The river ride along Gun Creek is outstanding. To start it off, Chilcotin Holidays took me to the Gymkhana rink to get confident around their horses, which are crossbreed of draft and wildhorse caught in the area, guaranteeing sturdy feet and the intelligence of a wild horse and the calm manners of a draft. We were doing all sorts of funny games in there and before I knew it, me and my mare Fortress became best friends.
As we finished “the getting to know each other”, our guides took us down to the trail, which means we were riding on steep slopes downhill, doing zig zags on the horses and leaning back in our saddles as far as possible, to ensure stability and to make the horses job easier. The horses all passed with flying colors. We got down to the bottom and I can already hear the sound of the creek. We get closer and all of a sudden, there is a bank right in front of us and on the other side the creek. We beat our way through willow bushes and fir branches and the guides and horses lead the way into the wilderness. Crossing the mouth of another creek, Fortress stops for a drink of the pure glacierwater and I get the opportunity to examine the countryside more carefully.
I am in a wonderland of untouched nature, I am able to see tracks, deer tracks as my guide explains, and a ruffed grouse sitting under a log. The birds are singing all around us and I enjoy the afternoon sun. We start moving again and after about two of the best hours of my life, we get home for dinner in the Historic Mountain Lodge.