Isle Royale Forums

I'm planning a walk that starts and ends in Rock Harbor, where I'll probably spend the night before catching the ferry home. When I was young and hopeful, about 6 hours ago, I thought that during my walk, I'd leave a small bag with clean clothes, food for the last day (+ extra food, in case gales disrupt the ferry schedule), and a paperback novel or two at the Rock Harbor Lodge. Now that I'm older and wiser, I understand that my visit will happen before the Rock Harbor Lodge opens for the season.

Hence the question: are there other acceptable ways to cache a small amount of gear in Rock Harbor for a few days? For instance, are the people managing the permit hut ever willing to hold a small parcel for a hiker? Or would it violate relevant regulations or social norms to leave a small critter-proof plastic tub in a campground shelter (clearly labelled to indicate when I'd be back to claim the tub, and also that I don't mean by leaving the tub to claim the shelter) for a few days? Or . . . ?

Obviously, it won't be the end of the world if I wind up carrying the extra gear and victuals during the walk. But owing to my advanced age and fragile dignity, I like to travel as lightly as I can!

Thanks!

Officially, no. That doesn't mean you might not find a kind soul who would unofficially help you out, but you can't count on it. Similarly for a duly labeled bag in the shelter--I'm sure it's been done, but if someone turned it in or a ranger found it, it would depend on the individual. Personally I would forgo the extra clothes--nice, yes, but lots of folks come off the trail and get on the boat. I usually bring extra food, but don't worry about it so much if leaving from R.H. or Windigo (Chippewa Harbor, Malone Bay, yes, absolutely). If the boat's delayed the rangers won't let you starve! And folks share food too. And even books (did that last year) .

We have been researching this a little for an upcoming trip this summer as well, and for what it's worth, even if the Lodge was open they won't let you stash food there. You can get a storage box for a fee, but no food storage is allowed. We are doing a Scout trip with a 3 day loop hike back to Rock Harbor and then a few days of canoe camping after that, so we were looking to stash the extra few days of food and gear while we are hiking.

Thanks, all. Maybe it will be good for my character to actually have to carry everything I use during my visit. Huntertim214, if I gather any useful intelligence during my May visit, I'll try to pass it on. The mailboat's intermittent early season schedule means this wouldn't work for me, but I wonder if in general it's possible/legal/practical to MAIL oneself a food cache?

Mailing is one option. Another, more expensive, way is to UPS the box to Voyageur and pay them to drop it off at a specific landing on a specific day.