House of Forbidden Desires (Steamy Short Collections)

Willmore Wilderness Park, 400 kilometers straight west of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada could not be named more appropriately. It consists of more than 1800 square miles (almost 5000 sq km) of pristine forest, mountains and streams. There are no roads other than a few service roads here and there, but there are numerous trails for both horses and hikers. There are campsites, and actually a few cabins built years ago by strangers and maintained today by the people that use them. Some folks have been known to spend most of a summer in one cabin taking day trips from it as their own private base camp. Many years ago, spending much time in a wilderness area of this intensity was a marginally risking activity. Some trails are so remote that, even today, a person may not see another human being for days. Before cell phones, before GPS devices, before walkie-talkies, breaking a leg meant enduring pain, makeshift treatment, usually by the victim, and a serious delay in seeking proper medical care. Today, the possibility of medical emergencies still exists, but rescue and treatment are much more readily available.

Today's visitors to this park are much more in tune with ecology. The idea of "Leave no trace" is a popular one and is followed by almost all visitors. In the higher elevations, the streams afford fishermen a dreamlike opportunity. Because of the remoteness of the area, it is physically impossible to carry tackle, gear, food and very many fish. Unlike the lakes of the flat-lands, over-fished by greedy selfish individuals unconcerned about limits, fishing in Willmore is superb. One can catch and release as many fish as the fisherman is talented. Catching to eat realistically means a few fish each day but certainly not enough to make a dent in the population. The result is the streams and pools of water are full of very catchable fish, and that fact has made this park a favorite for fishermen who enjoy "roughing it."

Clarke Hauser is a twenty three year old avid fisherman, rugged in appearance with coal black, wavy hair and the bluest eyes since Paul Newman. At six feet two inches and one hundred eighty pounds, he was in prime physical condition. It didn't hurt that girls thought he was the most handsome in his fraternity, either. And he was a terrific fisherman. Clarke had been spending two to three weeks every year in this park, camping along various streams and on occasion, near the pools in the flats. He preferred the streams because the sites suitable for pitching a tent were more sheltered from the occasional storms that came over the mountains without notice. He traveled with minimal gear; a sleeping bag, small tent an assortment of clothing for warm and cool weather, eating utensils and food, prepacked for campers, sufficient for three weeks. Over the many years that he had been coming to the park, first as a boy with his father, and then on his own, he had discovered a location at which he could camp and reach, within an hour's hike, three different streams, each containing several species of trout and, a little further away, a stillwater pond holding an abundance of a species not known for this region, but popular in other parts of Canada and the northern United States. This location allowed Clarke to vary his menu every day, if he so chose, without having to tear up his campsite and waste time resetting it later in the day. What is really unique about this location is that Clarke had never seen another person at any time while at any of his fishing spots, or at his campsite, never in all the years since he had discovered it.

The streams that Clarke had discovered were, for the most part, truly streams. They were not rivers, nor were they creeks as one might find flowing through a farm field in the flat-lands. They may be at the edge of an outcropping of rock, running along the base of the rock and the adjoining grassland. They may be a simple three foot wide path of water flowing across knee high grass, curving down, around, and down some more to a lower level. Sometimes Mother Nature provided a barrier and a wider area, and a natural pool formed. These pools, varying from five to twenty five feet across many times were quite deep. He continually was amazed at what fish he might catch from such a pool.