Another beautiful cruising day though a long one - over 70 miles. Left Tracy Arm Cove early and traveled through Frederick Sound to arrive at Warm Springs Bay on Baranof Island.
Though there was a dock, we chose to anchor at a nearby inlet and dinghy over to the falls/hot springs area. It was a beautiful spot.
After we dropped the hook, we had a quick dinner and went over to the hot springs boardwalk community. A couple of dozen houses connected by a boardwalk made up the bulk of the community. There was also a lodge, further away. We met a man who winters in Palo Alto and spends summers here who said they had potlucks every night. Sounded like a pretty good set up.
There are two options for enjoying the hot springs. The first is the tubs at the bathhouse which we chose to do that night as one of the rooms was available. The community built a little bathhouse that has three rooms, each with a tub that is open to the public. It's all free which is incredible, donations appreciated. There are directions on the walls on how to fill the tub up than drain & clean when done. As we'd been taking either timed showers on shore or quick ones on the boat, the chance to soak in very hot water felt like a luxurious treat. There were curtains on the window that you could open and look out on the waterfall and head of the inlet. Soaking in the tub and looking out on the beautiful view will always be a favorite memory.
The next morning we headed back over to the dock but this time went up to the natural rock hot springs that were about a 10 minute walk past the bath house. On the way we passed a For Sale sign on a small cabin. Hmmmmm.
Once you get to the hot springs you have the option of the hot, hot tub right next to the waterfall or the even hotter, hotter tub further in. Both were lovely though I definitely felt like a boiled lobster pretty quickly. The best part was we had it mostly to ourselves. An amazing spot.
Pete discovered blueberry bushes around and though most of them were not fully ripe, the ones closest to the hot springs were pretty good. He picked a handful that we enjoyed for the next few days with our breakfast.
The bears have been enjoying the berries here too, judging by the bear poop on the rocks around the springs:
The hot springs are located right next to a series of waterfalls and rapids. Above these is a beautiful lake that is supposed to have very good trout fishing, but you have to share it with the bears (which are reported to be plentiful in this area too).
Later in the afternoon, we took the dinghy and explored a nearby lagoon that is only accessible during high tide. Saw lots of bear scat and crushed clam shells along the edges of the water though no actual bears at the time. A very pretty spot.
A bear clamming spot - evident by all the broken shells on this rock:
These guys are everywhere:
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