My friend Len helps me out a great deal with the boat and once every summer we go out wherever he wants to go, and this year he wanted to go to Bailey Bay. Lake Shelokum is up at the top of the trail and at the very end of the lake is a natural hot springs.
Bailey Bay is about 42 miles almost due north from Ketchikan, in western Behm Canal.
We took Friday off from work to make a 3 day weekend out of it, and left Bar Harbor about 7 AM in calm, clear and warm weather.
We arrived into Bailey Bay about noon, dropped our shrimp pots in the bay, and were safely anchored shortly after. There is a mooring buoy near the base of the trail but there were already 2 boats tied to it, which is why we had to anchor.
After a quick lunch we got our gear together and headed up the trail. It's a nice easy hike up to the falls that run out of the lake. You do have to cross Maude Creek, which is essentially a waterfall. But since we had had no rains for the last several days it was easily passable.
Above is a picture of the falls that run out of Lake Shelokum. The picture does not do it justice. It is an impressive falls. Very steep and a lot of water running out of it. I heard a tale a few years ago of a dog that went over the falls, and survived.
This is the log jam at the end of the lake, just above the falls.
The USFS provides a canoe near this end of the lake, so Len and I took it out and went to the far end of the lake and did some exploring.
Check out this little bird that appeared to be feeding at the top of the falls. He'd pop his head under the rushing water repeatedly, I suppose picking up insects of some sort. He was persistent.
Here's Len at the top of the falls taking some pictures.
These 3 people came along as we were checking out the falls. I think the one guy is carrying a bazooka in that holster!
On the way back from our canoe ride we stopped at this large rock slide. Len looks pretty small up against those rocks.
And I look pretty small down by the canoe from Len's perspective up on the rock slide.
BBQ steaks were on the menu for dinner and so we had a pleasant evening on board.
It was a calm evening.
Later that night after it got dark, we saw some bats streaking around the boat. Haven't seen that before.
The next day on Saturday we were up early and headed up the trail again about 8 AM.
We saw lots of frogs and a few salamanders on the trail. Here's one of the salamanders.
When we got to about 10 frogs Len said he'd eat one if we got to a dozen, but I didn't hold him to it.
Here's one of the frogs Len didn't have to eat.
The trail meanders along the side of the lake. There are some rough spots where you have to crawl under, around or through large boulders. Just FYI, that gets harder to do as the years roll by.
SEAPA (Southeast Alaska Power Authority) had been working in the area and had a raft on the lake. They had a helicopter come and pull the raft and their people out.
Here are some shots of the natural hot springs, the lean to that is nearby, and the general area.
This is the natural hot spring at the end of the lake. The hot water streams off the side of the hill and tumbles down into this natural rock pool. There is a drain plug in the corner so it can be emptied, and there is a cold water pipe nearby so it can be cooled down if needed. It's not very large, with only room for perhaps 4 or 5 people at a time.
Here's a shot of the hot water bubbling down the rocks. A few years ago when Len and I were here we went all the way up the hillside and found the spot where the hot water first bubbles out of the ground.
Check out the steam coming from the hot springs from up on the hillside.
Up on the hillside the hot spring tumbles down, and some sort of red algae that looks like tomato soup grows under it.
More tomato soup.
Check out the multi-colored slime growing in the hot springs. Len took samples of it to study under his microscopes.
There are other hot springs in this area. Not far away is Bell Island Hot Springs. When I first came to Ketchikan in 1978 it was a publicly accessible area. There was a lodge with a restaurant and a large swimming pool, and small cabins each with its own private hot tub. Since that time the area was purchase privately, and has since fallen in ruin for lack of attention.
Here you can see the walkway that leads from the hot spring tub to the lean to. The lean to is in a beautiful valley surrounded by majestic mountains. It's a truly beautiful area.
Here's a closer shot of the lean to. Those 3 young people we met at the top of the falls the day before said they had spent the night here. The beams and walls within are covered almost completely with people's names and the dates they were there. It's like reading a log book. Some people have fashioned some chairs and tables out of logs, and there is a fire pit out in front. Daylight shows through the roof so I doubt it is very dry inside in a big rain.
We had our lunches at the lean to and then explored the huge muskeg meadows in the valley behind the cabin.
The valley behind the lean-to is really picturesque. Looks like a scene out of the Sound of Music.
After that it was just a hike back down to the beach, and then to the boat.
Once there we
went out to pull the shrimp pots. The haul was underwhelming - 2
shrimp. I think that might be a record. We moved the pots to a different spot and dropped them again.
Dinner this evening was halibut fillets grilled on the Foreman Grill. I don't have an oven on board so I use the Foreman Grill a lot.
The Tom Cruise movie Valkrye was on the agenda for the evening. Probably one of the few where the hero is not victorious in the end.
Sunday morning we were up early as usual, pulled anchor and headed out to pull the shrimp pots. This time I'm proud to report that we more than doubled our previous take getting 5 whole shrimp this time.
We had a calm enjoyable run back down Behm Canal to town, arriving in the stall at about 1:45 PM. Total trip mileage was 87.4 nm (nautical miles).
Another successful adventure on Faraway draws to a close.
