This past weekend my family and I had an amazing adventure. We set off to find some secret hot springs in the mountains around where we live. I'm not going to let on where the hot springs are, part of the fun is discovering them for yourself - and it keeps the number of people on the trail to a manageable number.
The first part of our adventure was plagued with mis-adventure. We couldn't find the trail head. Not only is it not marked, but it turns out it was completely overgrown. Rather than wait for someone to help us out - we decided just to push our way through the bush in the direction of 'up'. I thought, eventually we'll find a trail head. I was so wrong. The best we could do is find a dry creek bed, which acted as a 'trail' for the lower half of the hike to get us above the tree line. From there we were able to scramble up the wrong side of the bowl to get us to the ridge.
Even though it was tough going, we picked the perfect day, not too hot....and not too windy. The whole way I was thinking...I'm glad it's not raining.
After a few hours of scrambly hiking we finally made it to the ridge of the mountain. The views were incredible - even if the area was covered in smoke from the fires in BC. Climbing down from the peak of the mountain we crossed over the ridge again and almost started our descent. Thankfully we ran into another small group of hikers who pointed us in the right direction for the hot springs. They also said they over shot it - so clearly we're not alone in getting lost :)
The hot springs are made up of 3 small pools, big enough to fit about 3 people each at a squeeze. It's not big and it's hard to get to - but maybe it's better that way. It would be amazing coming up here for sunrise!
After 8 Km and 1200 meters (4000ft) of elevation we were pretty tired and the hot spring was a great way to rest our weary legs.
They way down was much quicker....we actually had a trail. I love that there are still adventures to have in the mountains around here. You'll have to DYOR if you're going to find the springs...but you'll be glad you did :) There's not many places that aren't tourist traps anymore...I hope this one stays a secret for a little while longer.