A few hours of travel through Peril Strait into Chatham Strait and we hide away in Warm Spring Bay on the state float by a giant waterfall in  the small village of Baranof on Baranof Island. There is a lodge here with small cabins and a few cottages all linked by a boardwalk.

Following the trail ½ mile up the boardwalk takes us to the side of the waterfall   and 2 pools carved in the rocks. The top pool under the trees is very hot, the middle pool is just perfect, and then there is a very small pool, single size a bit lower. This one you access by rappelling down the rocks with a fixed rope all the way down to the falls and when you sit in it you can touch the falls with your hand. The falls are noisy and steamy but not hot, rather glacial water in fact. But the pools are hot, so hot, so nice, so soothing after being cold for so long ( 61 days in fact), our bodies can finally unwind in the water.

Crab cake appies after the spa

When you come down back to the docks, there is a little cottage on piles with 3 cabins, each with a hot tub for two and the hot spring water running. You can rinse there and wash. When you are done, you pull the plug  to drain through the floor, scrub the tub and it fills again with the  running hot water piped from the spring above. How civilized! The place is impeccable and has view over the waterfall. Quite the spa and no charge. Bonus is the slight sulfur in the water, it is supposed to be healthy.

 I don’t think anyone would live in Alaska if they did not have the Hot Springs.  This  is heavens  and I  could stay forever, well maybe if it had not rained all night and most of the day and if I did not have to run the heater on the boat tonight because we are all wearing 3 layers and freezing.