All departures are from Monday to Friday. There will be a minimum of 4 riders and a maximum 10 guests on each ride. The minimum age for participants is 12 years old.
All Monday rides will depart from the Country Inn and Suites Hotel in NE Calgary at 8:00 a.m. Guests will be driven directly to the Trail head approximately 2.5 hours from Calgary, West of Caroline and into the Clearwater river valley.
Cost of transport to and from trail head are included in the cost of the pack trip. At the end of the trip, transportation from the trail head will arrive back in Calgary at the Country Inn and Suites on Fridays sometime after 8:00 p.m.
Guests staying in Red Deer must notify the outfitter for departure plans.
- Guests may decide to stop on their way to and from the trail head for coffee on Mondays and/or supper on Fridays depending upon timing of trip/weather, etc.
- Guests must make own arrangements for hotel stay in Calgary for the night before and night of return from pack trip. This cost is not included in the pack trip. Please see attached hotel options in NE Calgary below.
- We will supply horses, tack, rain slickers, pommel/horn bags, wranglers, cook, sleeping tents, cots, foamies, and water bottle. Please see attached list for suggested list of things to bring for guest comfort and necessity.
- Day packs and backpacks are not allowed while riding. Fanny packs, and pommel/horn bags are recommended to use for essential day items on the trail. The outfitter reserves the right to limit the amount of items being carried in personal saddlebags.
- Camp layout includes: cook tent, camp fire marquee tent, outhouse tent, guest wall tents, staff tents, shower enclosure.
- Sleeping Arrangements: 8x10 waterproof canvas wall tents that will accommodate a single or couple comfortably. Stand-up room is 6 feet in the center. Single sleeping cots with foamies will be provided.
- Meals: three meals a day Tuesday-Thursday and two meals on Mondays and Fridays are included in pack trip rate. Vegetarians in the past have found that our menus accommodate their needs quite well and no other supplements are needed.
- Luggage: Each guest is restricted to 30 lbs of luggage, including sleeping bag. We suggest guests pack their gear in a water repellent bag or use garbage bags inside their luggage to keep their belongings dry. Guests must use soft sided bags. We are unable to pack luggage with wheels, hard sided luggage or hockey bags. Extra luggage not going on the trail can be kept at the hotel or trail head as staff is on site.
It is important that each client reviews the list of things to bring as outlined in this package.
Checklist of things to bring:
- Sleeping bag with a rating of 3 seasons (fleece or flannel liner adds comfort)
- Warm jacket
- Vest or wool sweater
- Hat or cap and gloves
- Light hiking boots or riding boots (or boots with a heel)
- Extra pair of shoes for comfort after riding
- Lots of good absorbent socks
- Swim suit
- Sunglasses, sun screen, insect repellent
- Evening refreshments if desired (non-breakable containers preferred). These items must be packed with the outfitter's food rather than in the personal luggage
- Towel, soap and personal effects
- Flashlight, camera
- If medically controlled condition, a short history to be kept on person at all times (in case of emergency).
Your Itinerary:
Day 1: Pick up at NE Calgary hotel – 7:30–8:00 a.m. 2.5 hour drive to staging area. Lunch – Orientation – Saddle up and head out for a 6 hour ride to the camp with breaks. Site heritage interpretation along the way:
- Winters Flats. This was the location of a horse ranch in the 1920s to the 1940s. It raised and provide horses for the prairie farms, ranches and logging operations.
- Bob Dial trap line cabin.
- Beaver Lake – headwaters of Cutoff Creek. This location is great moose and loon habitat.
- Sawmill Creek Camp and Flats: the location of a 1940s sawmill business.
- Forty Mile Patrol Cabin: this is an occupied forestry patrol cabin built by forest rangers in the 1940s. The cabin is on the bank of the 40 Mile Creek and Clearwater River, with a great view of the flats and Forty Mile Ridge, Sawtooth Mountain, Indian Head and Mount Peters.
- Dominion Forestry Cabin: this is an old cabin used by the Federal forestry agency before the land trade between Alberta and the Federal Government.
Day 2: Depending on the weather, day rides may vary from this schedule to include:
- Poplar Ridge, 2 hours each way, scenic views above tree line
- 40 Mile Ridge, 8,000 feet, 3 hours each way, 360 degree panoramic view above tree line of valleys below, steep climb.
- Horseshoe Lake, 3 hours each way, pristine secluded lake, wildlife corridor.
- Christmas Tree Meadows, 1.5 hours each way, but also on the way to old Indian Head Meadows where old patrol cabin was prior to 1957.
Day 3: Lost Guide Lake ride, 3 hours each way. High mountain lake - 7,000 feet. Cut throat trout. Each season brings a new look.
Day 4: Day ride to Bear Man Cabin. A 2 hour ride through rugged terrain to a trapper's cabin and horse shed, on Forbidden Creek - lots of interesting tools for the trapping business to be seen. Stop at an Indian grave site on the ride back to camp
Day 5: Pack up for the ride back to the staging area.
Sample Menu:
- Two meals provided Mondays and Fridays
- Three meals provided Tuesdays-Thursdays
- Breakfasts are served in camp and include a variety of choices such as: hot/cold cereal, pancakes, eggs, French toast, bacon, ham or sausage patty, fruit, bread, biscuits or muffins, fried potatoes, etc.
- Lunches are served on the trail and would include a variety of choices including: cheese, crackers, meat, canned fish, canned and fresh fruit, puddings, breads, desserts, canned chicken, trail mix, etc.
- Dinners are served from the camp stove or over the open fire and may include: baron of beef, pasta, beef sausage, baked ham, pork chops, steak, desserts, biscuits/bread, canned or fresh vegetables, condiments, potatoes or rice, etc.
- Appetizers/Snacks: popcorn, tacos and dip, veggies and dip, soft tortillas, peanuts, etc.
- Vegetarians are welcome and have in the past mentioned that our menu provides enough selection to satisfy and meet their needs without supplements added.
We supply:
- Rain slickers (we provide but you are welcome to bring your own)
- We supply pommel/horn bag. Day packs or back packs are not allowed while riding. Fanny packs are allowed. We reserve the right to limit the contents of personal saddle bags.
- Due to weather conditions and climate changes in the mountains, guests are advised to dress in layers to maintain comfort and safety. Guests will not leave the trail head or camp without a jacket and rain slicker.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Also see tour packages in:
Canada
Alberta
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Horse Riding
Archeology/History
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