Heli-Hiking in the Rockies
Originally posted by Inspired Senior Living Magazine on June 14, 2018
From the helicopter, Braeberry River and its tributaries look like a miniature model. We sweep into another valley, and I spot a red-roofed building, Mistaya Lodge, my home for the next four days.
By the time I’ve settled into my room and come back downstairs, Val, the cook, has set out goodies for me and the eight other guests to snack on while we pack a lunch from the sandwich fixings. Dave Birnie, our head guide and lodge owner (together with his wife, Cindy Galligan, who runs the base office out of nearby Golden), instructs us on how things work and what a typical day at Mistaya looks like. We joke about how to manage the composting toilet – Mistaya has virtually no environmental footprint. Toilet humour never gets old, and already group camaraderie has started.