Capturing the Art of Nature
West Harrison and Sloquet Hot Springs
Over 10 years since I last saw the hot springs, so we were determined to get there despite the rough road and foot of snow.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2011
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My kids were teen-agers when I visited the Sloquet hot springs over 10 years ago. Back then we made a night of it, camping out at the site next to our truck. There were a number camping there back then, all taking turns in the improvised pools that retained the hot water. It was a fun week-end and the boys all had a good time. When Geoff and I arrived there today, we found numerous tents pitched on the snow and down at the spring there were a few enjoying the water. It brought back memories of my first visit when it was less known, today the area is a popular forestry campsite with improvements – even the pools were better constructed and larger!
Over the years I had tried a couple of times to revisit the Sloquet Springs but never quite made it. So today, despite it being late in the season, we were determined to get there. We got off to a late start as it being voting day, I had to make a stop at the polling place before setting out. Having finished with one’s civic duty we rushed out to grab a coffee and some lunch supplies and then raced to Agassiz for final refueling and a few additional food items. It was past 10:30 by the time we reached the start of the West Harrison so time was definitely ticking away quickly.
Not far up the road we encountered the first of the snow. It wasn’t deep and didn’t really slow us. We found some nice views at the first branch off the mainline and there we stopped to gather some photos before continuing on. As we had a mission, we actually passed by a number of interesting sights so that we could have sufficient time for the main goal - that was hard but necessary. At 20 mile bay we did stop and gather photos from the beach. This area is just too scenic to drive past without stopping. The lake level was way down so we were able to walk out some distance and gather some photos from a unique angle. The submerged posts and hazy distant peaks made for a wealth of opportunities. I wished I could have spent the day there but we had to get going all too soon.
Continuing north, the road was soon covered in a deeper snow layer, fortunately there was a nice set of ruts we could follow which make the drive faster despite the occasional icy spot. At the estuary of Bremer’s Creek there is a small camping area with a few unimproved camping spots. We first found this spot a few years back, back then I marveled at the views one had of the lake from the location. So today this was one spot we did take time to visit, and amazing lake views we did enjoy! It really is a lovely spot to camp at. Perhaps one I day will.
Once we were done with the small point we continued up the Harrison, it is at this point that the road gets really rough and weeds out the casual backcountry driver. It didn’t seem all that bad to us but I remembered back when we first drove it at how difficult we found it. Once past the worst of the roughness we encountered the deep stuff and were sliding a bit, the ruts helped us to stay centered. The snow kept getting deeper as we made our way deep up the Tretheway valley before crossing the creek and starting back to the lake. Once back to the lake the snow became shallower and we were soon dropping down to lake level at the end of the lake.
We had now left the West Harrison and were on the West Douglas FSR passing through an abandoned forestry camp. The odd thing here was that the road was plowed! We continued along the cleared road thinking how lucky we were. Soon we passed the new run-of-the-river power plant on Tipella Creek. It looked quite small in the face of the mountain behind it. Continuing on we soon caught up to a slow moving car which appeared to come from a side road that looked like it led to a small settlement. They pulled aside to let us pass just before our turn-off onto the Sloquet.
The Sloquet road had a foot of snow but the way was easily driven as there were nice ruts down the road here as well. It seems that the road has been kept drivable by workers manning the power lines to the generators at the far end of the valley and by the stream of campers going to the hot springs. We followed the ruts right to the camping area and the path down to the actual spring. We were both surprised to find numerous campsites set up with tents and tarps and firewood. It looked like people were here to stay awhile! After parking we made our way down the trail to the hot spring and there we found a few soaking in the biggest pool. A nice open sided cabana had been built for people to change in and hang up their clothes – far too developed for an unknown location!
After looking over the spring and pools, Geoff and I returned to the truck and we reluctantly started for home. We still hadn’t eaten lunch but Geoff didn’t want to set up his burner here so we decided to head back to the Harrison FSR and find a spot along it to stop. The drive back along the Sloquet went quite quickly as did the short section along the Douglas. Heading up the initial climb of the Harrison went quickly as well and soon we came by a spot with a nice view of the lake where we stopped for a few minutes to gather some photos. By now the snow was getting too deep to set up a burner so we continued on across the Tretheway again. Just passed the bridge over the creek we encountered a convoy of 4x4’s heading north a total of 6 vehicles were making their way together, likely for the hot springs. Once they had passed, we got back on the road and continued south. It was now less than an hour to sunset so we had to find a spot to set up soon.
We eventually reached the small point with the campsites that we stopped at on the way in and here we picked a spot and setup our burner for some hot soup and tea. I was able to get a few shots of the peaks to the east as the final rays of sun hit them. Unfortunately as the light faded, the wind picked up and we were now getting very cold very fast. At least the truck was warm and once done with eating we started off for home. The light was now rapidly fading and we wanted to get passed the roughest road before dark so we plowed on and soon were onto easier road where we stopped so I could make a radio call to Carolyn at home. Out here moving the truck a few inches can make or break a connection, so it took a few back-and-forth moves to find the sweet spot. Done with calling home we continued on and soon were passing 20 mile bay and the Mystery Creek branch where the road was now better serviced. The balance of the road though dark was an easy drive and we made good time getting back to pavement. The rest of the drive went without incident and we arrived at home just past 7pm. It was a long drive over some challenging conditions but we had a great time, saw some old sites and I was able to collect a number of great photos.