Darrell and Nola Kit are motorsports enthusiasts from High Prairie, Alberta, and they have four children: Brody, 4; Brielle, 6; Kadin, 8; and Deklan, 9. The Kits enjoy ATVing as a family near their home in High Prairie, and they also like to see new areas. Over the years, the family has gone ATVing in Tumbler Ridge, Kakwa Provincial Park and elsewhere in B.C. and Alberta. In August 2011, they decided to check out Valemount, B.C.
Mountain magic
On their first day in Valemount, the Kits joined up with Curtis Pawliuk, who is general manager of Valemount Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA), and they went for a ride on Canoe Mountain. According to Pawliuk, Canoe Mountain is Valemount’s crown jewel of ATVing areas; Darrell said the view from the top of the mountain is beautiful.
“You could see Mount Robson from there,” said Darrell. “It was pretty spectacular, to say the least.”
The next day, the Kits spent some time at Kinbasket Lake, and on the third day of their Valemount visit, they headed out to explore the Westridge Family Loop trail—which is west of Valemount—on their ATVs. Darrell said it took them approximately seven hours to ride the 22-kilometre loop, which they were able to access directly from their campsite at Canoe Mountain Campground.
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Darrell and Nola were so captivated by the beauty of Valemount’s backcountry that they decided to arrange for an extra day off work the following day so that they could go for another ride on Canoe Mountain.
“It was plus 30 (degrees) and we had to go up again,” Darrell said.
The Kit family is planning to visit Valemount again this year. For them, it is the ideal destination to spend quality time together and do what they love.
“For holidays, we aren’t pack-up-the-suitcases-and-hop-on-a-plane kind of people,” said Darrell. “We just like going five or six hours away and riding the sleds or the quads.
“It’s the bonding time."
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