The Ride of Your Life

Previous riders have called the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies rides “the ride of your life”. For me though, it was simply the best time of my life.

For six hours, ten riders rode deep into the backwoods of Kananaskis Country to Happy Valley, at the base of the Rocky Mountains, where we camped and rode for three nights and four days. Guided by a former national park warden, three wranglers, and accompanied by a small documentary film crew, we rode on strong, sure-footed horses up mountains so steep a slip of the hooves could have meant certain death.

We drank from ice-cold streams that doubled as fridges for our beer. We dared each other to jump into a glacier lake, then did it again, just for fun. We had a weenie roast at the base of a mountain and sang along with the cowboys during nightly campfires. We hiked up the ridge of a mountain top then sat in quiet awe of the surrounding snow-covered mountains, listening to the birds call out to one another and the wind blow lightly through the grass.

Over hearty meals, we put our differences aside and became fast friends, united by a shared love of the outdoors and a passion for adventure.

Riding back to the ranch on the last day, many sang, as content as kids at a summer camp. We had made enough memories to write a book and taken enough photographs to fill several albums. I realized that this — amazing experiences with wonderful people — this is what truly matters. Not things.

If there’s a happier place than Happy Valley, I haven’t found it yet.