Conquer the Woods
To Do: Take on the rugged B.C. backcountry with the help of a Chilcotin pro mountain biking tour company (bonus: enjoy a scenic float plane tour along the way).
is veiny with pack trails worn down by gold miners hauling in supplies and hauling out their bounty. In the Spruce Lake Protected Area, about 150 kilometres north of Whistler, the gold in the hills is now the trails themselves. The owing, world- class singletrack yields epic days spent biking, hiking or horseback riding through God’s country: think alpine and sub-alpine meadows, copper-rich red rock slopes, glacial green lakes and sweeping vistas of mountains. So even if you like to earn your turns, a little boost from a oat plane is welcome— especially if you’d like to get deep into the backcountry on a multi- day trip. Enter Tyax Adventures, Canada’s only oatplanesupported mountain biking company. Founded by former National Veteran Cross- Country champion Dale Douglas, the company has a ’65 de Havilland Beaver to airlift 1,100 pounds of riders, gear and bikes up into pedalling nirvana.