Cascade Inlet to Eucott Hot Spring

Cascade Inlet

We woke in the morning beautiful Cascade Inlet. Some people went on shore to look for bears but I slept in instead. Too soon we left and got to see Cascade Inlet in it's full splendor again. It was hard to not shoot an entire roll of film every time we passed one of the dramatic waterfalls.

Eucott Bay

After our trip down Cascade Inlet, we turned the corner in the Dean Channel and arrived at Eucott Bay. Eucott Bay is a popular destination for boaters and has a hot spring! Apparently early in the 20th century this area was developed as a spa - the mud was exported as a beauty aid.

We put down anchor (we hoped to stay in Eucott Bay, but it was too shallow so we anchored in the larger (but exposed) bay). We put the Kayaks in the water and made a bee line for the remnant of a pier - the hot spring. When Ocean Falls was larger, the site was more developed with a pier and a cold water source to mix with the hot water. The site is more primitive now, but still quite developed.

Jaques - our great explorer was the first in the pool. Unfortunatly their wasn't enough hot spring water (which was mostly diverted to the stream) to keep the pool hot and so the tepid pool was filled with algae and gunk.

After Jaques was done with his soak we decided we needed to clean the tub. Mike showed up the Zodiak with a brush, a bucket and a secret weapon we would use later. We found the valve that emptied the pool and started giving the pool a good clean! The tub drained pretty quickly and then we scrubbed the algea off the walls and floor.

But the pool wasn't the only thing to get clean - so did the captain! The hot spring has some tempory (garden hose) plumbing that allows you to fill a metal tub for quick bathing.

The main pool was cleaned and we left it to fill while we returned to the Curve of Time for dinner. We were eager to return and the trip over was dramatic.

Sure enough, the hot spring was nice and clean. The water was hot - too hot! The Hot Springs book suggests the spring temperature is 55°C - the pool was too hot for us so we had to find a way to cool it down.

We had one of the portable bilge pumps/fire fighting pumps with us so we hooked it up and started pumping cold salt water into the pool. After about 10 minuets of pumping (and a lot of mixing) the tub was ready for humans. What a wonderfull Soak! Nice and hot - wonderful view, great company. What more could you ask for in a hot tub?