Solitude at Skook? Mar 27

This trip was originally supposed to go to Keyhole Hot Spring just before the Authorities invoked the bear closure on April 01, but Josi had to fit in a trip to Oregon before she flies back to Germany on the third, so we figured we’d better do a hot spring trip, like, right now. Filling the car with people for a spontaneous mid-week trip is very difficult, so in the end there was only Josi and myself, and we decided that Keyhole was too much work for such a small party.

The road was in excellent shape, no snow anywhere, and by the time we got to Whistler the rain had stopped and patches of blue sky were blowing through. The drive up was uneventful; we spent the usual half hour getting acclimatised in Macdonalds Pemberton , and we didn’t destroy any tires on the 2 hours of potholed dirt road.

Skook is easy to get to, no hiking, no snow, car camping, so it’s popular. When we got there Tuesday there were three groups of First Nations kids, celebrating the Easter Holiday, plus a group of high alcohol people in the “social” pool. The dress code was being followed, so fortunately we brought swim attire, plus way too much warm clothes, towels, etc., and I had my bathrobe. There were a lot of signs saying things like NO alcohol, tobacco, drugs, dogs, or glass in the pools. Also “this is a spiritual place and would you drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes in a church?”. No comments about naked people in the church; depends on which church, I guess. Now some people (like Josi) find their favorite pool and just stay in it, while others (like me) are constantly flitting from pool to pool, getting too hot, not hot enough, waterlogged, no interesting people, etc. Eventually it got dark which is when the “clothing optional” part usually happens, but we were tired so we just retired to the tent. I woke up and it seemed to be very light out. My watch said midnight; the moon was very bright.

We got up around 6:30am. Josi fell asleep in one of the pools, and while she was sleeping, a red squirrel visited her and took her apple core. Some stellar jays were picking up abandoned aluminum tea-lights and flying away with them. We wondered if they ate wax, but decided the shiny metal might have been part of their mating ritual. There was nobody else in any of the pools until 9am, so if you want solitude, get up early, and avoid weekends.

On the drive home we stopped by Lillooet Lake to fly Josi’s drone and take scenery pictures. There was nobody else there to annoy with the drone; the drone complained that its batteries were cold but Josi warmed them in her pants. She said warming the batteries reminded her of a chicken incubating an egg. Mount Currie, with snow, was gorgeous.

Regrets: Not bringing Crocs or flip-flops. Not spending more time talking with the First Nations people.