July 7, 2017

Ended up leaving a bit late, around 8:30. Greg picked up the crab trap - surprise! - no crabs. Had a pleasant ride down Frederick Sound - flat calm water for most of it. We stopped to see some humpbacks and some otters a long the way.

We didn't really time it right for our arrival though. It got a little windy as we entered Warm Springs Bay, and had to stop to let a humpback go by who was sitting inside there feeding. We managed to arrive at high tide, which is the wrong time. When it's high tide, the waterfall flows directly into the dock and causes some rockin' and rollin' and some current. Also, since we arrived so late, there was no room at the dock. Fortunately, a sailboat offered us to raft to them so we did. We met Scott and Judy on a sailboat called "Sleighride" from Astoria, OR. We managed to put out about 3,000 fenders and all was well. (But we had to turn off our furnace so we didn't melt their boat).



We had some lunch, and then went for a walk up the board walk to "scope things out". We walked up to the Lake where we met a nice family (and their lab Greta) who were there trout fishing. They have a cabin near Angoon and were just over on their skiff for the afternoon. They had some fishing suggestions for us and gave us some good information. We walked back down and then over to the hot pools - the "hot" one was really hot. Talking to a couple there, they said start at the slightly less hot one and then work your way into the "hot" one.

It was spritzing and then sprinkling and then raining on and off. We had dinner and then decided that we would try the "public" bath. They have 3 little "rooms" (bathhouses) where they have a locked door and a tub of water and a view out over the bay (with curtains). They have some hot water from the springs as well as some cold water from the stream. I had to add some cold to mine cause it was too hot to get in. When you're done, you take the plug out and let it drain and use the supplied brush to clean it out. Then you put the plug back in and then just turn the hot on and let it run. The "plug" is actually a tube that will drain when it get's to a certain height. Even when you turn the hot off, it still runs and everything just drains into the cove underneath the bath house. They ask for a donation for upkeep which seems reasonable.

Back to the boat we talk to Scott and Judy. They say that they have decided to only stay 1 day and want to start heading south tomorrow so want to untie around 8:00am. They have been coming to Alaska every summer for 9 years and this is the worst weather they have ever had. They're leaving early to find sunshine south. Hmmmm ……

There was a fair amount of activity around the dock until quite late. A cargo boat, "Seeker", had been unloading lumber for someone further in the bay, and so then they squeezed in and did a "med tie" on the inside. A sea plane landed and dispatched 3 people and so much "stuff", you had to wonder how it took off. Turns out it was people staying at their cabin. Then another smaller personal fishing craft came in just before bed and rafted somehow to it and another boat and let off a large group of people. It seems like we're either completely by ourselves, or in a hubbub of activity.