Golden British Columbia - Whitewater rafting is one of those thrilling endeavours that can only be enjoyed in the warmer summer months in Canada.
 
But in Golden a rafting outfitter is having problems with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP).
 
It all began almost a year ago, when Transport Canada (TC) noticed people crossing the railway track to get to the rafting location.
 
The government department ordered CP to deal with the problem.
 
CP quickly blocked the access that allowed rafters to cross the railway tracks that lead to the lower canyon area of the Kicking Horse River.
 
The iconic location is a major draw and is widely considered the jewel of the area's whitewater rafting industry.
 
We obviously made a big fuss about it," Ryan Johannesen, co-owner of the Glacier Raft Company told CBC's national reporter, Carolyn Dunn.
 
He said all levels of government came together with most of the town of Golden to protest CP's decision.
 
"We got the whole town involved, worldwide river enthusiasts from all over were signing petitions, writing letters. It was really noisy."
 
The Member of the Legislative Assembly for the area, Norm Macdonald, said the people of Golden are feeling betrayed, "I mean Canadian Pacific crosses this country and if you can't cross the track, you're dividing this country in a way that's really unreasonable."
 
In April, a comprimise had been reached with CP agreeing to allow pedestrians to cross the tracks this season providing there was a flagger to guarantee safety.
 
The province even promised to contribute $250,000 to cover costs, including the salaries of flaggers.
 
But, just days before the opening weekend of the rafting season, it was discovered CP had installed a locked gate at the access point.
 
"It was a bunch of lies at that meeting." Johannesen said.
 
According to CP, there is an outstanding issue, concerning liability for a "risky pedestrian access."
 
CP says, "the province has stated it is unwilling to assume full liability."
 
Macdonald, says the subject of provincial liability was never raised at the public meeting whem CP agreed to continued access, let alone a half billion dollars of liability coverage he says the railway is now asking the province to assume.
 
"It feels more like it's an inconvenience to CP, they don't want to do it, so they're not going to do it." Macdonald says.
 
Meanwhile Golden is suffering.
 
Nearly two months into the rafting season, the effect of the locked gate is immense.
 
Usually about 15,000 people arrive with the goal of rafting down the lower canyon of the Kicking Horse River each year.
 
They end the challenging rapids by flowing gently through Golden's downtown core, where the town would be full of rafters and spectators watching the end of the adventure from the shore in town.
 
This past holiday weekend, however, two of the rafting companies added an optional helicopter leg that will drop rafters and rafts, for an extra fee at the entrance of the lower canyon.
 
"Once we kind of came to terms with the fact that CP is going to stand there with their arms crossed, we realized we had to look outside the box a little bit," Johannesen said.
 
Heli-tours to the lower canyon are not a long-term solution.
 
They can fix the problem for a season or two.
 
In recognition of the value of whitewater rafting to the local economy, the province of British Columbia committed $45,000 to study the possibility of building a new access point that doesn't cross the tracks.
 
Macdonald, an Opposition NDP MLA, credits the provincial Liberal government with helping to solve the problem.
 
He says, however, he thinks it all could have been avoided if the railway had wanted.
 
"CP is denying access to our river, to areas we should be entitled to," he said.
 
"If they're treating us this way, if that's how they're going to treat all communities across Canada, then there's a bigger problem."
 
Carmel Kilkenny.