Wow, Wow, Wow.  What a day on the water.  Along with a few friends recently we decided to go for a lake kayaking trip.  We originally thought Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park which is an easy 45 minute drive from Vagabond Lodge.  It was so crowded with car traffic we didn't even get to the parking lot.  And this is on a Tuesday after the labour day weekend when everyone is supposed to be going back to work and school.  Go figure.  After a few seconds discussing what to do we decided to head up the Banff Jasper highway to Bow Lake.  Best decision we could have made. 
It was just perfect with only about 10 people on a very large lake.  We had an amazing day taking advantage of a classic fall day.  We spent a couple of hours paddling around and found a nice spot to park for a picnic on the water in a little protected cove.  
Bow Lake can be tricky at times with wind gusts and sudden weather changes.  But not on this day.  It was perfect.  
There still were a lot of people around at the various viewpoints and hiking trailheads but not on the water. 
Video is from our day at Bow Lake. 

As the summer is coming to a close, there are a few things left on the plate I want to do yet.  One was kayaking a last time down the Kicking Horse River through the town of Golden.    The water levels have been dropping a lot in the last week or so with the cooler nights and cooler days.  Friend Patrick and I did a more thorough scoop of the river to make sure we weren't going to have to deal with a lot of natural obstacles such as big rocks poking through.  You do not want to hit a big rock.  We found a good route and away we went.  It is about a 45 minute trip and eventually we make our way onto the Columbia River which is more of a gentle float.  
Vagabond Lodge is closing in a couple weeks and then will be reopening for ski season.  International guests are going to be allowed into Canada from a variety of countries in a couple days as long as they are fully vaccinated.  We are looking forward to having them back as they are our lifeline. We have an "Early Bird discount" for the upcoming winter season.  Book now and get a 10% savings.  Phone 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca.  These reservations need to be booked direct and you must be fully vaccinated in order to stay with us.  Video is from our last trip of the season on the Kicking Horse. 

I am always in awe of what we have in our backyard.  The latest was a trip a few days ago to Mummery Glacier which is basically to the north of us down the Blaeberry Valley.  It involved about an hour drive, then a short ebike ride and a 45 minute hike to an amazing viewpoint of the glacier and all the waterfalls coming off it.  It was one of those perfect days. 
With cooler weather, rain off and on the smoke has cleared.  It doesn't get much better. 
Our summer is winding down and Vagabond will close on September 20th.  September is always my favourite month for hiking and exploring with fewer people, no mosquitos, cooler temperatures and no smoke. Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca .  You can also book direct using by clicking Here. 

We finally got a much needed rain a few days ago.   Wow.  Did we need it.  And the good news is there is more on the way which will help get some of the wild fires we have burning in BC out or under control.  
We have a few in our area but not big ones thank goodness.  We are not under any threat but depending  on which way the wind is blowing it can get smokey  and it has been. 
But yesterday I decided to head out to see what it was like at the top of the mountain and it was a lot better than a few days prior.  It actually was foggy at the base but at the top nice and sunny.  
Nice to get out of a hike and see the mountains. 
Better days ahead. Video is from my hike. 

Yes I am already looking forward to winter and we aren't even half way through our summer.  The  reason for my winter anticipation is the hot and dry weather we are having here at Vagabond Lodge.  We even had some previously unheard of 40C plus days.  And now we have a lot of smoke from wild fires in our province.  So far nothing really close by here but depending on which way the wind is blowing,  it can get ugly.  
The other reason we are looking forward to ski season there is a lot of optimism the border may be open to vaccinated travellers by September and that means our overseas guests can come back skiing this winter.  
We have already had some good bookings for the ski season from Europe but of course it all hinges on the opening of the borders.
Canada is doing a good job with vaccinations and our numbers have gone down dramatically in the past month.  
In Golden we went about a month without any new cases but recently we have seen 4 new ones which percentage wise is concerning.  
​People are travelling now and the means people coming here who are not vaccinated.   Sorry...some people just don't get it. FYI here at Vagabond Lodge we are only accepting fully vaccinated guests. That is for our safety, the safety of our other guests and our community.  End of story. 
Video is from this past winter to get you pumped.  I know I am. 

I managed to get back on the Kicking Horse River for a kayak trip for the first time this year.  Along with friend Patrick we had a great ride.
With some warmer weather the river was getting high with a lot of snow melt .  There was some debris in the water but nothing serious.  It is not a long trip; probably about 30 minutes total on the water but always a bit of a rush, especially the first section which can get some nice rapids.  
We end up on the Columbia River and then it is a leisurely float for the last 15 minutes or so.  A day later I checked out the river and it was really high and muddy with trees floating down.  We will wait for the water level to drop a bit before going again. 
I managed to get my second vaccine shot which was nice to get over with.  We are optimistic about the summer with the resort opening on June 25th for the summer season for mountain biking and sightseeing along with the grizzly bear refuge.
The BC government has put June 15th as a date for more reopening and giving the green light for travel around the province.  Right now we are restricted to staying within our health region.  The provincial covid numbers have been going down steadily.  By July they are planning to allow more travel within Canada.  No word on when the US border will be open but there is a strong push for vaccinated Americans to be allowed into Canada.  We shall see.  We are going to take reservations at Vagabond Lodge for only vaccinated guests as a safety measure for other guests, ourselves, staff and our community.  
We haven't seen our two neighbourhood grizzlies for a couple weeks and hopefully they have moved on but now we have some black bears including a mom and 3 young cubs wandering around. It is not too often when I go between Vagabond and Golden which is just a 10 minute drive when I don't see at least 1 bear.  We had some hot weather last week with temperatures close to 30C which means the grass and vegetation is nice and green.  The bears love it. 
You can book your stay direct through our booking engine on Vagabond Lodge for the best rate or give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 

It doesn't get much better than a nice float down the Columbia River.  The Columbia River which is one of the major rivers in North America has its headwaters just about 2 hours south of Vagabond Lodge and the town of Golden.  It is always a great spot for a nice gentle float but this time of the year with the water levels going up, it is even better.  With more warm weather it will flood the entire wetlands to the south and create some nice size lakes too which you can paddle into and go for a swim on a warm day.
We haven't had a lot of warm weather yet but did manage a 20C day a few days ago and we took advantage of it. 
We put in just a few km south of Golden and it takes about 2 and a half hours to float down to our take-out spot at the airport in Golden.  We didn't paddle much and enjoyed the vitamin D as much as we could.  No bears but we did see some bald eagles and a deer on our trip. 
When things start to open up for travel and we hope soon, bring your kayak or we can find a rental for you and check it out.  You won't be sorry.  It is so relaxing and a great way for escape. 
Kicking Horse Resort is scheduled to open for the summer on June 25th for mountain biking, the gondola which accesses some great hiking as well as the grizzly bear refuge.   
Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca

It's that time of the year here at Vagabond Lodge.  The bears are out of hibernation and looking for some good eats.  No..not what you think.  Along the roadside between Kicking Horse Resort and the town of Golden which is 10 km, it is starting to green up and you can see a bear or two or three, pretty well daily.  This year there are some grizzly bears around too which is not that usual.  There has been one hanging around just down the road from us and that is the video below.  The road is also a popular spot for biking and there  are a number of mountain biking trails in our area so a lot of traffic in cars and on bikes.  Most people are very respectful of the bears and leave them in peace and vice versa. And after a few weeks, once it starts to green up elsewhere the bears are not as evident and that will happen later in May.  But right now is the time to be super careful and leave them alone.  
Vagabond is waiting for the government to lift the travel restrictions in BC and hopefully that will happen after May 25th and the covid numbers are going down thank goodness.  There has been an outbreak here in Golden and has resulted in a community vaccination program.  Everyone 18 plus who lives in Golden can get a shot now.  Good that everyone is able to but bad that it is a result of an outbreak. 
Of note the resort is not planning to open until June 25th for mountain biking, sightseeing and hiking. We have been getting good response for the upcoming ski season especially with return guests who were not able to come and stay the last couple winters because of covid.  

Well this is interesting and no one is very sure on how this will unfold.  The BC government is restricting travel supposedly throughout the province until May 25 in an effort to curb the spread of covid. We are only allowed to travel within our own health zones. The police may even give tickets to people who are travelling from one area to another without a valid reason.  And for people coming from Alberta they are putting up signs to tell travellers to not come.  Duh!  Sorry good luck on that one. But with the resort closed until at least June and with our highway under construction east (towards Alberta) and an hour an half detour in place until June 1, I don't think there will be a lot of traffic coming this way, except for the transport trucks which are coming through Golden at a crazy speed and number.   Hopefully though these restrictions will have an impact and our numbers will go down.  
Enough of my rant, with some exceptionally sunny and warm days in the past week we decided to go for our first kayak trip of the season.  After some scouting out, we decided to try and go upstream on the Columbia River at Golden Airport and it worked.  The water level is still low with a slow currant and we had some fun paddling upstream for about an hour and then turning around and then floated back downstream.  What a beautiful day.  It was the earliest we had ever gone kayaking and certainly the first time we have ever paddled upstream.  Normally there is no way we could do that. We ware hoping the message gets through to people to dream now and travel later. Vagabond Lodge is closed until about June 1 and hopefully after that date we can enjoy the summer with our awesome guests.