Horses, muskrats, charges and extensions
Hey everyone!!
Well summer is winding down here in Banff. The fall colors are gorgeous, as I am sure they are across the parks.
Summer ended abruptly for me during a 9 day fall hunting boundary patrol two weeks ago however.
I went out with 3rd generation park warden Frank Burstrom, one of the most amazing wardens I have worked with. He grew up in a backcountry district in Jasper and the Trudeaus would come over to play with him. His dad put in the park boundary bronze plaques and his family would get one town day a month, where he and his brother would share a horse, and his little sisters would go in the saddle bags. He had a one day job as a train engineer and managed to derail and blow up the train, and has ridden not only an elk, but also a moose - both bucked him off after a few hundred meters. He did a brief stint as Chief Park Warden in Grasslands, but wanted to be outside instead.
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Anways, We had 6 glorious sunny days, riding horses along the northern boundary of the park. And then we woke up on the 7th morning to a little bit of snow, and decided to ride down to Indian Head Lodge, from the tent camp we were at. Had a nice roast in that wonderful cabin and decided to ride out back to Ya Ha Tinda ranch the next day. It is a 32 mile ride so we agreed to get up early. The weather forecast was for snow.....
Woke up the next morning to quite a bit of snow, and heavy snowfall warning. I was planning on going home to vancouver the next day for my days off, so was determined to leave, and Frank reluctantly agreed. (our other option would be to hunker down for the next few days and ride it 3 or 4 days later).
Two hours later, I was cursing myself, and my fat packhorse who was pulling back so hard on his lead shank that I thought my arm was going to rip out of its socket, and my hand was so numb that I kept dropping it. I tried tying him off and letting him go on his own, but he started running and bucking, and being an idiot.
Luckily, we only had 7 more hours to go, and the snowstorm was going to pick up in wind and force, as we headed up over Skeleton and Scalp Pass. yippee!!
By the time we got back to the ranch, my feet squished inside my riding boots, my ass was chafed, as my underwear managed to soak through long johns, jeans, waterproof pants, chaps, and my riding coat, and my down jacket, under my riding jacket, but over 3 layers, was a sopping wet pile of feathers. The snow was 2 feet deep and cold and wet.
Nothing a long hot bath couldnt fix, and Rick and Craig (they were at orientation with us) ushered me into the house while they took care of the horses!!
Got to save a muskrat from Evelyns coffee shop on Banff Ave a few weeks ago, and did a little interp talk on a busy Banff day!!
In other news, I finally layed a charge, and just went to court today, after screwing it up and putting the court date for 2 days away (yup, I layed the charge on saturday). I was so nervous my hand was shaking while I was writing up the appearance notice. I dont think I was listening during that part of Depot. Seriously, I had no idea what the hell I was doing with that stupid thing, and kept asking Banff dispatch...like they would know....!! they were the ones who told me to put the court date for sept.25. HOwever, he got a $100 fine, and I made lots of friends with the RCMP!!
I also got an extension until April, so that is pretty great, since Banff is really starting to grow on me. So if anyone wants to come visit, you have a place to stay!!
posted by Twano @ 5:16 PM
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