Magic Moments - Adventures of Glen and Liz: June 24

June 24 – Cannery Cove to Red Bluff

It was a dark and stormy night …. Wait wrong story. It was another warm sunny day. We had about a 40 mile run so the plan was to leave Cannery Cove by about 9am. The group was up early and those with pots still down went to retrieve them.

This was a long day with rough water. I tried to sleep thru most of it but let’s just say I was an odd shade of green by the time we got to Warm Springs. The plan had been to go to Red Bluff but based on the radio reports from Sea Jay (65 ft) and Noon Balloon (37 ft) the waves were 6+ ft hitting on the side. Not the makings of a good ride. So only those two boats made it to Red Bluff the rest of us went into Warm Springs. The water fall and community look about the same. The buildings that had slid off their platforms first seen by us in 2008 are still the same, just sitting there awkwardly on the hillside. The ‘store’ is no longer a store but is a private home. The ‘Bird Bath’ house is still for sale. It was listed at $139,500 in 2013 but it $159,500 now. For those not familiar with this community, there are about 14 houses. They get their electricity from the water coming down from the lake, as well as their fresh water. They get hot water and some heat from the hot water spring system. The community also has a bath house along the boardwalk which has three tub rooms each with a soaker tub for users to enjoy a nice hot soak without the slimy rocks or the hike offered by the upper natural soaking pools.

About an hour after getting all anchored up most of the group took the hike up the hill (mostly boardwalk) to the hot springs. There are several natural pools flowing with very hot water. The top pool was too hot to get into the second one was about 114 degrees and the third one where most of us went was about 110. The lowest pool is right next to the river which is rushing at that point and just above the very large waterfall which spills into the bay. After a through soaking we all got out and ½ the group headed back to the boats and the other ½ of us hiked uphill to see the lake. This year there were two small boats and 3 kayaks at the lake. We met a young couple up at the lake as they got into one of the small aluminum boats owned by the forest service. They said that they lived (aka were staying) at other end of the lake. We aren’t sure but there may be one of the forest service rental cabins on the lake.

The blueberry bushes are ripe for the picking but alas I didn’t have any bag/container with me …. Rats. I like baking with these bush fresh berries. Maybe tomorrow I’ll walk back up with a plastic bag.

Back down on the boardwalk and community area we chatted with a couple young guys from New York who were in Alaska on a Kayaking adventure. We invited them to dinner and had a very enjoyable evening talking to them about their adventure to date, places they planned to go, etc…. Their trip started as a family history adventure for Connor. His great great grandfather was an ‘assayer’ at the Chichagof mines. The family has many photos from his days up here, and apparently there is a mountain named after him. Connor brought copies of some of the photos with him. We told him about our 2013 trip and what we found at one of the old Chichagof mine sites. Some old buildings still standing with odds and ends of assayer’s equipment still there. It would be great if these guys actually find one of the mines that his great great grandfather had worked at. They told us that their trip started the first part of June in Ketchikan where they put their kayaks together (folding ones I think) at the airport and headed into town. The provisioned there and then headed out to start their 75 day trip. Their first day on the water was June 3^rd, if you recall that was the gale force winds day. Welcome to your Alaskan adventure! They are about three weeks into the trip now and have had rough water, winds, bear sightings (in their camp), a whale going directly under Kyle’s kayak, they’ve been harassed by Sea Lions and Crows, but they are having a great time. They are journaling their adventure and plan to put the story on a website after getting home. We fed them Salad, Rice, Potato Casserole, and Tri Tip Steak. They were very appreciative of the hospitality, dinner and evening out of the elements (we had the heat on). At the conclusion of the evening we filled their pockets with candy (York Peppermint patties), and I gave them a loaf of home baked French Bread. They left with bellies full and smiles on their faces.