Besides Sassy one of my other more off the beaten tracks interets is Hollow Earth mythology. Anyway, while reading up on it I came across this thermal valley in NW Canada called the Nahinni whic, I guess, means "Valley of the HEadless Men". Apparently it's naturtual hot springs and sulphur keep it like 30 degress above the temp of it's surropunding geography and, legend has it, that some peeps were found hedless when they ventrued forth into yon misty woods.

Allegedly it is home to Sassy like critters as well as a Wahelea (spelling beats me here) which is surmised to be a Dire Wolf.
Any of our fine Canadian members here have any neat stories or legends about this place that Sir Google cannot yield?

I have heard rumors of this place as well. I can't recall the particulars, but yes, several men were found without heads in the general area. Not sure if it is true or a tale...



Upon further exploration, I came upon this rather sensationalistic Time article from 1947:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...,854301,00.html

Neat. Thanks for posting that.

that story sounds pretty interesting, any one know if anything ever came from that trip?

I'd love to see the effects a hot spring has in a cool climate. Would no doubt be a relatively tiny area, but prob yeild very interesting contrasting flora.

Nope - NAHANNI means "people from over there" and is supposed to refer to a vanished Indian tribe.



Nope - those legends come from Kraus Hotsprings where the Kraus family lived until the early 70's and grew some exotic plants.
It's a damn cold place except in the summer.



Not a legend - the McLeod brothers supposedly found a gold mine and talked it up for a while before heading (bad pun gleefully intended) back into the valley. They found two of the brothers headless bodies but the third brother was not found. No gold mine or gold found either.
The valley where they were found is named "Headless Valley" for some strange reason...


edited for spelling. My father hunted the Liard river area a lot in the 60's and my brother was in the Nahanni Park for two years in the 90's. I visited my brother when he was in the region. Quite a spectacular place!

further edit to add link to some photos... http://www.pbase.com/merrymedia/nahanni

Wow. Awesome pics rockinkt! I love hot springs...what outdoors-loving woman doesn't! I've seen pictures of Liard Hot Springs, and they really pique my interest. I have a cousin up in the Yukon and maybe someday a visit is in order...or maybe just a long summer drive, someday. I've never heard of the Kraus Hot Springs before. Amazing, you'd never think they were there, like that, just a flat puddle in the river rocks, that perhaps steam a bit more than other pools do!

Some other info in another thread regarding this...I posted some old stuff I'd found...

http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?showtopic=7264

tirademan

Sorry - I did not mean to imply that those were pics that I took.
A mutual friend sent me that link of friends who rafted down the very dangerous river.




Interesting how the sensational newspaper reports were not really factual given the link that Bushman provided.
Seems that the McLeods had reason to lead the reporters astray in an attempt to gain some $$$.

I note that I got the story wrong as well. The three brothers did not return to the valley. Two of them did with a guy named Weir and it appears that the bodies were all found - just that the two brothers were found together with Weir being a little ways off..

How'd them fellers survive without no heads?

Seriously, very interesting story. It sounds pretty remote. Is there any easy way in and out? Or is it primarily by air?

Also, has there been any speculation as to what decapitated those guys? As in, were they cleanly cut or ripped off? It makes me wonder if this was done by native people.
Very cool topic, thanks for all the info.

Oh, ok, I think I gathered they weren't your own pics, still, it is a great find. I'm always on the lookout for good pictures of remote areas of interest. That's one thing about Google Earth that I really appreciate. And especially hot springs, people are so possessive and secretive about them, when they find them. Understandably too--they don't want them vandalized and spoilt with garbage all over, or someone coming along and developing it into a resort or something.

From the pictures Liard HS is just beautiful, and even the history of a rare black bear attack there (I think there was even a death) doesn't dissuade me from wanting to go there someday.

There are also some lovely spots up along the coast hereabouts in the islands.



If you read the links above, one of them is that the bones were found long after they had decomposed, and the heads had simply rolled away or been taken away by animals. It was much more probable that the boys just got trapped without transport out, and starved to death.

Wonderful place.
Here's wiki's on both Liard River Hot Springs and Nahanni...and as happens more often than you might imagine up there in the North, the real story of the area is in no need of embellishment, but tall tales abound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liard_River_H...Provincial_Park

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahanni_National_Park_Reserve

I haven't done the world class Nahanni river trip yet but it's on my wish list after a sibling of mine went for the superb trout fishing, and told me a lot about it..and the story of the headless miners..Y'gotta talk about something around the campfire when you're out for a week or so.
I have gone to the Liard...and they are really nice and developed in a pretty sensible way...not overly commercial but you do have to pay for car camping...and it's worth it, having lockers and restrooms...you know what it would be like if nobody was taking good care of them.
In case anyone is inspired to drive the Alcan to visit Liard and other places up there, Mid-May is the best time, in my opinion. The snow's mostly gone everywhere except at the higher elevations in the passes, the traffic is still very light, the daylight is from 3:30 am until 10pm and getting longer, springtime weather in the interior can vary but it is commonly nice and even dramatic with incredible mountains, valley and forests...and the wildlife is easily spotted. The margins of the roadways are kept really wide so you can see potential moose collisions, but in the spring the bears and everything else are feeding all along them. For considerable stretches of roadway I would see at least one black bear per hour...as well as Stone Sheep, Bison, Elk, Moose...foxes, coyote (or maybe wolf) and a super spectacular sighting of a lynx pretty close up...again, the light traffic just after the snow clears, with long days. It's miles and miles of miles and miles and if you like that sort of thing. Later in the summer there are a lot more vehicles, hauling campers and big rigs and ....there are stretches being upgraded or rebuilt, so a few dozens of miles of gravel and pilot cars which keep the cars grouped up and lessens the experience. Within a few weeks of the snow being gone and the long days bringing sunshine, the margins of the roads loose their early blush of spring plants and get bushier and the animals are no longer as concentrated, or visible.

These hotsprings are not part of the Nahanni and quite a ways away. But they are a great tourist area on the Alaska Highway.

Great Thread MYM very cool area for sure and the stories are pretty darn intriquing to say the least! Thanks before I die I would love to stick my big toe in that hot spring!

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