June 25 – Day 56 Gut Bay to Warm Springs Bay
Reflective morning in Gut Bay – 5:30 am
I'd say quiet but there are birds chirping and roaring waterfalls.
The sky is clearer this morning and at times it appears that the sun is trying to pop through the clouds. Every once in a while it pops through and brightens up one of the snowfields way up there.
There have been a couple hummingbirds buzzing around our boat all morning. They seem attracted to the red stripes of the American flag on our stern. One a bit bigger than the other. Sorry no photos, they are too fast.
About 7:30 much of the fog has cleared and the sun is trying harder to brighten up the bay. There are even shadows forming.
Today's destination is Warms Springs Bay ---- Time for a dip in the hot springs.
Warm Spring Bay has a large roaring waterfall, which drops about 100 feet. The waterfall used to provide electricity to the small community of about a dozen homes in the area. About a ½ mile up the hill from the dock are the natural 'hot springs'. These pools have hot to very hot water and are situated right next to the icy river water heading down to the falls. Above the dock is an elevated boardwalk that connects the community. On the dock is a bathhouse which has three private tub rooms which are open to the water side (they have curtains if you want more privacy), so you can bathe and soak while watching the boats in the bay and the waterfall.
Steve and Michelle playing catch this morning, with a 10 lb. ball
The prawn in the area must be wearing glasses as they found their way into our pot.
We got a salad bowl full of prawn this morning – won't starve today!
Nelsea following us out of Gut Bay
Cruising up Chatham Strait. Passed by Red Bluff. The rock on these hills looks a rusty red and are basically treeless, quite different than the other hills in the area. We are not stopping in Red Bluff this trip but it is a beautiful and well protected bay. There once was a cannery there. We have seen Brown 'grizzly' bear in there on previous trips.
Cruising along we see lots of very long/tall waterfalls, some appear to be 100's of feet tall. There is still quite a lot of snow in the higher elevations. Baranof Island has a large number of peaks in the 3,000 to 4,500+ foot range.
Saw a large waterfall and took a detour for sight-seeing. There is an amazing amount of water crashing into the bay from this 200 ft high waterfall.
Detour Waterfall
Pulled into Warm Springs Bay, anchored and tied to shore across by the inlet to the back bay. The amount of water coming over the 100 ft falls is amazing. All the rain this year has had an impact there. Three of the men went out fishing, one stayed back to read, and one went out exploring. I bet you can guess who was in each group. The women played a card/tile game.
When the fisherman got back it was time to go visit the hot springs. The community looks about the same as in past trips but the building that was a combo house and small store, is now used as a facility for the Alaskan Whale Foundation, which also had two boats on the dock. The two small cabins that were knocked off their foundation platforms years ago are still sitting where they landed, and still contain their furniture. Their two other partner cabins are also just sitting there furnished and unused. The For Sale of Lease sign is still there waiting for someone to come scoop up this property. They look the same as they did in 2008 when we first saw them.
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