Blazing a Trail: The joys of taking a holiday on horseback

Al Mercer is all set to hit the trail when we arrive at Circle M. He looks like a gent who will deliver the Old West experience of his website is selling: black Stetson, substantial mustache, black chaps, silver spurs clanking on his boots. He is standing draped in a heavy slicker to shed the drizzle.

Three horses, hitched to trees up by the barn, munch on hay. A big Belgian named Kane, another of Mercer’s 10 horses, looks on from behind the fence. He also has a cute miniature horse River riding surrounded by Coast Range mountains in the
Pemberton Valley (Adventure Ranch)named Gizmo in a pasture nearby.

Circle M is just minutes away from Duncan on Vancouver Island, a 20-minute drive south of Nanaimo and about 45 minutes if you’re heading north from Victoria. Mt. Prevost rises into the cloud to the north. The Cowichan Valley stretches out below.

Circle M appeals because of the landscape. There’s something about being in the woods and ascending mountain terrain on horseback that strikes us as adventurous, a descent into the past when the country was young and mysterious. Yes, the website was tricked out better than most trail ride sites in B.C., but Mercer’s attitude is as much of a selling point.

“A lot of trail rides just take you down wide, dusty tracks,” Mercer says. “A trial ride should be on a trail. Trails in the woods are a lot nicer.”

He likes dealing with small groups too. “I won’t take out a group of more than six at a time. Some will take out 12 or more and that’s just too complicated. There’s always something holding things up.”

Mercer fits the bit of a bridle into the mouth of Rustler, a tall black horse that he has picked out for me to ride. He asks me my height and then adjusts the stirrups of a 90-year-old, intricately detailed Mexican saddle. Once the office-tight hamstring of my left leg agrees to the longest stretch it’s had in a year, I find I can grab the horn of the saddle and swing myself into position with relative ease.

Rustler is famous, it turns out. You might recognize him if you’ve seen Dr. Doolittle III.

“What role did he play?” I ask as I take the reins in hand.

“I don’t know,” Mercer smiles. “He won’t talk to me.”

Mercer bought Rustler at auction after the film was made. He figures the glare of the lights affected the horse’s perspective. “He’s a little lazy and a little dreamy, so you might have to coax him a little.” Sparky, a young, wiry tan-and-white mare, is just the opposite, chomping at the bit, raring to go as soon as my wife, Kim, is up in the saddle.

Kids 3 and up can enjoy guided pony rides
at Whistler Outdoor ExperienceCasper is, quite literally, Mercer’s trusty steed—a tall and solid 25-year-old. “He’d take a bullet for me if he knew how,” Mercer says.

We slowly make our way down the road and into the bush. Nature immediately commands the senses, a stand of old-growth red cedar towering overhead. The intense copper colour and cedar perfume of trees blown down over the winter—that Mercer has recently cut and cleared from the path—is powerful.

Mercer bought the place three years ago. He followed elk trails through the forest and touched them up for trail rides, finding links to an old railbed that went down to Cowichan Lake in the 19th century, as well as various logging roads and a hydro line, to create circuits that avoid covering the same ground twice. Trail ride enthusiasts have options at Circle M—from a one-hour ride to the three-hour journey that we’re on now, going halfway up Mt. Prevost, maybe 15 kilometres, roundtrip. A six-hour excursion sounds like the perfect August choice—the halfway mark is a swimming hole.

Soon we enter an expanse of second-growth pine, gray trunks sprouting rail-straight out of bright green salal, branchless except for the crown of needles at the end of the shaft high above. The pines create a mesmerizing effect as we pass through. Mercer says elk and black bear like to cool off here in the heat of summer, and now and then there are wolves around. On our outing we see only bush bunnies and a few blacktail deer.

We exit the woods and trot along the railbed, stopping to cross Highway 18. Steam rises from Rustler’s wet shoulders and neck. The previous half-hour could have been set in most any time period—three people on horses moving through the forest. That’s part of the appeal. We city folk head to the wilderness to get lost every now and then, leaving civilization behind. Sure, we can do that on skis or climbing ropes but something about being on horseback adds another dimension, a mythic one to those so inclined, or simply a reconnection with the human/animal bond that was formed over a millennium while we worked with them and transported ourselves by their power. It’s a bond that remains close even to the most downtown among us as it only became loosened over the past three or four generations.

Couple enjoying Whistler valley
trek (Whistler Outdoor Experience)For me, a horse ride is a reminder of a world I knew briefly, growing up on a Southern Alberta ranch in the 1970s. Kim was a regular at stables outside of Toronto as a teen. Al Mercer had horses growing up on his father’s farm in Northern Saskatchewan. For years he ran an autobody shop, and then a towing company, in Victoria. He says he decided to chuck the stress about a decade ago and saddle up again, working as a guide for big game hunters and trail riding outfits in the Chilcotin. He earned his official wilderness guiding and first-aid certification up there, then returned to the Island to stake out a new life.

We cross the blacktop and head up the base of the mountain, following the hydro lines. There is an odd contrast in the landscape: a Christmas tree farm sprouts from the rubble beneath the wires on our left, and to the right is wispy brush, long mint-hued tangles of Witches Hair lichen hanging from the branches. For a half-hour or so we make our way up, connecting with a logging road, climbing the side of the mountain, the valley below gradually exposed. On a clear day we would be able to see out to the Strait of Georgia and, across the valley, to Circle M, where we began our journey.

We duck back into the woods and begin our descent through second-growth. This time the forest isn’t managed; it’s the natural confusion of branches sprouting from stumps, a wide array of undergrowth and young trees, a lot of maple, beginning to bud.

After crossing the highway again, I notice Rustler has developed a limp. Mercer dismounts and pulls a steel hoof pick out of his jacket pocket. He lifts up Rustler’s front left hoof and pops out a pebble trapped between the horseshoe and hoof. Rustler still favours it, so I dismount and lead him up the driveway to the barn, convinced he wasn’t just acting.

Kim and I change out of wet clothes, shake Mercer’s hand and make plans to return at the height of summer for another ride and a plunge in the swimmin’ hole. Warming up in the car on the way back to Nanaimo, still feeling the buzz of the ride and the forest oxygen, we note that we shouldn’t let a little weather get in the way of a little bit of adventure. No reason we couldn’t have been on the trail back in January.

Adventure Ranch in the Pemberton Valley features everything from pony rides to
mountain-studded trail rides (Adventure Ranch)

Over margaritas and fish tacos at Gina’s Mexican Café in Nanaimo, we consider the list of other trail riding options within a short flight or drive of our home in Vancouver.

A ride with views of the San Juan and Gulf Islands is definitely a draw. Woodgate Stables (www.woodgatestables.com, 250.652.0287) in the village of Saanichton, just outside Victoria, is the place to go. They do day and overnight trips, offer both English and Western riding lessons and cater to young ’uns with pony rides and birthday parties as well. Alpine Stables at Cobble Hill, also 45 minutes north of Victoria, is another recommended spot on Vancouver Island (www.alpinestable.com, 250.743.6641). They offer trail rides of one to three-and-a-half hours, including the Spectacular Summit Ride with stunning ocean and valley views, and the Famous Rock Quarry Ride around an old limestone quarry now filled with fresh water.

There’s no shortage of options near Langley with the concentration of stables there, such as Glen Valley Stables (www.glenvalleystables.com, 604.888.5516). Operated by rodeo pros Gene and Carol Park, this is a fine option for lessons whether you’re a first-timer or if you want to finesse your barrel-racing technique. There are one and two-hour trail rides on offer as well. Particularly appealing is Snass Mountain Outfitters’ (604.856.5477) offer of a three-day trip in Manning Park. It would be amazing to go up as the meadow flowers bloom there in the spring.

Al Mercer’s trusty steed Caspar at the swimming
hole (both by Al Mercer)Up at Whistler the most compelling choice is the Ghost Town Ride offered by Whistler Outdoor Experience (www.whistleroutdoor.com, 604.932.3389), which takes you along the ridge high above Green Lake and out to Parkhurst, the original settlement in the area. The Pemberton area an hour north is even more picturesque in summer, and outfits like Adventure Ranch (604.932.5078, www.adventureranch.net) offer two-hour rides along the rivers rushing from the mountains and into the rainforest.

Circle M Trail Rides can be found on the web at www.circlemtrailrides.com or call Al at 250.246.8040.

Most trail riding averages about $30/hour and goes up to $50. For more information on trail riding far and wide, check out www.horse-riding.net