We are so lucky to have this in our backyard. It is a big hassle trying to get here but if you can...do it.  Lake McArthur is one of the many great hikes in the Lake O'Hara area in Yoho National Park.  It is not a big grunt hike but stunning scenery in every direction.  It took us about 4 hours return from Lake O'Hara.  As you can see from the video the weather was not the best with some rain and snow but still a lot of fun.  We even had some mountain goats near the trail and you do not see them too often at the best of times.  Pretty cool.
The big problem is getting to Lake O'Hara.  You can walk up the road but it is 11 km before you even go for a nice hike.   And in order to get a bus ticket you need to go on line in April on a certain date at 8am and try and purchase them.  They are sold out for the entire summer in seconds.  It is a very bad system Park's Canada has for this.  There has got to be something better.  We talked to someone from Park's Canada and they are having a real concern with the number of  people walking up.  Over the long weekend recently they had 100 people who walked up which puts a major strain on the area as it is very fragile.  That is why the bus.  They want to keep the numbers to about 200 a day.  The other concern is the number of people who somehow access the tickets and then just come up on the bus, take some photos and then take the next bus down without really enjoying what this area has to offer.  They get to go home and tell their friends they went to Lake O'Hara.  There are thousands out there who would give their left arm to go to Lake O'Hara and take in the beauty and hike through the alpine and savour it.  Instead it is another photo to be forgotten the next day.  I hope they get this figured out soon. 
Enough of my rant.  Fabulous spot. If you get a ticket, spend some time and enjoy.  

Most fun you can have with your clothes on.   Friends of ours have had some inflatable kayaks for a few years and we finally bought our own.  They are absolutely fantastic for what we want them for.  We did our first trip with them a few days ago on the Columbia River.  No rapids or anything like that.  We drove south of Golden for about 5 minutes and put the kayaks into the water and then paddled and  floated down to the airport area.  It took about 2 hours.    A lot of bald eagles watching which was really cool. 
This area just keeps giving us so much fun. 

Toughest thing I have ever done!  There I have said it.  The videos below are part 1/2 and 3 of an endurance test I was put through recently.  I joined 3 friends, Ross, his wife Laura and a neighbour Cindi on what is loosely termed a hike.  It is a grind.  We began our trip from the top of Kicking Horse Resort at 10am and ended at Gorman Lake(16 km) at 9pm.  There is no trail but the idea is to follow the ridges all the way when you can.  In between we picked our way through huge bolder fields, maneuvered our way along narrow ridges, scrambled down scree slopes, crawled down through narrow openings in the rocks, hung on for dear life on a steep cliff,  slide down when there was a lot of snow, hiked up snow patches.  We did this for 11 hours.  It was relentless.   The views were the most incredible as any you can see  in the world and it was a fantastic.   Just the 4 of us.   Wow.   This hike is not for the "faint of heart."  You must be prepared for everything including staying overnight if you run out of daylight.  We attempted it a few years ago and luckily had booked a helicopter to pick us up but we were still about 4 or 5 hours away from our pickup point but he found us.  There is no cell coverage so my recommendation is to rent a satellite phone or get a "spot" to send a text message.  All you would need it a twisted ankle.  There is no way you could continue.  Just a warning.   Here is a link to more details on this hike. http://goldenhikes.ca/trail/gondola-to-gorman-lake/   

It is finally hiking season.  With a cool spring and a lot of snow from this past winter it has been a long wait for the snow to disappear enough to do any ridge hikes.  But finally I was able to get up to the top of the mountain here at Kicking Horse and went up to T2.  This is a nice hike that involves some steps near the top but nothing too serious.  The views  are fabulous.  As you can can see from the video there is still some snow up there but you don't have to cross any to get there.  Very nice. 

This is a nice hike in our area.  We have a lot of snow in the upper elevation so if you want to do any hiking you need to find something lower down and this is a nice one.  The drive to the trail head is about an hour.  You head sound for about 45 minutes on hiway 95 to a spot on the map called Spillamacheen.   From there you head across across the bridge over the Columbia River  to West Side Road for about 15 minutes to a little parking area on the right side of the road.   Remember when you cross the river stay to the left.  There is a small sign for the trailhead hike.  It took us 2 hours return to the top of the falls but we were pretty slow with a lot of stops.  There isn't much elevation gain.  This time of the year the falls are quite spectacular.  A nice afternoon. 

 I managed to go on my first bike ride of the summer and it was fabulous.  Friends Patrick and Al joined me to go to Canyon Creek.  The bulk of the trail is a logging road.  It takes about half an hour or so from Vagabond Lodge to get to the Canyon and it is quite spectacular.  Canyon Creek is a hidden gem in our area and can also be accessed easily by a short hike.   It was a beautiful ride and a beautiful day.   Hopefully the start of many days and many bike rides. 

2016-2017 Season is over.  Good and bad.  Great skiing, great snow right to the bitter end.  But my season ended in March with an injury.  I will be back.  Here are some of the hillights from this past winter including skiing/boarding with my family which was awesome including our 17 month old grandson Waylon.  Eddie the Eagle joined us for a week in February.  He is a very nice guy.  And of course a lot of great runs with friends and guests.  Summer season kicks in for us on May 27th and we will be open until about September 24th.  The gondola basically will be in operation for those same dates.  It looks like another busy summer coming up with strong bookings already.  If you are planning to come our way, I would suggest booking asap.  Give us a call at 250 344 266 or email info@vagabondlodge.ca 

I It has been a great snow season at Kicking Horse.  But unfortunately I am not able to enjoy it.  A few weeks ago I ended up tangling with a tree while skiing into Feuz Bowl and ended up ripping off a bicep tendon.  The next day I was able to get it reattached in Banff hospital.  But I am not able to do much for awhile and certainly no skiing.  
The conditions are still as good as it has ever been this time of the year.  Coverage is amazing and now we have some great spring skiing.  
The good news is, I will be back skiing next winter and I can't complain too much since I had some awesome days.  But just the same it has been a disappointing finish for the season for me. 
If you are looking to come and enjoy our area this summer I would suggest booking early as rooms are filling up fast. 
The resort is scheduled to open for the summer season on May 26th until October 1.  I am getting pretty excited about the hiking season which isn't too far away.  
One of my favourite is to go to the top of the mountain here and then do a ridge hike.  The views are amazing.