 |
For the last few week's of my stay in Canada I was joined by my friend Jim. The highlight of his holiday was spending 7 days on a pack horse trip. As neither Jim or I had ever done anything like this before, we really didn't know what to expect. Turning off the William's Lake/Bella Coola Highway we travelled around 100 km down a gravel road to Taseko Lake Lodge catching glimpses of the ranges we guessed we would be riding in. If we had decided on a trip in Banff we could have been faced with a group of 10 or more with us - here there would be only myself and Jim guided by Sig our Outfitter and waited on, assisted, teased/laughed at and given general 'encouragement' (in about equal measure) by his 11 year old son - Justin. . |
 |
Jim takes it easy waiting for a brew at Chita camp - we hadn't even been riding yet...
After a night in the Lodge we headed off by boat to our first camp where we found a corral with our horses, all the tack, fire pit, cooking gear, tent and some pack boxes strung in the trees (bear deterrent). While waiting for Sig - who was riding up to the camp with an extra horse - Justin had a fire going, pot on the boil and demonstrated his knack of sniffing out cookies/treats for the first time.
|
 |
It wasn't too long before Sig arrived on Spicer and after a quick snack and cup of tea, we saddled up and made our way back to Chita beach for our gear. It was a good opportunity for me to have a quick and on the fly riding lesson. Now might be a good time to apologise for any blurred or slightly slanted photos - we hadn't realised how hard it is to take a picture from the back of a horse even when stationary!
I wish that I'd taken a picture of one of the many paw prints we found along the lake shore - The were still enough salmon spawning to attract some grizzlies down to the shore. |
 |
Sig needed just one of the pack horses, Boomer, for our gear - once we moved camp we would be using three of them. There is a real art to balancing and securing the loads - Sig took real care when weighing up the right distribution. |
 |
After our first night at Chita camp we rode without the pack horses up the Chita valley on what Sig calls the High Trail. Even though a trail was quite often clear - it almost felt like we were quite often bushwhacking and blazing the trail. Sig often carries a light axe with him to lop off branches that might be in the way. I'd half assumed that with the horses we'd often follow the contours of the landscape with out too much sudden change in height - almost the opposite was true - often we would find ourselves being thrown forwards or backwards as the horses dealt with a severe gradient. This sensation never lasted long - if the climb or decent was more than a short distance, we would dismount and give the horses a break. Sig took this as we passed through one of many high meadows - great places to pause and take in the views. |
 |
Then it was back into the trees. Jim is looking a bit wary because we're about to cross a creek for the second time and his horse, Pepsi (snigger), liked to act up especially if there was a chance of Jim's feet getting a dunking. But damp feet were soon forgotten a little further down the trail when we spotted our first bears of the trip - a good way away out in the alpine area above us. |
 |
After a second night at Chita we broke camp and headed up the old mining road. We had gone on ahead - but Sig and Spicer weren't far behind with his team - Chita, Boomer and Jack. Our rendezvous point was at Sig's summer cabin at the southern end of Taseko Lake. The cabin is in a beautiful spot and boasts a rather special feature... |
 |
...Only two days in and I think Jim was already desperate for a bath. Mind you it probably has the best tub view in the world. |
 |
But Sig had other plans for our third night. This is Summit cabin - also known as the Trappers' cabin, sitting beside Summit lake. Set away from the old mine road there is a real sense of seclusion here. On our second evening here we all had a dip (certainly not a swim!!) in the lake - knowing there was a blazing wood stove to run back to didn't make us feel any less manly as we ran off the wobbly wooden deck. |
 |
The great thing about Sig's trips is flexibility - in Banff we'd have been strictly point to point - but here we were able to tailor each day to how we felt and what the weather was up to. The first morning at the cabin was a bit grey and miserable, so after a huge pancake breakfast Sig suggested we head to the old mine. It was fun poking around the old workings - deserted at the outbreak of the Second World War - no gold to be had unfortunately. |
 |
After lunch the weather brightened a little and we carried on along the road with the occasional diversion as Sig rooted around some other trails. Never quite worked out what we were doing down this one - at times Gambler (good horsy name) and I enjoyed just drifting along at the back. Sig certainly knows how to match a horse to the rider! |
 |
Eventually we broke out of the tree line and - wow. Again, drifting along at the back - meant I was able to get this great shot of the guys with Battlement Ridge behind. |
 |
After a second night of luxury at Summit we packed up once again and headed for the sub-alpine. Not a bad spot for an afternoon nap. Even though we did a lot in each day - covering over two hundred kilometres in the week - leisurely is a good description of the trip! |
 |
We're just about at Powell camp - the stop for our fifth night. The boys are looking towards the top end of Powell Valley. Battlement Ridge is out of sight on their right hand side. Beece Pass - the highest point on our trip is off to the left further along the valley. |
 |
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip was the easy camp routine you fall into. Getting the horses sorted at the start and end of the day was great and once they were sorted for the evening it was never long before the fire was roaring and a pot of coffee on the go. Sig and Justin were mines of information and never seemed to tire of our questions. |
 |
Beautiful to wake up to, but brrr. It was a beautifully clear night as we went to bed - bringing the temperature down nicely... And a little morning snow added to the wintry feel. Spare a thought for Jim in his +6c sleeping bag. |
 |
I decided to hide out till the fire was really roaring. |
 |
Schnauzer the entertainer. He was particularly pleased with himself this morning as he'd managed to impersonate a bear so well in the night Jim nearly didn't have leave the tent for a... |
 |
After explaining to Sig and Justin just what all the commotion in the night was about we headed for the pass (always wanted to write that). Only twenty minutes before I took this we had a great bear encounter - a beautiful grizzly in great condition pretty much cruised by in the opposite direction - completely un-phased by us. |
 |
Leading the horses over the pass. The snow on the pass actually made the going easier - during the summer its fairly rocky and takes time to find a route through. The decent was just a little schetchy - the horses showing how competent they are over tricky terrain as we slipped and slided "guiding" them back below the snow line. |
 |
Just looking through these photos evokes some great memories of the trip. |
 |
After the pass Sig was ruing the cheap dubbing he'd used for his boots. |
 |
A man's gotta do... Have shovel... etc. Jim off for his morning "ablutions". |
 |
Into the saddle for the last time - a sad morning really. We were certainly in no hurry to break camp on this morning. |
 |
Homeward bound - for me not just an end to our horse trip but the end of my year in Canada. In many ways it was a bittersweet day for me and I think for Jim also. Jim really enjoyed leading the pack horses for the last few kilometres while Sig did a little trail maintenance. After a last night in the luxury of the lodge we had breakfast with all the family and it was time to say good bye, climb back in the car and head back into the 21st century. |
