Columbia river is rising by the minute.  The river flows through Golden and is one of the many hidden gems in our area.  Friend Patrick and Lori joined me for what was going to be a float down the river.  Perfect day with blue skies and beautiful scenery in every direction.  We drove to a little town called Parson which is about 30 minutes south and put the kayaks in the water.  It didn't take long to realize we had some work ahead despite the strong current.  It was windy and windy to the point of whitecaps.  The ending point was Columbia Wetlands Outpost which is about a 10 km trip.  What should have been no more than 2 hours, took 3 with no time to take a break.  You stopped paddling, you went backwards.  Which may have been a better option.   Despite the extra work, it was still an amazing day with all sorts of bird life to see and no-one else on the river except us.  Outstanding. 

It doesn't get much better than being able to ski and kayak in the same day.  Patrick from Selkirk Sports here at Kicking Horse joined me for exactly that on April 27th.  It was a beautiful day and with the lifts already closed  but yet plenty of snow yet, for the season we skinned up to the top of one of the runs above Vagabond.  It took us about 2 hours to get to the top and about 10 minutes to get down(a few breaks to enjoy the scenery).  And then a couple hours later we headed down to the Columbia River which is a 10 minute drive and went kayaking for an hour or so.  Fantastic day.  Vagabond is  closed for another month and will reopen for the summer season in June.  Give us a call at 250 344 2622 or email info@vagabondlodge to book your stay. The skiing may not be in option but the kayaking certainly is.  The sightseeing gondola and grizzly bear refuge opens in June and goes until October.  Those are just a couple of the many things you can do in our area.