Claudia Koecher, who came from Germany to ATV, found these bridges to be very cute.

Last summer, Claudia Koecher, a woman from Ladbergen, Germany, came to Canada on a wilderness vacation. She stayed at a cabin at Mica Mountain Lodge in Valemount and toured with Mount Robson ATV Tours. Juergen Vogelpohl, the bilingual guide for the trip, assessed the group’s riding level and familiarized them with the ATVs.

They started off slowly, driving on a logging road alongside a creek. The riders enjoyed mountain views and even saw a porcupine. The group then hiked down to a beautiful waterfall with many pools.

“I would have never discovered that myself,” said Koecher. “We stopped for lunch and listened to the sound of the water.”

Finding a special souvenir

“We stopped at a beaver dam and saw a beaver,” said Koecher, who had only ever seen a beaver in a zoo. “I picked up one of the little chewed pieces (of wood) and took it home for a souvenir.”

Koecher still proudly displays the beaver-chewed wood in her living room. Near the end of the ride they went on a more challenging trail to a lookout.

“I got an all-around view. It was the most amazing thing ever,” Koecher said. At the end of the day, Koecher returned to her cabin, sat under the stars and gazed into the fire with her friendly hosts.