The crisp morning air nips at Matt Parr’s nose as he kneels
on the snowy ground to give his Bear a hug.
Curled up in a ball for a snooze, the fluffy Siberian husky
casually accepts his cuddles as Parr introduces the rest of his furry rescue
family, lying on a long bed of straw nestled in the Columbia Valley near
Golden, B.C.
Paris, a lively Alaskan Husky with electric hazel eyes,
greets him with an enthusiastic hug, while big Roy continues to shy away,
unsure of everyone.
“All the dogs have their quirks. They’re all really friendly
with people, other than Roy with all of life,” says Parr, who’s now in his
third season of operating Golden Dog Sled Adventures. “Someone said the best
therapist has four legs and I totally agree. I have 14 of the best therapists.
All is calm in the peaceful mountain setting until the
harnesses appear and the dogs are hooked into position to pull the two sleds
that will carry two passengers and a guide. Some squeal like children running
wildly through a playground. Others repeatedly jump as though they have springs
in their legs.
“Are you ready?” asks my guide Amanda, as she hops onto
the back of the sled
to mush the team.
I can feel the dog’s energy as they anxiously wait to be set
free. The excitement also builds inside me, wondering how fast the dogs will
set the pace.
With one simple command, the team takes off like an Olympic
sprinter, the sled bouncing wildly along the packed track.
“Hat! Hat!” yells Amanda, instructing the team to turn left,
then slows the pace to a rapid trot across the flat terrain through a snowy
meadow. The roar of barking dogs is replaced by the sound of paws lightly
fluttering across the snow.
We stop frequently to learn tidbits about the area and
untangle the dogs. Soon it’s my turn to experience the thrill of mushing under
the guidance of Amanda as she sits in the sled.
After a few minutes on the back, it’s easy to see why Parr
instantly became hooked on the sport when he gave it a whirl while working as a
snowshoe guide in Whistler.
“Just the excitement of having a pack of dogs pulling you
and the amount of power they output is incredible. I love the dogs, I love dog
sledding, I love being in the woods with nature,” said Parr, noting the dogs
can pull 750 pounds on the sled. The fastest he’s ever gone with a six-dog team is 40 km/hr.
Getting them to stop is the biggest challenge.
“They always want to go. They’ve pulled out those ice hooks
several times and it’s caught us on the legs. They love to run.”
Dog sledding is among the long list of winter adventures
awaiting visitors to Golden — a laid back town of approximately 4,000 people
encompassed by rugged mountains capped with sparkling snow. Located three hours
west of Calgary, the town is close to six national parks, two mountain ranges
and two rivers known for wild whitewater rafting.
For outdoor lovers, Golden is a hidden jewel that takes
activities to the next level.
Outside town there’s another fluffy bear, but this one isn’t
waiting for a cuddle. Unaware of the skiers whizzing by outside his den at
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Boo the grizzly bear is fast asleep, awakening
every few weeks to toss and turn.
Occasionally he sticks his nose outside to smell whether the
winter air has turned to spring. And when it does, Boo takes full advantage of
living on one of the steepest vertical terrains in North America.
“Each spring we watch Boo repeatedly climb the snowy open
face slope in his habitat, then somersault into the snow taking up speed as he
slides his way underneath the gondola line, often paddling and pushing his way
down to go even faster,” said Nicole Gangon, who’s looked after Boo for the
last five years.
“Boo has a big personality. Our staff can always tell when
Boo is about to bluff charge someone and rarely do we warn visitors as we take
the opportunity to explain Boo’s behaviour. Sometimes it’s sheer amusement and
other times it’s people being to bothersome for him.”
Few ski resorts can say they have the largest enclosed and
protected grizzly bear habitat in the world, but the 20-acre Kicking Horse
Grizzly Bear Refuge (enclosed by an electric fence) is Boo’s home.
The 575-pound bear was born in the wild, but became orphaned
with his brother Cari when their mother was shot and killed by a poacher.
Instead of being euthanized, the cubs were given a second lease on life and a
new home at Kicking Horse where they hunt, play, forage and explore like their
wild cousins, providing a unique opportunity for grizzly bear research and
visitors. Cari, however, never awoke from his first winter dormancy and died
from a spontaneous twist of his intestines.
Down the road from Boo’s home, one will likely find Jane
Dolinski, gliding with ease along the perfectly groomed trails of the Dawn
Mountain Nordic Centre on her cross-country skis.
Boasting 33 km of trails for all abilities, the nordic
centre is mainly run by volunteers and has hosted some big events over the
years, including the 2012 Canadian Nordic Masters. Several snowshoe trails have
been added in recent years to provide families a peaceful walk through the
woods.
After skiing 10 km with Dolinski through some challenging
but scenic terrain, I drag myself into the lodge, my poor little legs
struggling to cope with what I’ve just done.
I question whether I’ll be able to strap on a snowboard for
the afternoon and slide gracefully down a steep mountain in one piece. For
Dolinski, however, the cross-country ski outing is part of her weekly routine.
“It’s a wonderful feeling of fitness and being in nature and
it’s kind of a meditative thing too. You get into the zone and it just takes
the stress away,” says Dolinski, who’s been cross-country skiing for about 40
years and also teaches kids. “It’s what partly keeps my enthusiasm for skiing.
They’re just so much fun.”
If you go:
Golden is a playground for outdoor lovers, but it also has
an impressive dining scene for a town of its size and a craft brewery with a
wide range of beers. The Island Restaurant and Eleven 22 both have interesting
menus packed with flavourful, healthy food. For those who want a truly unique
dining experience outside of a restaurant, get Whitetooth Mountain Bistro to
cater a three-course dinner in one of the luxurious mountain chalets available
for rent at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
– published in Dreamscapes Magazine September 2017
