2005/07 Alaska and Back Again - Liard Hot Springs |
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Saturday August 6th
In the morning we explored the cliffs around Whirlpool Canyon and then set off for Liard Hot Springs, forty miles south. The hot springs provide enough warmth that plants from further south can thrive and survive the otherwise cold winters. This led to tall tales of a “tropical valley” hidden in the mountains.
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Alaska Highway (Liard Hot Springs) |
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Because they are in a provincial park the springs have been left largely natural rather than converted into concrete swimming pools as they have been in so many other places in BC. There is a boardwalk along the pools, which get steadily cooler the further you are from the alpha pool, so you can choose the temperature that suits you. Most people start in the third 
pool which is at bathtub temperature and work their way upstream into the hotter water.
The exciting part is that hot water comes through the sand under your feet, so a few inches can make an enormous difference. We all went in, but only the real nuts make it up to the alpha pool, which is at 53C nearly 130F. Edna and I got close enough to be able to put a pebble on the pool’s rocks, by which time we were both a pretty pink.