a raccoon, they do the same back home. When I got back from the camp trip, I informed the cook that it was a raccoon, I was certain. She told me that they were pack rats. I’m glad I learned about that after I got back. The ride back was fun, but by the time we got to the trailer and loaded the horses, I was exhausted.
The next day, we had a day trip to Chilko Lake. While the drive there was a tad scary, over 2 hours later we made it there in one piece. Stopping by the Fraser River on the way some of my fellow travelers were tempted to kiss the ground when they got out.
Chilko lake itself was this beautiful blue green colour, it was so inviting, and a very hot day. But the lake was cold, freezing, that’s to be expected as a glacier fed lake. Our guide took us on a small hike around the lake. It was beautiful where we first were, but more beautiful when you got to the hill. We sat on the black beach with our toes in the water, just enjoying the sun. Again, I could’ve stayed there all day.
By the time, 4 P.M. rolled around, we had to leave in order to be back for dinner. About 15 minutes into the drive back, I noticed our guide looking in the side mirror. Strange. We kept driving, and then we heard a pop. I told her it was a flat tire, and of course, unfortunately, I was right. After struggling a bit to get the spare tire out, and jacking up the truck, we discovered that not only were the tires bald, but they were stuck on the truck. No matter how much kicking and banging we did, we could get the tire off the rim.
Luckily, we figured out a way, and got it off, over an hour and half later we were on our way again. I was starving, and prayed they would have steak for dinner. As we drove back to the lodge, we stopped to get my absolute favourite part of the trip. The wild horses of Nemaiah Valley. The beautiful, rare breed stood still as I took their photos, each one of them told a story. I would love to hear each of their stories.
After taking their photos, we finally drove the last stretch of the road to the lodge. I just about drooled when I saw the food. Dinner did not disappoint, but I did learn that they only had one dessert per person, so my apologies to the others for the night I took more than one dessert.
That night, we planned that we would be leaving on Sunday, instead of Monday, that way we didn’t have a 12 hour drive back to Calgary.
I had the route planned, the night before, and after breakfast we left. Saying our goodbyes, we left. We stayed on a two lane dirt road for a while, until I guided my dad, to turn onto a really sketchy, one lane trail, not even a road. The rental car had GPS but it had led us astray several times on this trip so my family trusted me to get them where they needed to go. We thought it was a mistake, but kept going. Our fuel was getting low, and we still didn’t see civilization in a long while. Growing up on a farm I can only say this road was equivalent to a lane way.
We drove for what seemed like forever, that seems to be a recurring pattern here, as we drove we kept seeing signs saying to keep out! Gang Ranch Property. We were already so far in there, so we kept going. We increasingly got worried about driving up to a closed gate, thankfully, that never happened. We finally passed Gang Ranch, and they were friendly. That was a relief. As we kept going, we went through prairie type lands. There were a lot of cattle guards, but no cattle to be seen. The Prairie lands turned into rolling hills, and then dropped off into a lush valley. I realised then, that we were meant to go down into that valley. The drive was so beautiful, albeit a little scary. We passed some locals, who were definitely in a good mood, you could tell by the smell as we passed their speeding truck.
Finally, we got onto the highway, and as beautiful as the drive was before, it felt good to be on a smooth road again. We drove on the Trans-Canada Highway, and passed a bunch of construction, who were working on another bridge away from the giant rock formations. That was interesting to see, it looked as if the road had been cut out of the mountain. Below was Hells Canyon, there were no guard rails, just a sheer drop to the bottom.
Finally we made it back to Alberta, we had a complete circle from Alberta to BC and back. We made it to Cochrane, after we explored Moraine Lake, and settled into our hotel. I was so excited when I saw Little Caesars, as much as I liked the other food, you can’t beat Little Caesars. Our flight left at 11:25 a.m. the next day, although I wish we could’ve explored Cochran a little bit more, but we left before the shops were open.
I was happy to be going back home, as much as I loved the trip, I missed my animals. I knew they missed us. I wasn’t nervous about flying, but as I bought a stuffed animal for my dog, I found I cuddled it the entire flight. Throughout the trip, we saw an elk, over 9 bears in various locations, and numerous wild horses. I wish I could have seen a moose, but unfortunately they were hiding. All in all, this was such a memorable trip, something I would definitely do again.