Ainsworth Hot Springs - Spirit Waters

 By Maryanna Gabriel


                                        

My heart sank when snow was forecast and cloud and rain moved in the day before my jaunt. Then, all of a sudden, it cleared up. Yeah!The day for my adventure dawned clear with sunny skies and in these mountains, that is no small accomplishment. My spirits rose. 

In 1808, David Thompson described the area as "stupendous and solitary Wilds...where Mountains connected to Mountain, to immense Glaciers, the collection of Ages." The beauty is certainly inspiring. Ainsworth was decribed in 1895 as a place where a frog concert can be heard every night of the year. The frogs lived where the hot water oozed from the earth despite the cold of winter.* A fire eventually burned the gold rush town and today, remnants of the mines are submerged by growth. 

The hot springs were the way I remembered, although they have been refurbished and are under new ownership with the Yagan Nukly (Lower Kootenay Band) buying back what was theirs in the first place from the gold claim that was made in 1883. They call the springs "spirit waters". If feels sacred. 

For some reason, when I made my way into the horseshoe shaped cave, it was pitch black. The sides are

smooth as years of mineralization have built sculptural formations and where the occasional crystal glitters. I stood under a waterfall and made my way to where the waters disappeared into a dark recess. I was thinking about the Greek story of Plato and the cave, where people are chained in the dark by wrong beliefs, think the dark shadowy cave is reality, and refuse to make their way out. A sudden fleshy touch caused me to scream when a woman who was quietly beside me also screamed. It was so dark I did not know she was there. We laughed nervously and as I decided it was definity time to make my way out, I joined in on some interesting conversations and learned the minerals were healing. One woman said it helps with arthritis. Another said the mineral lithium helps her with depression. I also learned the waters are so hot that they have to pump cold water in to cool the pool down, otherwise visitors would be scalded. It seemed people had come a long way to enjoy the experience. 

That night my body tingled, and the next day me and my traumatized bones (from a debilititating fall off a roof) moved with noticable ease. Then I remembered there was a healing aspect to the waters and wondered if it was because of my visit to the springs. Maybe. Would love a season pass. 

* Ghost Towns and Drowned Towns of West Kootenay, Elsie G. Turnbull, c. 1988.