Last year, I randomly bumped into
you at the lunch spot in Cache Creek. It's been 10 years since I left Chilcotin
Holidays, where I spent 3 summers as a Wilderness Guide, and had some of the
most amazing experiences of my life. So for these wonderful memories, I would
like to thank you, Kevan, for allowing me to learn what hard work really means,
and how to show great western hospitality to guests from around the
world.
As I was recently going through
boxes of old paperwork and things, I found some Chilcotin Holidays brochures,
my personal Chilcotin Holidays guide business cards, several of my proudly
earned Chilcotin Holidays "this is to certify..." awards and this
note I had written that I would now like to share with you, almost a decade
since I left the ranch. I hope you can appreciate these words. (I have not
edited it, just thought it is more authentic exactly how I originally wrote
it.)
"I feel happy yet sad at the
same time. I want to be here and there at the same time. I feel equipped, yet
unequipped. My name is Robin. I have hurt others and have been hurt by others.
I want to ameliorate. But how? I loved my wilderness guide job yet didn't feel
100% satisfied with it. I really grew throughout the 2005 season. I went from
kitchen helper/cleaning girl to lead guide. I know the Eldorado area well now.
Just thinking about that vast place brings tears to my eyes. I can't imagine
not knowing it. And so many people don't. Like I hadn't, they have no clue that
such a place exists. A place that takes only 7 hours to get to by horse. A
place where you can be you. This is the place where I have watched a lone wolf
traverse across the meadow, 53 mountain goats sunbathe on an ice pack, a mother
grizzly and 3 cubs play, undisturbed by my presence. I am only 18 years old and
my job includes guiding a group of foreign tourists through the wilderness,
past the wildlife and into a whole new world. With bear spray around my waist
and a 12 gauge in the scabbard, I am safe. I fear not the animals, nor the
weather, nor people. I watch the stars poke through the dark sky as I stoke the
fire. Horses jingle as they hobble around, feeding on the lush vegetation
surrounding the solitude camp. This is my home and it makes me free. Thank you
Chilcotin Holidays for giving me this awesome opportunity to grow and explore.
I have learned a lot, yet have just begun on the long and beautiful
journey that lies before me. "
After writing this piece I returned
to the ranch for my final season of guiding and then went on to take an equine
training program through NAIT in Alberta. After completing that I worked as an
assistant to a show jumping trainer/owner in central Alberta. After gaining my
balance in an English saddle I went back into the Western world and managed an
equine operation in northern Alberta. There, I maintained high end reigning
horses and helped with the breeding and boarding operation. After deciding that
I was ready to leave the cold winter work and get a desk job, I found a job in
the private insurance sector and became an insurance broker. I am now married
and have 2 children aged 4 and
I live in Quesnel BC again, my home
town. I often wonder when I'll go back to revisit those gorgeous
Chilcotin mountains (on my own horse!).
Well that got lengthy, but I think
it was time I made known my gratitude for what I was given; the chance to
experience true wilderness. Hope things are going well back at the Ranch and
you have a great 2017 season.
Robin British Columbia, Canada.
