I'm (finally) buying a Garmin inReach to give my relatives peace of mind. I'm especially a fan of the free check-in messages. Sadly the 20% coupon doesn't work on devices with GPS chips, but the dividend at least takes a bit of the edge off. "At campground, all is well." Garmin: I've acqu...

that is a supercool scheme! I'm also hoping you'll carry it out (and report)! I wonder if the Voyageur folk would consider some sort of frequent flyer discount? In a way, you're just booking one outbound (to RH) and one inbound (from RH) trip. Also, you'll practically be a member of the crew by the ...

I'm famously bad at reasoning involving small numbers and dates, but I *think* that if your trip falls before September 21st this year, you can take the Voyageur on a Sunday from RH to Chippewa, spend 3 nights en route to McCargo, then be collected there by the (RH bound) Voyageur on the following W...

I understand that this won't be much help for planning ahead unless it's available in another format, but--- there is, or used to be, a binder on the IR Queen that had what I remember as quite comprehensive writeups (including profiles) on the Island's trails and (maybe?) campsites. Am I imagining t...

backwoods doc wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 2:00 pm Similar to humans, I see that the frigid water plunge was preceded by drinking.

but not, in this case, by leaning out over the water to pee . . . .

European moose aside: The natural history museum at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris has a famous stuffed moose sent to France's leading 18th naturalist, Comte de Buffon, by Thomas Jefferson, as part of their beef about whether everything in North America was paltry and weak compared to everything in...

The old boiler is high on my list of things to find, along with any other remnants of the Island Mine (like the well, and the powder house on Senter Point). Mine ruins are definitely one of the highlights of hiking on the island for me! I remember a well right on the trail, possibly even signed! Li...

A few years ago, I walked the Feldtmann loop, ccw, about a week later than you're planning. It was tremendous! The early season benefits include low probabilities of crowds, bugs, and view-obscuring leafs. The anti-benefits are cold and wet, but if you bring an extra pair of socks, bonus fuel and fo...

Thanks for the report---especially appreciated in the offseason. I admire your high tech gear (garbage bag and newspapers---I always carry two bread bags to wear over my sleeping socks when I need to put damp shoes on for overnight forays) and perseverance!

Anybody else notice the sharp increase 2015-2016? 6,300 more people are listed as visiting; that's a huge variation. that caught my attention too! I wondered whether the NPS centennial contributed to the surge. If it did, presumably the pattern repeated across the park system. Then an interesting q...

It looks like rich posted the 2022 edition here on March 1.

A few more thoughts: -I'm envious! You're going to have a grand trip!! -something that could add options (but also would add complications, de facto deadlines, and expense) is incorporating a leg on the Voyageur, which can deliver you to Chippewa from RH, or collect you at Chippewa and deliver you t...

Nice report. I hadn't realized there were so many "moldering privies" on the island. That struck me as well. My two hypotheses were: (i) in the author's taxonomy, if you're a privy, you're either moldering or composting. And the IR privies aren't composting. (ii) There was something Homer...

It's too bad (if it's true) that she didn't find this forum when she was poking around the internet before the trip---she seems like she would have appreciated how we roll. But very obviously, the trip went fine without us (if it did)!

https://thetrek.co/isle-royale-national ... ip-report/

check out the photo credit for the Ranger picture that accompanies the article--it's the forums' own chief!!