Sunflower, Glenogle Resort & Spa, Golden
Tony, Corinne, Sally & Max after white-water rafting, Golden
Our breakfast table, Glenogle Resort & Spa
Our raft, white-water rafting, Golden
Tony, Doris, Max & Sally, Glenogle Resort & Spa, Golden
Steak dinner, Glenogle Resort Spa
Doris, our landlady prepared a breakfast for us that could be best described as a banquet and we were embarrassed by the fact that we were unable to eat more than a fraction of all the fruit, eggs, sausages and pancakes on offer.
As it’s said to be the top rated attraction in Golden, it was agreed that white water rafting was to be the principal activity for the day and hence we made a booking with the Glacier Raft Company.
As the rafting wasn’t due to start until the early afternoon we spent a slow morning catching up on emails etc and then drove the short distance down into Golden township. We confirmed and paid for our rafting trip and then went for a stroll along the river bank and into the centre of town where we found a much needed ATM. The town is quite small and situated on the banks of the Kicking Horse River close to the point where it joins the Columbia River.
The white water rafting involved an initial briefing to the group of thirty two participants and the inevitable signing of waivers followed by the fitting out in wetsuits, booties, jumpers and splash-jackets.
We all then climbed into an old bus and were driven back towards Lake Louise for about 20 minutes to a point on the Kicking Horse River where the four rafts were prepared for loading. After a very detailed and yet humorous safety talk we put on life jackets and helmets and were assigned to rafts, with eight per raft plus a guide.
The afternoon’s activity was to be in two sections with the first part in the so-called middle canyon of the Kicking Horse River. Initially we all practised some paddling manoeuvres in fairly calm water before heading into the main part of the river. The Kicking Horse was flowing rapidly with lots of white water, small waterfalls and plenty of semi-submerged rocks to make our path just that much more exciting.
The middle canyon section started with a 1 km blast of ‘class 4’ rapids and then a further 4 km of classes 3 & 4 rapids. There were lots of ‘high-fives’ with paddles and much inter-raft splashing efforts along the way to add to the fun. This terminated at a point where it was too dangerous to continue so the rafts had to be transported round to the commencement of the lower canyon section.
This exhilarating section fairly soon had us all soaked and the excitement and rivalry between the four rafts continued. In some sections where there was a steeper cascade, the nose of the raft went completely under and we were all drenched but the laughter and big smiles showed that everyone was enjoying this water roller-coaster ride. In several of the class 4 rapids Sal was heard to utter expletives which she would not normally use!
Our excellent guide, Ryan had a Go-Pro on his helmet and videoed much of the action along the way so that a DVD of the day’s fun was available at the end. We were well advised not to take our own waterproof cameras due to the likelihood of them being lost in the white-water mayhem.
The scenery along the 15 km of the Kicking Horse River that we passed was magnificent with sheer rock walls on one side most of the way, several narrow canyons and spruce/birch forest in flatter areas. The only signs of human presence were the railway line that hugged the cliff-line for much of the way and the impressive new ninety metre high concrete road bridge that we passed under. Two very long trains went past during our three hours of rafting.
Towards the end of our rafting spectacular, the guides gave us permission to try floating down some smaller rapids on our back. Most declined but from our raft Jak gave it a go and the experience was mind bending. Being utterly out of control and for several seconds to be completely underwater at 4oC was quite something. He lasted only a minute before requesting to be hauled back into the raft. At the very final part of the rafting trip Jak once again jumped into the freezing water and drifted in flatter waters for several minutes.
The rafts stopped where the Kicking Horse River was just 50 m from the Glacier Raft Company’s headquarters.
We all changed back into warmer clothes and joined in a celebratory beer around a log fire. This was peculiar as the temperature was now a balmy 26oC.
We then headed back up to Doris’ Glenagle Resort for another sumptuous evening meal after which she joined us for drinks as we tried some of her single malt whisky and cognac.
The forecast for tomorrow is not good with the possibility of snow so our visit to Lake Louise and Banff may be problematic.