It was a ripper of a day, mate!

Our bookings coordinator from Australia, Narissa, made a comment last week that she’d never been on a snowmobile. Figuring it was too late in the season, she was thrilled when Kevan took her and Andre, our employment coordinator, up on snowmobiles by the Hurley Pass. She hasn’t stopped talking about her new experience!

New Mountain Horses Join our Herd

Last fall when Colleen, one of our veteran guides, moved to the northern reaches of BC, she went looking for some quality mountain horses for us and then spent the winter teaching them some manners. They’re joining us this week to start their new careers and meet some new friends.

Where the Deer and the Horses Graze

After a long winter, there’s no better way for our Cayuse mountain horses to fatten up for the months ahead than to return to their roots – that is, the lush mountain pastures of the South Chilcotin Mountains. From May 15 – October 31, our horses graze with the local bear, moose, and deer populations on the open range. But, like kids, a few of our horses think a hay roll brought to them (like we did all winter) is a sweeter deal. With no more free meals at the ranch, the entire herd will be roaming the range till we need them for our next pack trip.

Teeming With Grizzlies – Locals Want Curfew

The neighbouring grizzly bears have awoken and left their winter dens in search of food. Our grizzly viewers are loving the parade, but the locals aren’t so keen when the bears hangout in their backyards. This has the local conservation officer hard at work and enforcing a grizzly curfew.

Spruce Lake Mountain-Bike Trail – A Safer Route for all Users

Most cities have developed designated bike lanes to protect riders from the faster moving cars and trucks as well as hikers from high-speed bikers. Out here it’s no different, except on the trail to Spruce Lake where mountain bikes are the faster moving vehicle compared to hikers and horseback riders.

Conflicts arise when mountain bikers speed down the trails, turn a corner, and come face to face with a hiker, horseback rider, or even a grizzly bear. Unfortunately, we can’t convince the bears to follow signs, but we can work with the human trail users to protect everyone’s safety.

On single track trails, with multiple users, horseback riders have the right-of-way, followed by hikers, followed by mountain bikers who are required to yield to all other users. This hierarchy generally prevents most conflicts, but with blind corners and steep grades the risk is high. By designating a separate trail for mountain bikers, high-speed and low-speed users can safely enjoy the trails in this beautiful area.

Most of the trail from Jewel Bridge to Spruce Lake has two routes available. We want to officially designate one of these routes exclusively for mountain bikes and thereby protect everyone’s safety by reducing encounters between mountain bikers and horseback riders. By developing different trail maintenance policies, bike trails can become more technically appealing.

Interview with Michaela Plew - Ranch Volunteer

A trained homecare nurse from Germany, Mika Plew (30, Augsburg, Germany) has come to Chilcotin Holidays to improve her English and learn more about horses.

"I heard of Chilcotin Holidays through a Farmstay Agency that places volunteers in Canada. I wanted to experience the real Canadian wilderness that I had only read about and learn more about horses."

"Being a homecare nurse in Germany for the past few years, I also wanted to explore the possibility of a career change. When I first arrived at the ranch, I helped worm the herd of 60 horses, repair fences, and I helped in the kitchen. I really wanted to learn how to ride western but to do this I knew I had to improve my English. With this in mind, I’ve taken on the kitchen intern position so I’ll learn more about running a wilderness lodge kitchen, and get plenty of opportunity to practice both my written and spoken English."

Intern Profile - Tamara Kirss

Currently a student of Eco-Tourism and Outdoor Leadership at Mount Royal College, Tamara recently joined our ranch team as part of her practicum’s course requirements. Although this 24 year-old grew up in Toronto, she’s no city slicker! She has years of experience working with horses and she chose Chilcotin Holidays as the location of choice to complete her co-op semester.

Tamara is currently taking part in our 2-week Wilderness Guide Training Program. This summer she’ll be working closely with our lead guides learning the tricks of the trade and gaining some valuable knowledge about adventure tourism and wilderness horse guiding.

Guides Equipped with Satellite Phones

Heading out to one of our camps, rest assured that your guide will be carrying a satellite phone so there is regular contact with the ranch for updates, messages, and in case of emergencies. If work cannot function without you, bring your own satellite phone with you. Rental phones are also available through many companies for reasonable prices. Ask us for more details.

Backstage Pass to a Wilderness Guest Ranch

There are no screaming fans, but there’s certainly a lot of excitement for the first guests of the season – almost like a backstage pass to the inner workings of our guest ranch. Our first guests, with 10 guides in training, see and experience first-hand what it’s like to begin the season’s pack trips in our higher alpine camps where there’s often three feet of snow remaining on the tent frames. Our reliable and sure-footed Cayuse horses, full of sass from their winter vacation, are patient with the new staff still learning the ropes and quickly step up to the plate and show everyone what they’re made of.

Our Staff

Every spring brings eager new faces to the ranch. Be it volunteers, interns, students, or guests, they all come with bright eyes and grand ideas of what it means to live and play on a wilderness guest ranch. The reality is usually different, in many ways, and there’s a lot of work involved.
Whether you’re looking for a career change or a fun way to travel and experience a new country and culture, everyone is having their interests met here at Chilcotin Holidays. Once again, the Australians are well represented this year although the Germans (as well as the Bavarians and Austrians) make up the bulk of our crew – so far, that is.

The Hurley Pass is Open

The arrival of Walter and Phillip McClay, two avid fishermen who came all the way from Northern Island to fish for rainbow trout in our local lakes, marks the opening of the Hurley Pass. The McClays followed the snowplow through the Hurly – a summer use only road – and traversed through the pass where there was still four feet of snow in places. Even the locals think twice about using this road. Imagine our surprise when the McClay’s casually told us, “We came in on the Hurley Road.”

Spring Brings Wildlife Into View

All around us at the ranch, and at our camps, the wildlife are roaming around as the rain, warmer climate, and sunshine bring the plants out of the ground. This is a perfect time to watch grizzly and black bears as they’ve left their dens and are feasting on the new shoots in the meadows. On the glaciated scree slopes, we see mountain goats and California bighorn sheep watching us from their rocky cliff outposts and we encounter many a mule deer and moose on the trails near the ranch.

Chilcotin-style Honey

Guido, our wildlife manager and guide, is downing some protective beekeeping clothing these days as he is setting up a bee colony. With a lot of nurturing and the lush alpine meadows, Guido has the perfect location to make our own brand of honey – Chilcotin style. It promises to be quite the adventure for both Guido and any lucky guests who want to get involved.

Horses for Sale

Our tried-and-tested mountain horses are a dream to ride: ask any past guest. It’s time to find some of them a good home where they can go into semi-retirement. Our horses are used to living outside surrounded by local wildlife (including bears and cougars) and they’re trained to ride and pack under any conditions. Contact us if you’re interested in bringing one into your family.

The Fish are Biting

Spring is the best time for fishing as the milder climate warms the lakes and ponds and the water turns over. A combination of this movement, and spring bugs hatching, has the fish coming to the water surface to feast on a smorgasbord of bugs. In the lakes and ponds here around Chilcotin Holidays, you’ll literally see the fish jumping.

Our first fishermen of the season, Walter and Phillip McClay of Northern Ireland, got to experience this first hand, pulling in a beautiful wild rainbow trout on the first cast. “I’ve never seen so many fish jumping out of the water. They were swimming right by our feet!” says Walter, an avid fisherman.

High Speed Connection Available at the Ranch

With wireless Internet added to our ranch facilities, you can enjoy your wilderness retreat without worrying about work. Every evening, after 8 pm, you can access the Internet from your laptop.

Bebo’s “The Gap Year” - Journeys to Chilcotin Holidays

Dave, an 18 year-old city slicker from London, England, is in his “gap” year (a break between secondary college and university) and one of The Gap Years’ intrepid explorers traveling the world on a six-month global journey. His first stop is a true Canadian wilderness adventure at Chilcotin Holidays, which Dave calls paradise.

For a first-hand account of Dave’s venture into the real heart of the outdoors click on www.bebo.com/thegapyear where you’ll see Dave learn what it’s like to ride a horse through a raging river, scope out a vacant grizzly den, and much more!

Wilderness 4-Day Yoga Retreats – Starting August 4, 2008

With the arrival of Alison, our new marketing and sales coordinator, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that she’s also a certified Yoga Alliance instructor. To get a break from the office, Alison is offering wilderness yoga retreats at Chilcotin Holidays starting this summer!

Join us on the August long weekend, thanks to BC Day being a civic holiday, for our inaugural wilderness 4-day yoga retreat. Combine the rejuvenating effects of yoga with guided hikes through the beautiful South Chilcotin Mountains. You’ll find your balance and replenish your energy during our 4-day retreat. Contact Alison for more details.