Extreme Frontiers: Racing Across Canada from Newfoundland to the Rockies (21 page)

My teammates … the ones who skated rings around me.

Canoeing on the Bloodvein River in Manitoba was definitely more
Deliverance
than
Hawaii Five-O
.

Failing to pass muster as a cadet with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They must have been shining those shoes all night!

On the firing range with the Mounties. All police officers in Canada carry guns, although gun crime is much lower than it
is in the United States.

With Jay at the Atlas No. 3 mine near Drumheller in Alberta. I was happy to be up in the fresh air after the confined spaces
of the coal mine.

Working up to a full head of steam on board Linda, the engine used to bring the coal out from the mine.

I loved finding out about the dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller. This was serious scientific
stuff, but of course I found the time to mess around.

With cowgirl Kateri Cowley at the Rafter Six Ranch in Alberta.

Kateri rode her horse bareback better than I did with a saddle, but I didn’t do too badly in the training corral. At least
until we started the rope work …

Riding through the Canadian wilderness with Kateri is an experience I’ll never forget – I felt like a real cowboy.

The Rocky Mountains were a frontier we had to explore, but even with our expert guide Barry Blanchard to help us, the climb
was one of the most challenging things we did on the trip.

Still a long way to go. Barry and I assess the route ahead.

We made it! Team Extreme Frontiers at the top of Mount Fable, nearly three thousand metres up.