July 27-29

July 27: The trip from Sitka through Sergius Narrows and Peril Strait (don’t you love the name?) is beautiful and we continue to marvel at how few boats we see. Appleton Cove is a good size cove completely surrounded by beautiful low mountains. If it were in the San Juan Islands there would so many other boats, but here we are, alone…it’s amazing. We drop our crab trap, enjoy a quiet evening and wake up to a calm, sunny morning with amazing reflections in the water. It is so peaceful and quiet except for the sound of birds and fish jumping. It’s warm enough at 7:00 to enjoy coffee outside in the quiet. We harvest two nice sized Dungeness Crab before we leave which we’ll enjoy for dinner.

Morning reflections, Appleton Cove

Anegada in Appleton Cove

July 28: The trip down Chatham Strait is outrageously gorgeous and warm. Is this really Alaska? We are on the flybridge in tank tops and see 7 whales on our way to Baranof Warm Springs. On our way into Warm Springs we turn into a cove and it is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. We are again, totally alone, and surrounded by extremely high snow peaked mountains with a river coming down between the peaks. Unbelievable beauty. It’s 78 degrees which necessitates a sundress for heaven’s sake! Cocktails and fresh crab on the flybridge until the sun sets at 9:30. Wow.

Cruising down Chatham Strait in 70 degrees!

Perspective: Anegada (that small white dot) below the huge mountains in our Warm Springs cove.

Enjoying 78 degrees

Yummy Dungeness

July 29: Another gorgeous morning of reflections. We dinghy to the “town” of Warm Springs and hike up through the woods to Baronof Lake, which is pristine and beautiful and into which people are flown to trout fish. We finally find the Hot Springs (quite an interesting hike in through the mud) which are adjacent to the huge Warm Springs waterfall. Again, we are stricken by the beauty. There are three pools, hot hotter and hottest, NONE of which we are able to get ourselves into as they are way too hot! Because it is not easy for everyone to reach the hot springs, they have piped hot springs water into a “Free Bath House” back down on the dock. There are three rooms with tubs from each of the three pools. What a hoot!

“It’s the stillness that fills me with peace” Robert Service

Baronof Lake. People are flown in to fly fish.

Hot Springs on Baranof

Free Public Bath House- Warm Springs

View from the Bath House