The hordes from the south left around ten o’clock this morning en masse and, in all fairness, without incident but we’re still shaking our heads in disbelief. People come up to the North Coast of British Columbia (and Southeast Alaska) to get away from the crowds: To enjoy the wilderness and solitude. Granted, Bishop Bay Hot Springs isn’t the place to be alone, but seven boats travelling together seem out of character . . . even for here.
By ten thirty we were the only boat in the anchorage again, everyone else having left or gone out fishing for the day. We went up and had our morning bath, ending our stay on an extremely high note, and very reluctantly left around one o’clock. One of our former dock mates had told us about a place just outside Bishop Bayon Gribbel Island where there’s a trail that runs alongside a creek that researchers use to study the Kermode, so we decided to take a look. It’s a beautiful spot and during the right time of year, you’d surely see a spirit bear or two but it’s not an area to anchor the boat and leave it unattended. Nor is it a place to venture onshore alone, so we carried on.
The sky was clear and there wasn’t much debris in the water, so we were able to enjoy the scenery on our way down Princess Royal Channel – even managing to have a conversation or two along the way. It was a nice change and made for a much shorter trip to our next destination: Khutze Inlet (pronounced kootz). The inlet stretches five nautical miles eastward, into the mainland, and is a good place for spotting grizzly bears, among other wildlife. From the head, you look across the Khutze River into a wide valley with high mountains on both sides. And along the southern shore, a waterfall cascades down 1,000 feet from a lake and fills the anchorage with the sound of rushing water. In a word, it’s idyllic.
The head of Khutze Inlet
While it’s amazing and likely one of the most beautiful anchorages we’ve stayed in, neither one of us cared for it much as an over nighter. The holding and protection are good, but it’s deep and shoals up very quickly which makes for tricky anchoring. And finding a place to shore Sally was no easy task. But in all probability, our discontent had more to do with the fact that we were missing our evening soak than our current location.
Cambria at anchor in Khutze Inlet
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