Mountain Do

Down to the River

Horses have never been known to commit suicide, have they? That's what I'm thinking as we ride just a few feet from a cliff that towers at least 100 feet above the Bow River. None of the horses had shown any signs of depression as we left the Kananaskis Guest Ranch, and now they're walking calmly. I soon forget my apprehensions and lose myself in the beauty of the landscape. The river below, famous for harboring trophy-size trout, is an alluring milky blue, surrounded by tall evergreens.

When I booked this ride before leaving home, I worried that I was making a mistake; maybe I should have gone all the way into Banff National Park to ride. Millions of people from around the world head straight to Banff. This area, just 45 minutes from Calgary, is popular with locals, but maybe they just don't want to travel the extra distance to the park.

But now I'm congratulating myself. We wind along the river, then trot up the side of a mountain into a broad grassy meadow. The trail leader announces that "Brokeback Mountain" was filmed here. If you've seen the movie, you know how beautiful and peaceful the landscape is.

A short distance away, I settle into the Rafter Six guest ranch, where I'll spend the night. After tucking into a huge lunch, I walk a few yards to the barn and volunteer to groom horses. The place is a find. I soon meet owner Stan Crowley, who tells me the ranch was a remount center for the Canadian Mounties in the 1800s, and before that, an outfitters post.

The walls of a lounge area in the log lodge are covered with autographed pictures of some of the luminaries who have stayed here. So many Disney films were shot here, beginning in the 1940s, that the former owners built a cabin just for Walt.

Scenes from the Marilyn Monroe movie "River of No Return" were also shot here. At the other end of the movie spectrum: "How the West Was Fun," starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. In between, dozens of movies and TV shows have used the ranch as a backdrop. Other guests have included Paul Newman, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and Kevin Costner.

Next morning I tug on a wet suit for what turns out to be the best rafting trip I've ever taken. Why? In part, the wild enthusiasm of the young guides, in part the scenery, in part the rush of being splashed by ice-cold water that, given the heat of the sun, felt great. But most of all, it was the free rafting. That's a name I made up: It involves getting out of the raft and riding the rapids on our backs, feet forward, with a promise that we'd be helped out of the water when the rapids pooled.

In short, in your rush to Banff and the sites that draw tourists from around the world, don't pass by Kananaskis Country too quickly.

Into the Canyon

Since it sits in the midst of a national park, I was expecting the town of Banff to be somewhat rustic. Surprise. Instead I find a busy center of chic stores and restaurants, and low-rise lodgings and museums. The Whyte Museum houses a huge collection of art and artifacts relating to the Canadian Rockies. There's also a national park museum, restored in 1985 for the park's 100th anniversary, a museum of natural history and a museum of Plains Indians.

I'm something of a nature purist, but I enjoyed spending a day strolling around this clean, mountain town, developed with the tourist in mind but without being tacky.

That evening, I drive outside town to visit the hot springs. The place has a fascinating history, but I'm somewhat disappointed that the steaming water is held in a large but ordinary swimming pool, and the view is blocked on two sides by a bathhouse that is akin to a YMCA. If I were in charge of developing another attraction in the Canadian Rockies, I'd move the bathhouse out of sight and build a natural, Japanese-style outdoor bath.

Next morning, as I drive north along the Bow Valley Parkway in a rush to reach famed Lake Louise (about 30 miles from downtown Banff), I almost decide to pass by Johnston Canyon. I'm glad I didn't.