Chapter 6

We had a kiss and cuddle before we both fell asleep. My bladder woke me at around four o’clock in the morning. As I used the toilet I decided to head back to my cabin before first light.

Sherri woke as I walked back into the bedroom,

“Hey, you,” she said with a smile that lit up the room.

“Good morning Gorgeous” I replied then I knelt in the bed and kissed her gently on the lips.

“I take it you are leaving me?” she said with mock anger.

“I thought it was better to leave before first light, just in case anyone is around,” I told her. I was sure that the other cabins were still empty, but it was not worth risking getting caught. It wouldn’t bother me but for a married TV celeb, it was another story.

“that’s a good idea,” she said and kissed me.

I dressed and kissed her again before leaving.

Once I was back at my own cabin, I made a coffee and changed into my walking gear. I had some breakfast cereal and filled my water bottles ready for a day of walking. I also made some ham sandwiches for my lunch. I checked the battery levels on my digital camera and slotted in a new SD card.

I packed my rucksack and head out of the cabin, I did some stretches, checked my map and headed out along one of the tracks. An hour later and the sun was coming up and the temperature was rising. I walked high into the mountains. I walked for another two hours before I came to a natural stopping place. I drank some water and had a sandwich. It was a great day in the mountains. The fresh air and the sun made it better. I rested for half an hour before checking my map and then continuing my walk.

I had stripped off a couple of layers and was now walking in shorts and a t-shirt. A t-shit that was plastered to me, and the sweat was oozing out of me. My boots were covered in trail dust.

I did not meet many other walkers; I think I met three all day. We exchanged nods and hellos.

The sound of wildlife seemed to be all around me. At one point I stopped a watched as two Golden Eagles soared high in the sky, they would be looking for some sort of prey I guessed. I had been told that bald eagles were nesting in the area but I didn’t see any on that walk.

I walked on through the sunny afternoon; sweat was rolling down my back and I had to mop my brow every half an hour. I walked up to boundary bay and gazed across the border into America.

I then walked along the border and across the lower slope of Mount Richards. I stopped and ate lunch in a shady stand of trees next to a babbling brook. It was an ideal stopping place.

Ham butties and a bottle of water always taste so much better when you are sitting in the sun on the slopes of a beautiful mountain.

When I walked in the UK, I might see the odd fox or small deer but in Canada, there was so much more to see, some big mammals as well as some great birds.

The Waterton brochures told me that mammals such as Bighorn sheep, Elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer were quite common. There was always both the excitement and the worry of seeing a bear. Black bears were more common than the much bigger and more dangerous grizzly.

I took time to get some pictures before I studied the map and head back toward the cabins. The walk back was much hard as most of it was across the slopes of mount Alderson and Mount Richards.

It was nearly seven o’clock by the time I walked into the campsite, I could see the BBQ was smoking in the pit. Sherri was on my deck. She got up and waved a bottle of beer at me as I trudged across the grassy apron that surrounded the cabins.

“Hey mountain man!” she shouted, and I waved at her. I had run out of water half an hour ago and my mouth was dry and I needed a cold drink.

I shrugged off my pack and unlaced my boots. I was covered in a sheen of sweat, and I felt grimy.

“Hello Sherri, how was your day?” I asked as I tugged off my t-shirt. It felt damp.

I saw that Sherri was checking out my chest as I used the shirt to clean off some of the sweat and dust.

“It was good, I rewrote a whole chapter, thanks to you, and then completed two more chapters.” She said with a smile and a knowing wink.

“Well, how about we eat and then we can discuss what other stuff might happen,” I said with a cheeky wink.

She stood up, looked around and then kissed me on the lips.

“Right, you go and shower,” she said and scrunched up her face, “Because you smell”.

She laughed as I pulled a sad face. But she was right a day walking in the sun left you smelling a little bit ripe, to say the least.

I headed into my cabin and drank a bottle of water from the fridge, then I headed into the bathroom, and turned the shower in to warm up as I stripped off.