There’s nothing quite like experiencing the Canadian Wilderness on the back of a horse.

I can honestly / genuinely say that horse riding in the untouched Wilderness of the South Chilcotin Mountains is the ultimate wilderness experience of my life. words can barely describe how it feels when your are far into the Wilderness, riding your horse through the deep snow covered mountain trails that surround the Chilcotin Holidays Ranch.

Ready for the ultimate back country experience story …?

Okay let’s go then!

That day it was -15° degrees outside, I had my winter riding gear on and was lively getting my Cayuse mountain horse ready to go out in the bush. Few minutes later, I am prepared to go mountain climbing with my horse Steel on the snowy mountain trails. It didn’t take much time before I was completely immersed into the deep wilderness.

The breath taking landscape had no limits. Before me was a vast and endless forest of pine trees, and the horizon was filled in by the spectacular Chilcotin Mountain range. At this precise moment, I experienced the joys of solitude, a sensation I’d never felt before. Despite the possible dangers that were neighboring me, I was one with nature, like I belonged in the Canadian wilderness, this rough and unforgiving place where life and death encounter, and yet the purest place on earth I’ve ever been in. I loved every minute of this precious moment, an ultimate wilderness experience. That day the whole pine tree forest was covered by a fresh layer of snow that enabled ,e to see the tracks of the wildlife traffic.

As much as living in the back country of the world, horse riding in the wilderness can be a question of life and death, something that Europeans wouldn’t expect or fully understand. As Steel and I are riding through the pine scenery, I observe different type of animal track on the snow covered trail : Mule deer, Moose, coyotes, wolves etc… a variety of fauna is present. Indeed, as I was looking over my shoulders, I could hear the sound of the wildlife. Keeping my head up I was looking at the pine trees watching out for cougars or other feline predators.

I can hear the wood cracks is the forest and the coyotes yapping and howling not far away from us. Steel in on alert due to the presence of wildlife surrounding us. I was comforting her and whispering to her ear to calm her down. We slowly continue our way through the forest, exploring every corner, trails and creeks. On our way back to the Ranch, the sun was slowly disappearing behind the mountain tops, as the sky turned pink, the sunset gave a new tone to the Wilderness.

I have not yet lived a better way to experience the wilderness and wildlife, most unexplored places on earth, than with the companionship of a Horse, the kind of first time experience the Chilcotin Holiday Ranch’s environment promotes.