The destination for yesterday’s hike was the Ink Pots, six clear greenish pools filled with spring water that remains at a constant 1-degree Celsius year-round. Our journey began at the Moose Meadows parking lot from where we traveled about 6 kilometres through dense pine forest before we emerged into a picturesque, alpine meadow. There wasn’t much to see until this point but we were finally rewarded with great mountain views, Johnston Creek and of course, the Ink Pots.
I haven’t been able to locate much information on the Ink Pots, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. This first shot shows one of them and its setting in the meadow.
The above picture doesn’t really show the full story beyond how the ponds are situated. I’ve included a slideshow with close-ups of the Ink Pots to better convey the unique colouring that make them an attraction. Click on the right to advance; on the left to back up.
I found that the meadow had more to offer than the Ink Pots alone. Looking east is a great view of Mount Ishbel, a peak that I have photographed before from a different perspective at Hillsdale Meadow along Highway 1A. It is a particularly rugged mountain with an interesting shape and contours.
Johnston Creek runs through the meadow before plunging into Johnston Canyon, a popular tourist venue just south of the Ink Pots. I’ve added two pictures of the creek, still running full at this time of the year after the Spring runoff. First is a wider angle view of the creek, taken from beside a bridge.
The last picture for today was taken from the bridge and is a close-up of the water cascading over a large boulder in the stream.
I’m told that the Ink Pots are worth seeing in winter. I’ve seen a few photographs and the pots do look good against the white, snowy background. Perhaps a return trip, but I would need to practice snow-shoeing!