Two centuries ago, England and America were in a race to claim the Pacific coast (America ended up keeping Washington and Oregon) so England looked to its faithful servant James Sinclair to find a way to set up a west coast colony to complicate this dispute. One problem: those Rocky Mountains were John Dever high. Reaching Calgary…not a problem. Getting to the Banff area…piece of cake. To get to the Pacific, however, James Sinclair had to find a route for the wagon train to get past the Bow River valley, then the Kootenay River valley, and then get through a third range of mountains that created the Columbia River headwaters.
Well, James Sinclair found a crack in the mountain now known as Sinclair Pass. Centuries after Sinclair and his Cree guide Maskepetoon experienced the extremely narrow mountain pass, my jaw also dropped as Highway 93 opened up to the Columbia River far below. The drive alone was worth it, and in the middle of summer, Highway 93 provided a wide-open route to this inner valley.
Our trip focused on a thirty-mile stretch of the Columbia River valley between Radium Hot Springs and Fairmont Hot Springs. As I’ve referenced before, many of my trips are to either research or experience locations I’ve written about, and this area is mentioned in both my Alchemist Chronicles series and also my Dreamcatcher Chronicles series. It did not disappoint. Had Joseph Nicollet lived a bit longer, he had plans to map the BIG continental divide that sent the Missouri River flowing east and the Columbia River flowing west, so I insisted that my wife ignore the “bear in the area” signs at the headwaters hiking trail (which was quite disappointing compared to the other trails in the area). The other feature that drew me to this area is the rumors of mystical healing qualities of the hot springs in the area.
We stayed near one of the hot springs at the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. Compared to the “international” tone of Banff and Lake Louise, the Columbia River valley had a family vacation feel to it. Whereas the Fairmont Chateau remi
nded me of the hotel in The Shining, the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort reminded me of the setting for Dirty Dancing. Despite its age (there was moss growing on shingles), the resort was kept up and offered bungalows and regular hotel rooms. Adjacent to the property was the “big pool” where hundreds of vacationers and locals could take a splash in the warm mineral waters, but right outside of our window was the “private” hotel pool that shared the same hot waters, which kinda reminded me of a whirlpool with the jets turned off.
The area had great amenities that would take a week to exhaust. With quick moving rivers and wide open lakes, a water enthusiast could find a variety of action, and I saw an equal amount of rafters and kayakers as I saw serious fishing boats. There were also several golf courses stretched out along the main road for those who wanted to avoid “water hazards.” I also enjoyed the variety of restaurants in the area. Although the hotel offered a few options, we found an ice cream shop, a great coffee shop, and a quaint Mexican restauran
t.
For a summer trip, hiking is the key draw. We found a trailhead just a few yards from the hotel that gave us plenty of twists and turns. If we’d stayed, there were several branches of trails that went around Fairmont Mountain and also several more trail systems in the area. Our chosen trail was entirely vacant, which was a shock after using such busy trails around Lake Louise. The scarcity of humans on the trail also must’ve explained why we didn’t see any grizzly bears despite the signs and warnings (just not enough tourists to choose from). Joking aside, the trail was really quiet, and when it turned back toward the hotel, we were able to see the hot spring prior to being siphoned off to the pools. Many locals had made natural rock pools, so if you’re willing to ignore the bear signs, you might want to ignore the flood warning signs also. YOLO.
(Above: Sinclair Pass)
(You Only Live Once)
