Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dreamscapes.ca/i/873989
FALL 2017 DREAMSCAPES 47 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 flut- tering 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 of the sled, 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 340 kilograms on the sled. The fastest he's ever gone with a six-dog team is 40 kilometres/hour. 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 surrounded by mountains capped with sparkling snow. It's 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. BOO'S TERRAIN 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 under- neath the gondola line, often paddling and pushing his way down to go even faster," said Nicole Gagnon, 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 because people are being bothersome for him." Few ski resorts can say they have the largest enclosed and protected grizzly bear habitat in the world, but the nine-hectare Kicking Horse Grizzly Bear Refuge (enclosed by an electric fence) is Boo's home. The 260-kilogram bear was born in the wild, but became orphaned with his brother OPPOSITE TOP: A snowshoer at Wapta Falls in Yoho National Park near Golden, B.C. LEFT: Matt Parr, owner of Golden Dog Sled Adventures, gets the dogs ready for an outing. ABOVE: The view from the top of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, which boasts the highest restaurant in Canada at 2,347 metres.