Day Five - Coal River, BC

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Today was the first opportunity to actually sleep in. We didn't have to get up and get on the road to the next destination, we were already there. It was pretty nice. When Mike returned from taking Charlie on his morning walk he told me the sun was actually normal looking. It wasn't a fuzzy orange orb in the sky. The smoke had cleared somewhat and you could almost see a few patches of blue if you squinted hard enough and used a little imagination. By the time I dragged myself out of bed, everything was as it was the last time I'd looked up.

Mike and Dave went to the park's restaurant for breakfast. Teri and I were invited, but turned it down and opted for a more gradual start to the day. According to the guys the food was good and the staff friendly. Their waiter, Sean, was from Scotland and this was his first season at the park. I wish I had forced myself out of bed! Dave apparently had difficulty understanding the accent, Mike translated after Sean left their table.

Shortly after noon, Charlie and Vinny's Kongs were filled with treats and the pups were settled in their respective trailers for the next few hours. The four of us headed out to our first planned activity on our itinerary: soaking in the Liard River Hot Springs. Liard River Hot Springs is the second largest hot spring in Canada, but the largest natural hot spring.

Not long after we left the campground we spotted the first of two bears grazing near the road. Five or ten minutes later we saw the second bear. They each looked young and I am guessing both males as they were alone. I should probably do a little research on black and brown bears so I can stop guessing at what I'm seeing. One of these days one of us will actually get a picture of a bear so you can see proof I'm not just making things up. Then maybe one of you out there in Blog Reader Land can tell me just how far off I am in all my assumptions! Also on our way to the hot springs we came upon a very small group of buffalo. Driver Dave slowed enough so we could see them easily, but didn't stop for pictures. I think we all took enough pictures yesterday to fill that quota.

As we continued east the smoke became thicker and thicker until we could barely see maybe a quarter mile. We were afraid the smoke would thwart our plans. A quick survey was taken: If the smoke is this bad at the hot springs, what do you want to do? One would prefer to turn around and head back, one didn't really commit one way or the other and two said they wanted to at least stick their feet in to be able to say they'd done it. We kept driving, hoping for the best. We were relieved when the smoke dissipated enough to make each of us comfortable with going through with the original plan.

Arriving at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park, we paid the $5 per person day use fee and found a place to park. The hot springs are located 700m (less than 1/2 mile) into the park and are accessed via a well-maintained boardwalk. As you make your way to the pool you pass through a warm water swamp and lush forest. In the swamp I spotted a school of small, light colored fish called Lake Chub (a type of minnow). This particular species of Lake Chub has adapted to live in the warm water. When you reach the springs there are two fairly big changing rooms. Mike and I both wore our swimsuits underneath our clothes so we went straight through to the pool deck. Outside the changing rooms there are cubbies, benches and a wide shelf that runs atop the benches where you can store your belongings. The pool deck has three levels. The upper deck is the main deck and contains the changing rooms, cubbies, and benches. The middle level is much narrower and provides seating for those who want to dangle their feet in the water or take a break from the natural hot tub. The lower level is identical to the middle, but is submerged. There are two pools: an upper pool in front of you as you pass between the changing rooms and a lower pool to the left. The pool of clear blue water are separated by a spillway and each has stairs leading down into the water. The upper pool is hotter as the pools are fed from a spring to the right. The lower pool is cooler and extends to the left around corners into the undergrowth of the forest. The pool floors are covered with mostly smooth, round stones that give your feet a gentle massage as you walk. Occasionally the middle of your foot will find a nice pointy one! Or maybe those were twigs that made their way into, or stirred up from, the sediment below. Down the center of each pool is at least one long rectangular stone slab sunk into the silt that provides additional seating. At the mouth of the pool are three or four cairns, pyramids of stones. Tradition states that first-time visitors to the pools add a rock to the stack. Easy enough, there are lots of stones to choose from right under your feet! Well, that's easier said than done. As I wrote earlier, the cairns are at the mouth of the hot spring. It's not called a hot spring for nothing. According to the BC Parks website the water temperatures range from 42°C to 52°C (107.6°F - 125.6°F). The cairns were sitting at the far edge of the 125° part of the pool!

After we found a suitable spot on one of the upper benches for our towels and clothes, we ventured down the main set of stairs into the warmer-than-bathtub water. It didn't take long for me to become comfortable with the temperature. Dave found a spot on the lower bench and struck up a conversation with the couple seated nearby. Mike stood facing Dave and the couple and joined the chat. Teri discovered the water was warmer than her body would tolerate and sat on the middle level and swung her feet ankle deep in the water. I made my way in and crouched in the super warm goodness near Mike and chatted with Teri. I had my phone with me and started snapping pictures.

As I walked throughout the pool I found cooler spots and hotter spots. The water toward your feet was cooler as was the water toward the far edge where mountain rivulets found their way through the forest floor and trickled at last into the pool of much warmer water. The closer to the spring you got, the harder it was to find a cool spot. Some of the hot spots were nearly unbearable! While I was wandering around the warmer end of the upper pool an older teen made her way, rock in hand, toward the cairns. Veterans of the hot pools were offering advice and encouragement as she slowly progressed. The biggest piece of advice offered was to keep stirring up the cooler water from the bottom. She took their advice, but would stop now and then, presumably to acclimate to the hotter water. She eventually made her way to within about ten feet of the larger, center cairn, stopped and tossed her rock onto the pile. She was congratulated by those who had cheered her on. As she made her way back to her parents she said the water got too hot for her.

Another woman, about my age, made her way to the far left cairn. The path she chose was as close to the far edge of the pool as possible. She was good-naturedly chided for "cheating" as the water there was somewhat more tolerable. Somewhat.

Dave and I both decided we would add our own rocks to the growing tower. Near where I was standing I found a nice piece of tufa, a lumpy rock formed when leaves and whatever else is on the surface of a deposit of calcium carbonate gets covered in layers of sediment. It looks a lot like pumice, but with bigger holes. This would be my contribution. With my rock in my left hand and my phone in my right it was now my turn to make my way to the hottest part of the pool. I remembered what I had learned earlier about the cooler water at the bottom and the advice my predecessor was given. I worked my way to the hottest point I could tolerate, then bent over and began waving my left arm back and forth in front of my legs. I waved until I had cycled up enough "cold" water to make the area I was standing in tolerable and took a step or two forward. The closer I got to my destination, the harder it was and longer it took to make the water bearable again. The water was getting more shallow, which meant there was less of the much needed cooler water. At last I made it to the slippery rocks at the base of the main cairn. I reached out my hand, poised in front of where I would place it, and quickly snapped a picture. After adding my rock I turned and made my way back as quickly as possible, being careful not to fall. My phone can supposedly be submerged in water, but I didn't want to risk it. Dave added his rock later. I think I was in the lower pool when he made his journey through the scalding water and he didn't take a picture, so did he really do it?

When I returned to the cooler end of the upper pool I saw Mike and Teri in the lower pool, so climbed the stairs out and descended the next set of stairs into the lower, cooler pool. Even though it was the cooler of the two pools, it was quite comfortable. Mike and Teri were getting the rundown of a family fishing trip in Alaska from a young man about 10 years old. He and his family caught several halibut, pink salmon, cod and rockfish. The boy's mother said after they processed the fish, they froze it, kept some of it and shipped the rest home. That's a great idea. We'll have to keep that in mind.

I was curious to see how far the lower pool extended. I suggested an exploration to Teri and she was up for it. The lower pool is narrower than the upper pool and becomes increasingly more narrow the further into the forest you go. The forest floor is high above the water level, but if you were to stand up it may only be a little higher than your head. I wouldn't know because I was crouched down in the water the whole time. The pool meandered left and right, under roots and fallen trees, becoming more shallow until came to a dead-end. There, in the very shallow water, my knees nearly to my chest in order to stay mostly underwater, was a school of Lake Chub! These fish were larger than the ones I saw in the marsh on the way in. They seemed to be accustomed to visitors. They didn't flee to safer waters the moment we arrived. The school would swim from one side of me to the other if I moved to quickly for their liking. It was very serene and calming in the flora-created grotto. Sadly, we couldn't stay there all day, so we made our way back to the main part of the lower pool.

As I described earlier, the two pools are separated by a spillway. It's actually two spillways side-by-side. Teri had seen people sit at the base and let the water cascade onto their back and shoulders, essentially giving them a mineral bath massage. We both tried it and boy, did it feel good!

The boardwalk didn't end at the hot springs. It continued around the end of the upper pool, through the forest, up two flights of stairs to a viewing platform at what is called the Hanging Gardens. The name is misleading. There are no hanging plants or hanging anything. It's the hillside above the pools that has natural steppes covered in a variety of plants that wouldn't normally grow there. The warm climate created by the hot springs makes the environment perfect for algae, mosses and wildflowers. The highlight of the area is the small waterfall cascading down through grasses and flowers, likely creating some of the rivulets that drip into the pools below. Mike and I dried ourselves and made the trek up to the garden.

Upon our return we all decided we should head back to camp. The puppers would be hungry and in need of a walk. On the return trip we saw several cars pulled to the side of the road. Dave slowed, knowing there was a wildlife sighting ahead. As we neared, we recognized the buffalo herd we passed earlier. By this point, I think we're looking forward to seeing something new, although it was pretty darned cute watching a couple calves running alongside an older buffalo leaving one group to join the other a little farther up. Oh, in the day use parking lot at the hot springs there was a small travel trailer that had been converted to an information and visitors center. Inside were pamphlets including a bookmark-sized one that had information about the endangered Wood Bison. These animals I have been referring to as buffaloes are actually Wood Bison. So now when I see them and talk about them I need to remember to call them bison. I also have to stop singing "Guy on a buffalo-o-o-o. Look it up: Guy on a Buffalo. There are 4 episodes. If I try to add a link to the Youtube video the TravelBlog folks will take it down.

Meanwhile back at the ranch ... we arrive back at camp and rescue our respective dogs. Mike and I took Charlie for a walk in the field behind the restaurant. As we made our way toward the field, one of the new arrivals was getting their campsite set up. The woman looks at us and we at them and at nearly the same time she and I ask, "Didn't I just see you at the hot springs?" Can confirm. In the back forty there is sun-dried evidence of BISON having been there sometime long before we checked in. Charlie is enjoying being out of the trailer and able to stretch his legs with a bit of exercise. As we get into the taller grass more and more grasshoppers jump to flee from Charlie. Being the terrier he is, he takes note of this and begins to chase them, pounce on them, try to trap them between his paws, or snatch them in mid-flight with a snap of his jaws. All to no avail. It's a good thing he has a Mommy and Daddy who feed him yummy food and treats he only has to sit for.

Dinner this evening was a bison bacon cheeseburger at the restaurant. Mike and I both had them. Dave ordered his bison burger with mushrooms and Swiss. The woman who waited on us was very friendly and conversed with us while we waited for our food. Dave asked about the large metal building behind which the RV park is located. She explained that the owner has big plans for the property. The metal building will eventually house a bowling alley, movie theater, more lodging space and a couple other things I don't remember. Looking at the size of the building I would imagine the bowling alley and movie theater will be quite small. The owner has 4 other properties in addition to this one. Given the size of the lot, he could expand it all and really make this a go-to lodging choice. I hope he's able to follow through. While we were there Sean stopped in to fill his water bottle. Teri and I were in the gift shop corner of the room looking over the offerings. I heard the Scottish accent and had to go back to the table to listen in as he talked with Mike and Dave. Yeah, I could listen to that all day.

And on that note, I'm going to upload some pictures, post this and go to bed. Tomorrow we head to Watson Lake.

Thanks for reading. See you soon.

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