Mid morning, we departed Ahousat and headed for Hot Springs Cove via Hayden Passage We fished, without success, here and there as we went. As we approached the mouth of Sydney Inlet the swell and wind chop made one realize how spoiled we become cruising all the calm protected water ways.
We tied to the park dock at Hot Springs Cove (49° 21.735 N / 126°15.917 W) along side a sailboat from Vancouver we had tied with at Tofino, and were immediately approached by the Roley the temporary harbor master.
We had met Roley aboard his converted fishing trawler “Tropic Isle” two years ago while anchored in Joe Cove in The Broughtons. He said he was watching for us. He is a Ham radio operator and had been talking with Neil & Nancy of Harmony. They asked if he had seen us yet, as they figured according to our blog we should have been there by then. Nice to know you’re being watched out for. Jo is going to look into Ham licensing when we’re back home this fall.
We visited with tour boat drivers and crusing folks on the dock while waiting for the tour boat crowds to leave and return to Tofino and make room for us at the Hot Spring pools.
Around 5pm we left the dock garbed in swim suits under our cloths and comfy shoes, towels in back pack and proceeded on the 45 minute hike along the well-maintained board walk to the Hot Springs.
How wonderful experiencing the rain forest with its ferns and flowers, and many trees growing it seems in mid air. Some large cedars have taken root from old fallen trees and are towering into the sky balanced (for many years) on these old moss covered nurse logs. Quite a site. The Park department has done an awesome job with this long boardwalk. It’s wide enough for folks to pass each other coming and going from the Springs. A majority of the boards have boat names carved into them; some very intricate and artsy.
We arrived at the Springs and there were only about 4 people there. It is amazing how hot those sulphur spring waters are. The hottest part is the water fall at the top. The water gets cooler the closer you get to the ocean as the surf brings cooler water into the bottom pool. We were hoping the tide would come in while we were there, but that didn’t happen. It was a most enjoyable experience. We dried off and headed back to the dock, only to look forward to the next hot spring adventure to come further up the line.
George & JoAnne
