Too much fun to remember to write

All right, all right. Guilty as charged. I have been sadly remiss keeping an up-to-date log of our trip this time around. What can I say? Even the family scribe has been having too much fun to stop and write down what all we have been doing. I don't think we had even arrived in Baranof the last time I wrote something. *sigh* I have some catching up to do. ;)
Baranof, as usual, was a welcome stop. We already donned our swimsuits and packed backpacks with towels, water and snacks while on our way into Warm Springs Bay. That way we could go straight to the natural springs as soon as we docked. It was beautiful there as always, but one slight problem. Because it hadn't rained in a while, the springs were HOT! I know, I know, it's a hot springs--don't we want it hot? Yes, but not so hot that we couldn't really get in and enjoy them. Oh well. Back down the trail and try out the bathtubs. Those were a lot better and after soaking in the tubs for a half hour or so, it was time to head back to Kyrie and make dinner.
The other two boats planned on staying all the next day, leaving the following morning, but we pulled away from the dock about 12:00. Joe was afraid of waiting too long and getting hit by currents trying to get up Chatham Strait and into Peril Strait. It actually wasn't a bad run. The wind of course was almost directly on our nose, but the sun shone and the back deck was a lovely place to hang out. Joe rigged up the hammock on the back deck and Megan ended up crawling in with me later in the afternoon and fell asleep for an hour. Not a bad run at all!
We entered Peril Strait and enjoyed that stretch as well. Appleton Cove was our destination, but we slowed down shy of it to check something out. Joe saw something shiny on the shore and through the binoculars was able to see it was a fishing troller on its side. He detoured Kyrie over so we could check it out--partly because that is just not something you see often (thankfully) and also because he thought we ought to be absolutely sure it hadn't just happened, even though we hadn't heard any radio traffic about a boat needing help. As we approached, it became obvious the troller had been there for a while. Such a shame. It looked like a really nice working boat. I found myself wondering what had happened, and hoping the crew were all okay...
Appleton Cove was only a few miles beyond, so it was time to continue. Don Douglass's book Exploring Southeast Alaska called Appleton one of the best anchorages in Peril Strait, so we thought we would give it a try. Of course, that meant there were five other boats in the cove with us that night--four pleasure boats and a seiner--and crab pots everywhere! Unfortunately, those annoying little gnats that had been plaguing us the whole trip were in residence in Appleton Cove as well. They chased us inside and at least encouraged us to go to bed a little early. We wanted to be sure to catch the tide right for going through Sergius Narrows the next morning.