Hot Spring Cove

Tuesday July 1
Depart: Hesquiat Harbour 0700
Overcast, foggy, 17C
Stop: Hot Spring Cove 1015
We wanted to get to the hot spring a little earlier to try to beat the crowds, but did not get organized in time. As it was, there was only maybe about 10 other people in the hot spring when we got there, instead of 20 or more as we have heard. It is not a very big hot spring, I don't even think 20 people would be able to be there at one time! The best thing about the stop was the beautiful boardwalk that has been built by the park. It is 2 km long, and all very nicely done in cedar planks.
Back at the boat, we had lunch and then pulled up the anchor to find a quiet place for the night.
Arrive: Bottleneck Cove 1600 Lat: 49 26.75 Lon: 126 12.99
Trip Log: 588.9 nm Day: 23.1nm
Bottleneck Cove is just like it sounds.... the entrance is like going through a wine bottle neck and then it open out to a very beautiful quiet cove. And of course, it has the resident black bear as well. We watched him scrounge the beach at low tide for crabs and such.

Hot Spring Island

Giant Pacific Scallop in the shell.

July 27, 2007
Time: 0745
Humidity: 77 % Temp: 17 C. Totally overcast sky, not even a hint of blue, wind is calm.
Lv: Murchison Island
Course: Juan Perez Sound stop at Hot Spring Island > east around Burnaby Island > Skincuttle Inlet > Burnaby Narrows > Bag Harbour, Moresby Island
After a cup of coffee, we head over to Hot Spring Island, the next Haida stop. We are the first to arrive this morning at this very popular stop. There are three hot spring pools for soaking; each overlooks the ocean from a different location, and a bath house for cleaning up before going in the pools. The water is hot and very clean, no algae because it is cleaned off regularly. What a nice treat to have the whole place to ourselves, we take our time and have a nice soak in each of the pools. Unfortunately, my camera batteries picked this very moment to go dead on us, so we don’t have any pictures.
Apparently, right around these hot pools, about 40 of the Keen’s long-eared bat comes each May to give birth and raise their young. This little bat is on the endangered list and the only other known maternity colony is in a tree stump near the town of Tahsis on Vancouver Island. Gwaii Haanas is home to 27 species of animals (land and marine) considered to be at risk in Canada.
Arv: Bag Harbour
Lat: 52 20.78 N
Lon: 131 21.90 W
Time: 1530 Log: 4209.9 nm
There are thousands and thousands of moon jelly fish conglomerating near the surface in this bay. Just a few hours later when we head out in the dingy to explore, they are nearly all gone, probably to the bottom to spawn.

Warm Springs Bay

July 7, 2007
We slept in today until almost 9:00! This is going to be a day of relaxation as our plan is to head over to the little “town” in the dingy and have a soak in the hot spring and then take a nice long bath in the bath house. This is another community with no roads, just boardwalks. The general store is apparently only open when the owner feels like it. Today is not one of those days. We continue on just a short 10 minute walk out of town and find a beautiful hot spring right next to the rushing river. I was thrilled, Jerry didn’t like all the gunk in the water! But it felt soooo nice, our legs had trouble taking us back to town. We stopped to chat with the resident caretaker. He told us they had 34 feet of snow this past winter. That would explain why we can still see snow down next to the water in some places. His main job in the winter is snow removal from all the boardwalks!
Before heading back to our boat, we stop at the community bathhouse. There are three rooms, each with a large tub being constantly filled with water from the hot springs. As you soak in the tub, you can look out over the bay towards the surrounding mountains covered with snow. Ahhhhh, this really is a nice place and one that I would come back to in a heartbeat. Jerry and I soaked until we couldn’t take the heat anymore.
We slowly made our way back, feeling that nothing could be better at this very moment. We did some more exploring in the rest of the bay and come across a brown bear feeding on grass. At first we surprised him, but then he became unconcerned and continued to eat. I was able to get some great pictures.
Back at the boat, we feasted on BBQ’ed salmon, greek salad and rice pilaf with tea and date bars for dessert.
It’s not where we go, it’s the journey we take.

Chichago Island, Ghost town of Chichago

June 30, 2007
Time: 1015
Humidity: 75% Temp 15 C Foggy and drizzle rain.
Lv: Porcupine Bay
Course: Gulf of Alaska > Imperial Passage > Surveyor Passage > Odgen Passage > Klag Bay
We were going to stay at this anchorage today and go to White Sulphur Hot Springs in our tender, but since it is such a yucky day weather-wise, we decide to carry on. The rain does lift and we get a bit of sun and it warms up to 21 C. Lots of sea otters around here, they are sooo cute!
Arv: Klag Bay, Chichago Island
Lat: 57 39.74 N
Lon: 136 05.53 W
Time: 1600
Trip: 23.5 nm Log: 3572.4 nm
We are anchored in the head of Klag Bay where there is an abandoned gold mine. From our boat it looks worth exploring. This turns out to be our lucky day…. I found the shoulder blade from what looks like a sea lion (I wanted to find one from a whale, but this one will do), and we spot a grizzly bear (we were back in the tender, fortunately) and were able to get close enough for some pictures. He was really not too concerned about our presence (since he is at the top of the food chain) as he browsed on grass close to the shore.