Another beautiful day in paradise at Chatterbox falls. Every boat’s crew arose early to take advantage of the lovely weather and variety of activities available. Candice and Deanna, in search of an extreme workout, made their way up to the defunct trapper’s cabin. The elevation gain is 1,500 feet in just one to one and a half miles. The Zaya crew, Steve, Marci, Henry, Peter and Samuel ventured up a bit later and Nate followed shortly thereafter. The trail is steep and offers only roots for handholds.

Once the adventurers returned, everyone commented on the wild, natural beauty of the forest. Tremendous cedar, Douglass fir and big leaf maples wrapped in a thick coat of bright green moss all  reach to the sky, diminishing the light and minimizing the undergrowth. Four or five varieties of bright green ferns add to the delicate beauty of the undergrowth and devil’s club with is massive leaves, reaches up to gather what light penetrates.

Licia and Paul traveled back up to the rapids to visit the Young Life Christian summer camp at Malibu Rapids where two of their children had participated as students in previous years. As they toured the campus, they recognized many of the places from pictures that had been sent years ago when their children had been there.

The Double O’ Seven had moved from the dock to a mooring buoy. Their crew ventured across the inlet to McDonald Island to walk the loop trail there. Adam, led by Deanna (for the second time!) hiked up to the trapper’s cabin! That is NOT an easy trail! Deanna, you go girl!

Stella and Evan were keen to spend time enjoying each other’s company while paddling around the bay together, very content.

Zaya crew took their dinghy over the beach with a trailhead to series of pools carved into the granite by the cascading waterfall. The pools are a magical place with hard granite rock polished smooth by ages of water flowing over them. The water tumbles down from the top of the mountain and polishes the rock into a series of small pools all the way down to the bay. Flowers grow in small patches on the surrounding smoothed granite mountainside where water must travel during seasons of more copious rainfall.

That evening, Memories invited everyone over for social time. Their boat is perfect for gatherings as it has three decks to accommodate many guests. We had time to share stories and get to know more about one another. Although we are from different areas, we all share the love of boating adventures which makes for interesting stories!

As the busy day came to a close, adventurers migrated back to their boats for dinner and a quiet evening. Marci was joined by her three sons, all relaxing on the beach below Chatterbox Falls. What a sweet memory to carry forward as her three son’s grow into their adult lives.