The road chose me

During my previous trip to the area with Mark, we tried to find the much rumored August Jacob’s Hot Spring. The spring is supposedly on Frank Creek, which is the only direction given. Our bushwhacking was futile against the high water in the creek and dense foliage surrounding it, so we gave up in less than two hours.

One sentence in Glenn Woodsworth’s Hot Springs of Western Canada seems to attract those keen for a hunt:

Recently rediscovered by hikers, but I don’t have details.

During my previous trip to the area with Mark, we tried to find the much rumored August Jacob’s Hot Spring. The spring is supposedly on Frank Creek, which is the only direction given. Our bushwhacking was futile against the high water in the creek and dense foliage surrounding it, so we gave up in less than two hours.

So the spring exists, the only question is finding it. Because of my recent success finding Deer River and Portage Brûlé Hot Spring, a very knowledgeable person shared information with me about the location of the spring.

Ever on the trail for more hot springs, Mike and I camp at Skookumchuck Hot Spring and enjoy many hours of soaking long into the starry night. (Not) early the next morning we drive out to the starting point and begin our hike, not knowing at all what to expect. Borrowing a GPS seemed like a good idea, although we quickly find it useless in the very dense trees – it just can’t pick up any satellites. Even in clearings when it can get enough satellites for a location lock, the elevation it reports is wildly inaccurate. Sometimes the elevation gained in just a few steps would register as a hundred feet or more. This, combined with our lack of preparation and detailed map leads to much backtracking and back-backtracking.

On more than one occasion we talk seriously about giving up; “are we giving up completely, or just on this part of the directions?” Being a little tired and irritable does not help the situation.

When the spring comes into view we are both elated, grinning from ear to ear. Mike is the first to ‘do the honors’ and yells “It’s hot!”, “Wow, It’s really hot!”.

Dan arriving at August Jacob's

The hot water cascades down a rock face about four meters into the creek below. The creek has carved quite a narrow rocky valley, making for a beautiful setting. A waterfall does it’s thing just a few meters away from the spring.

August Jacob's valley

My thermometer shows 49 °C when placed right at the top in the very source. Two main sources have solid flow rates and are that temperate, a few others nearby are more like small trickles and are cooler, probably around 30 °C.

August Jacob's Temperature - it was 49 up at the source

There are no soaking pools, and not a single sign of human presence here, so we leave the spring in it’s perfectly natural state. It would, however, be possible to build one or two rock pools fed with hot water and even channel in some cold from the waterfall.

The setting of August Jacob's - hot water spurting out of rock in foreground

I can’t help but wonder how long this will take when the directions become public knowledge…

August Jacob's Hot Spring

On the hike down we are beaming to have made it to the spring, a place that very few people have ever been.

Mike and Dan excited to be at August Jacob's

-Dan