Red Bluff Bay to Warm Springs Bay is about 21nm, straight up Chatham Strait. As we mentioned yesterday, Chatham Strait can be challenging, and even 10-15 knots of wind can make for a bumpy ride. But we emerged from Red Bluff Bay to find another calm and glassy day on Chatham.
Safe Harbour and Airship (and Jester, because he’s an early bird) headed out just before 7:00 a.m. The dock at Baranof Warm Springs fills quickly, and our hope was to arrive early and work out a plan for getting the other boats tied up. Rafting is common at the dock, so if we could score space, the others could raft to us.
We arrived at the dock in Warm Springs Bay to find one sailboat, one seiner, and the resident “host’s” boat, Tarka. Safe Harbour, Airship, and Jester got space on the dock and then waited for the others. There’s weak internet/cell service in here, so we were able to get online for a bit while we waited. We got all the boats tucked in tight and then folks started heading up to the hot springs and the lake.
The trail up to the hot springs (maybe 1/3 mile) is mostly boardwalk, but a few sections are off the boardwalk and are usually muddy. Not this year. Locals keep talking about a drought, and the forest seems much drier than usual.
The natural pools are a little slimy but large, hot, and in a gorgeous setting. When it’s overcast and in the 50s, like today, they’re the perfect temperature for a 20 or 30-minute soak.
We met for happy hour on the dock (Roberta from Nereus made fresh crab cakes!), then had the rest of the evening for dinner or more soaking on our own.
Some aerial shots of Warm Springs Bay, the dock, and the lake beyond the falls:
Today’s total: 20.6nm, 2 hours 42 minutes underway
Flotilla total: 911nm, 127 hours 13 minutes underway
