This morning I woke up to the sound of laughter and the wavy reflection of sunlight off of the water coming through my porthole. I went upstairs and had breakfast with everyone while we were still in Secret Cove. After breakfast Matt and Ross pulled anchor and we headed out for Princess Louisa Inlet where we would see Chatterbox Falls.
Secret Cove
On the way up we saw quite a few bald eagles and at one point three were all in the same tree, but they were pretty much all too far away to get a good picture of. The trip to Princess Louisa Inlet took about five hours during which we read, relaxed, and ate lunch (prime rib & lamb sandwiches again….mmmm). The mouth of Princess Louisa Inlet is very narrow and can be difficult to navigate if the tides are not in your favor and is aptly named Malibu Rapids. Thanks to Matt’s planning though we arrived at slack tide and there was no sign of any rapids in Malibu Rapids. Right at the entrance I finally got a halfway decent shot of a bald eagle.
After passing through Malibu Rapids it took us about twenty more minutes to get to the end of Princess Louisa Inlet where Chatterbox Falls awaited. Unfortunately, it was hazy due to a forest fire in the area so the grandeur of the scenery was slightly muted, but it was still spectacular. The falls were pretty amazing, starting with several waterfalls coming down from high elevations (maybe 4,000 to 5,000 feet) and then meeting up along the way before all coming down one large, wide waterfall that was about 100 to 150 feet tall. Once Matt and Ross had anchored they got the tender down from the roof and we all went to shore for a walk.
Ross Looking at Chatterbox Falls
There was a short trail that wove through the woods and ended up near the base of the falls. When we walked close to the base of the falls the impact of the water created a tremendous roar along with thick mist and a stiff breeze, which, at first was very refreshing and then became a wee bit chilly. After viewing the falls we followed another trail that was quite a bit steeper and longer (2 hours up) that led to an old trappers cabin. Within the first 400 yards or so I found some red huckleberries, which I had no idea existed until I read Langdon Cook’s blog Fat of the Land. Pam had just finished her water so we used her water bottle as our “berry receptacle”. The trail had become a little more difficult so Pam, Auntie Bev and Auntie Shirley turned around to go back to the boat. Bud and my dad kept going while my mom and I spent about forty-five minutes picking the red huckleberries along with a couple of regular blue huckleberries.
Mom Picking Huckleberries
Once we had filled the “berry receptacle” to the brim my mom and I started to hike up the trail till we found Bud and my dad. The hike was amazing as well as quite a lot of fun. As we climbed higher the trail continued to get steeper while winding through the woods, over and under fallen trees, up granite faces and around knobbly tree roots. When we finally met up with Bud and my dad they said they had hiked up to the half way marker and turned back so we headed back with them.
When we got back to the Breanna my dad and I got on the kayaks and went up to the outlet of the falls and got a nice close look at them. Afterward we headed back to the boat and got ready for dinner. We had a great dinner on the back deck of the boat, enjoying the scenery, the company and of course, the spaghetti. For dessert I cooked down the huckleberries with some sugar, agave syrup and water for a quick “compote” to top our vanilla ice cream with, and I have to say, it turned out better than I had anticipated. After dessert we watched the movie, The World's Fastest Indian.
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