The biggest I have been in is ~a foot and a half surf. Keep in mind that Lake Ritchie, Chippewa Harbor, and McCargo Cove can get rough as well. The geography of Isle Royale can channel winds onto the interior lakes and harbors. I had to paddle Lake Ritchie with wind and white caps --say 1-2 foot wa...

Keep in mind that there is free WiFi service in the lodge at Snug Harbor. If you have a smartphone or a tablet you can send email or potentially Voip, Skype or Facetime (depending on the bandwidth available). WiFi may also be available in the Windigo area (perhaps by the employee cabins -- someone m...

My writing was somewhat confusing -- I went fishing in Chippewa Harbor, not Lake Mason. As for the lack of fishing in Lake Mason, there is an outlet creek that connects Lake Mason with Chippewa Harbor. Google Earth imagery indicates that there are beaver dams along the creek. Perhaps some prey fish ...

August 27: Arrived at Rock Harbor via the Ranger III. Very dense fog - visibility of 100 yards or less at times. Showed some first time visitors where the RH campground and the Tobin Harbor trails were located. Inflated the packraft (an Alpacka Denali Llama) and loaded up. Paddled to 3 Mile through ...

I would agree with doing the Minong first -- it is much easier to get off the Minong from NLD to Washington Creek than to go from WC to NLD.

Other than that caveat, have fun.

The Greenstone is the most traveled long trail on ISRO and the campgrounds tend to be "heavily" used. Most of the traffic is between Windigo and the Daisy Farm or Mt. Ojibway trails, so Lane Cove, which is east of this area would be the Greenstone Ridge trail's least visited campground. Ke...

I am planning an August visit to ISRO with my packraft. I would like to get down to Sargent Lake and I see that getting to the tongue area is not a problem from the Greenstone near the trail that goes to DF. However, I want to then cut over to McCargoe cove without using the outlet creek, which look...

I used around 1/2 of a 4oz bottle of Repel 100 DEET (this stuff keeps bugs away at the expense of melting any plastic that it comes into contact with) for 15 days on ISRO. I also used a bug head net. Figure 1-2 oz of bug spray per person per week (I suppose more if you are using less powerful concen...

Sharp cheeses (very dry) will last longest without refrigeration. There is a Wallmart in Houghton where you could purchase said cheese prior to your trip.

A liter of Everclear 190 is available for around the same price as the denatured alcohol.... From just a straight BTU perspective, Kerosene has most followed by Napthta/White Gas followed by butane followed by alcohol (denatured or otherwise). Kerosene can be a real PITA to use -- I have had flameou...

I would have to agree that leaving behind such notes would violate LNT. ISRO is not an impulse backpacking/paddling/fishing destination (unless you live on the Keweenaw Peninsula or in the Arrowhead region and you have unlimited funds). Most folks do quite a bit of research before going and the best...

If you are able, please post pictures. It sounds like the conditions on ISRO are unprecedented. I would also remind folks to stay safe -- no paddling without drysuits, don't attempt rockfaces or exposed rock without crampons if there is any hint of ice, bring a snow shovel to dig out your companions...

Having done the Greenstone/ Minong loop, I would recommend doing the Minong first and then working back to RH on the Greenstone. The Minong is the more technical trail. The stretch of the Minong from WC to NLD or from NLD to WC is perhaps the most technical stretch of trail on ISRO and going up the ...

The problem is less about wolves and more about moose. Should the wolves die out, there will be nothing (apart from winter ticks) regulating the moose herd and at some point ISRO will get over browsed, which might not be a pretty sight. Caribou were present on ISRO through 1920 or so. Lynx were pres...

The "store" in Windigo is very small with a minimum of supplies (other than shower tokens, ice cream, and ISRO souvenirs. The store in Rock Harbor is bigger with more of a selection (but not much more). As has been said before, the stores are only to stock up on something that you forgot (...