Day 64: Lost Cove to Mirror Harbor

The travel time today was short, but intense. Mirror Harbor is hidden behind a maze of islands, seaweed, reefs, and general rockiness. We closely followed the directions given in the Douglass guide as well as a hand-written map shared with us by a fellow boater in Glacier Bay. It is recommended to enter at about 3/4 of a rising tide (to better see the rocks you’re avoiding) and to have someone on the bow watching for obstructions.The climax to entering this cove is a tight dogleg between an islet and shallow rocky shelf/mound that requires some delicate maneuvering. The charts are deceptive because they mark two rocks with little Xs and really there should more Xs or some sort of outline showing the reef that extends much of the way across the apparent entrance. With a relatively small boat and a shallow draft, we managed fine and were anchored in Mirror Harbor and having breakfast by 8:30 AM.

Approaching Mirror Harbor

Wild North at anchor, viewed through the tricky dogleg passage where you have to pass between the rock on the left and a submerged rock about 20 feet to the right (it’s probably revealed on a zero tide)

I wonder why it’s called Mirror Harbor?

MIrror Harbor is an idyllic little anchorage surrounded by rocky islets and low coastline backed by the mountains of Chichagof. It’s lovely and well-protected, but big part of its appeal is its proximity to White Sulphur Hot Springs. After breakfast Ryan and I packed our towels and swimmers and hopped in the dinghy to find the hot springs trailhead in the West Arm.

We had to weave the dinghy through more reefs and rocks in West Arm to make our way to the trailhead to the hot springs.

The hike took 20 minutes through bear-infested (based on all the fresh scat and uprooted skunk cabbage) forest. It was good to stretch our legs and we were motivated to be quick about it!

The coastline in front of the bath house, perched above the high tide line on the right

The hot springs facilities are lovely, with a fairly new bath house overlooking Bertha Bay and three more natural pools outside that collect the hot springs overflow as it makes its way down to the sea. We roasted (or should I say poached?) for a while in the bath house, which has the hottest pool, then found our personal goldilocks pool outside for a little more comfortable bathing experience.

Inside the bathhouse. It had a natural rock pool that looked out a window to the ocean (behind the photographer).

Once we had enough soaking, we came back to the boat for lunch, naps, reading, and listening to music. The bugs are not bad here, which is a nice surprise after all the horseflies and no-see-ums in Glacier Bay.

Before dinner we did a little more exploring of Mirror Harbor by dinghy. It’s full of little nooks and crannies perfect for exploring in a small craft.

Today’s route (11 miles)