Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visitors

Questions about trails and campsites on the island.

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Brewerbob
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Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visitors

Post by Brewerbob »

Need some QUICK help with a trip. I'm planning a trip around the Great Lakes (by car) after dropping the kids off in MN. I would like to add Isle Royale to the plans. I could do the seaplane Sunday afternoon, spend all of Monday on the island, and fly back out Tuesday afternoon and continue on with Pictured Rocks National Park. The entire trip from Baltimore, MD to MN to Pictured Rocks to Tonorto and back to Baltimore is a bit of a whirlwind trip but doable I think.

My problem so far with adding Isle Royale is getting to the island itself. Unless I've missed something, all of the ferries leave in the morning. Grand Portage boasts having two boats and the most available trips and the shortest transit time. Yet they only leave in the mornings as well. What gives?!!?!? Anyway, the seaplane takes care of that issue at a cost. But as I've never been on a seaplane, I'm willing to eat that.

I'm assuming I'll have boots on the ground by 3pm Sunday. Take off about the same time Tuesday. I haven't verified times or availiblity of the seaplane (yet). The question that remains is which end of the island do I go to? This question then leads to more (of course). How many miles and which loops should I hike? My backpack is about 32 lbs fully loaded. I can usually do about 12 miles a day with elevation changes without much sweat.


Without knowing the terrain or elevatioin changes, I should be able to do Windigo --> Island Mine 6.9 miles in 3 1/2 hrs (Sun night before dark). Island Mine --> to Feldtmann 14.7 miles in 8hrs (Monday before dark). And Feldtmann --> Windigo 8.8 in 4 1/2 hrs (Tuesday morning).

or...

Rock Harbor --> Daisy Farm 7.1 miles in 3 1/2 hrs. Daisy (Sun night before dark) --> to Lake Richie 5.8 miles in 3 hrs. Richie --> Chicken Bone East 5.0 in 2 1/2 hrs (Monday before dark). And Chicken E --> Rock 13.3 miles 7 hrs (Tuesday afternoon).



I don't think I'll have time for a canoe or kayak but if there is a "must see", please let me know.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by tree rattt »

Hey there! I think the ferries only leave in the morn because it takes so long to get anywhere.

I am kinda partial to the Feldtman loop myself .....but for my taste your schedule makes it a bit of a death march...but it sounds like it
May not be a problem for you.

Your other itinerary would be beautiful as well.....not a fan of east chicken bone though.

Both trips I would consider the big mile days a bit aggressive, I do like to smell the roses though. :)

Nice job on the pack weight! :) that will certainly help!

I am not real familiar with the water taxis ....but it may be something to consider. they may be able you to level the milages out a bit .....or even see more of the island.The shore line to chippewa harbor is very nice.

Hope this helps a little:)

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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

Thx for the reply.

My days do tend to start out as death marches. About 2.7 mph for the first few hours. Down to about 2.5 by lunch. Dragging butt by evening at around 2.0 Elevation changes can wreck that in a hurry tho.

I don't really know anything about the island other than what I've seen in limited pictures. I've only been considering this trip for about 2 weeks now. I'm more of a do-er than planner. Hence the Chicken Bone East. It just happens to make about the right sized loop. To be honest, 30 miles is a stretch. I would prefer 20~25 for a 2 day hike.

The pack weight is good? I've been trying to get it lower. That's 3 liters of water, a couple of days of food, couple of changes of clothes, tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag. The biggest item will kill me yet. I like my photos so I cart around my DSLR. It weighs 3 lbs 11 oz with the little lens. 6 lbs 12 oz with 2 lenses. As this will be a long distance trip, I'll bring both and the tripod. Maybe I should look at the water taxis after all.

I don't like back tracking over the same trail and I don't have the time to hike the 40 miles end to end. I hadn't really considered the water taxis but you're right that I'd get to see more of the island that way.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by tree rattt »

If you don't know anything about the island ....you came to the right place. Everyone is very friendly ...a great bunch of folks! :) just for a reference point, with I R'S ups and downs and slick trails, muddy trails and downed trees ....not to mention the photo ops ;) I believe around 1mph is what the park service says is average speed.In spots it is better speed, others not so much.

32 pounds isn't too bad, as long as you are comfotable with the weight and have what you need to be safe and enjoy yourself. All to often we hear about 60 to 65 #....yikes!!!!!

Elevation changes are typically into the hundereds of feet.

Also pictured rocks is an awesome place....I recomend the cruise. It takes a few hours and you really get to see the beautiful cliffs!
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Lucky Chicken »

I would do Feldtmann the other way. To Feldtmann when you get there, then to siskiwit, then to windigo for a 3pm flight... Siskiwit to Windigo is an easy 12 miles hardest part is getting the 4 miles to island mine then it's all down hill. Get an early start and you could be there around lunchtime with your pase. I found the elivation very easy compaired to what I used to in the Smokies, Isle Royale's "mountains" are not quite as formatable.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

Tree Ratt,
Photo ops will definitely slow me down but I'm pretty good about that. I don't bust out the tripod every 5 minutes or sit for hours waiting for the best light.

Lucky Chicken,
I found a guide that suggested both of my routes in the opposite rotation. I just did clockwise for ease of use. Thanks for the correction in course of travel. That's the kind of thing that is really helpful. I'm also used to the Smokies, Shanadoah (sp), etc. so knowing they aren't as rough is good info too.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by tree rattt »

We did the trail in the opposite direction as well. You will get a nice view at the overlook before dropping down into grace creek.If going the opposite direction, consider a no cook meal for dinner, this may allow time to hike out to rainbow cove for the obligatory sunset photo opp.You will get another good photo opp as you go up on to the Feldman ridge a hair over a mile outa camp.Down side of leaving early here is the morning fog or mist may not be burned off yet.....we missed the view :(to. Another good spot is from the Feldman fire tower.

Ya Lucky Chicken is right on the money,if you hike the real mountains IR isn't going to slow you down :)

Not sure how it works with the float plane but make sure you figure a half hour to 45 min for the LNT talk and registration....if it takes less then bonus to you!
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

I'll go with the opposite direction like everyone else. Is there a lot of fog this time of year?

I wouldn't call the Appalachians "real" mountains. The tallest of the bunch is under 6700 feet. The real mountains are the Rockies and larger. Not that I'm ready for those by any stretch. I'll stick with the east coast's baby mountains.

Sent the Float Plane people an email asking about locatoins, schedules, etc. I'll keep everyone posted.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Lucky Chicken »

yes the Rockies are taller, but the base is also higher... the Smokies base is low so the amount you have to climb is roughly equivalent for trails... now if you are peak bagging and rock climbing that is a different story... A 4,000ft elevation gain day or 10,000ft up and down is rough in the east too, you just have a little more air...

Sunset in rainbow http://www.simslifephotography.com/gall ... large.html ... and after you get back in feldtmann over the lake edge http://www.simslifephotography.com/gall ... large.html... can be very nice....
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

Yeah, you're probably right. Base to top Rockies is probably a little higher than East coast. Might get 6~8k feet out of the Rockies. Because the Appalachians are SOOOoooo much older they aren't quite as dramatic either. Not that I'm going to be peak climbing any time soon (read as never). I think there is a total of 6 mountains on the entire A.T. that are 6K. I'm not sure if there are any 4k single day gains outside of those 6 peaks. The A.T. is on the bucket list for a thru hike (hoping '16) but I'm not intimately familiar with all of it yet. I'll have to chekc my book at home.

I'll have to check out your pictures at home too. http://www.simslifephotography.com made the nanny list of blocked sites. :/
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Ingo »

Hey Bob, do be aware that all transportation to/from and on the island are weather dependent, and the seaplane the most so. I did something similar using the seaplane (although a lot fewer miles, just the Huginnin loop) and it worked out, but just be aware and prepared to be flexible.

My son-in-law from east Tennessee has done the Smokies a lot and found Isle Royale to be comparable in effort/difficulty--a bit to his surprise.

Hope it works out and have a great trip!
22: BI-PC-BI-RH, 21: RH-ML-DF-MB-DF, 18: MC-PC-BI-DB-RH-DF, 17: WI-IM-SB-FL-WC, 16: RH-CI-TI-RH, 14: BI-ML-CI-CH-MB, 13: RH-PI, 12: MC-CB-HL-TH, 11: WC-HC-WC, 09: MC-BI-DN-RH, 05: MI-CI-MB-DF-RH-TM-RH, 02: MC-LR-WL-CH, 01: BI-DB-RH, 79: worked RH
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Lucky Chicken »

Ingo wrote:Hey Bob, do be aware that all transportation to/from and on the island are weather dependent, and the seaplane the most so. I did something similar using the seaplane (although a lot fewer miles, just the Huginnin loop) and it worked out, but just be aware and prepared to be flexible.

My son-in-law from east Tennessee has done the Smokies a lot and found Isle Royale to be comparable in effort/difficulty--a bit to his surprise.

Hope it works out and have a great trip!
Where is your SIL from in East TN? ... that's where I grew up! I found it much easier, but that is probably very dependent on what trails you are on and comparing to. There were some rough/ steep spots, but not nearly as long as most of the ones I've been on there. aka, lots of level recovery time in the swamps... maybe that is just the west end?

As I tell my crew before we go out, plan and train to go up and down a mountain every day and whatever we hit will be easier.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Ingo »

Lucky, he grew up around Newport. We did McCargoe->C.B.->Hatchet->Todd. His broken wrist, which cut the trip short, may have influenced his impression a little (or a lot :shock: ) though. As you say, exactly what you're comparing matters, but I.R. was somewhat more than he was expecting in any case. Personally I got issues with long climbs...
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

Lucky Chicken wrote:
Ingo wrote:As I tell my crew before we go out, plan and train to go up and down a mountain every day and whatever we hit will be easier.
Excellent advice and follows my outlook as well.

Ingo... A broken wrist would do that to you.
I recently took a friend of my son to Dolly Sods for his first ever backpacking trip. He did fine albeit slow the first day. Second day he was cranky. 18 yr old and cranky. I set my hat down at one of our many stops Sunday morning while I waited for him to catch up. When he did, he noticed my hat was missing. It was my Grand Canyon hat so I wasn't sure if I could re-order one online or not. I decided to go back for it. I gave him the map pointed out where we were on the trail, where the trail went, etc. Told him to either stay put or he could continue on and I'd catch up. Turns out my hat was about a mile to mile and a half back (4th stop not 1st stop). He got tired of waiting for me after about half an hour and decided to continue on. If you've been to Dolly Sods you know some of the trails are very rocky and if you don't purposely pay a lot of attention to the rock cairns, it's difficult to find the trail in spots. Not a problem for anyone used to being outsdoors but he has very little experience and zero solo experience (kids these days!!). He wandered off trail and managed to fall in the creek. He then took my backpack off (all his gear was mine that I was loaning him). When he finally figured his way back to the trail, he wandered off with the next random group of hikers. Needless to say, I never caught up with him. Once I reached the road and saw he wasn't there, I figured he got lazy and took another trail that looked easier. It also led to the road. I went and got the car, did a drive by of all the trailheads. Still no kid. Fine, I went back in and hiked the forked trail that I figured he took. No kid. Did another driveby of all the trailhead. No kid. By this point it was 2 1/2 hrs until dark. I drove back into town and called 911 for search and resue. As they were coming out to the area, the kid was passing the other way in the car of yet a different group of hikers. Turns out he was fine and unhurt which is good but I'm out about $500 worth of gear because he "lost" it. Had he just said he threw it off because he was tired I could have done back myself and gotten it.

Anywho, short story long, I'm syre his version of Dolly Sods is rougher than most people's.
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Re: Short trip Isle Royale 6-29-14; need help from past visi

Post by Brewerbob »

P.S. Yes, I know getting to/from the island is weather dependent. I threw Isle Royale on the list at the last minute (the whole trip is last minute by most people's standards). I'd really like to get out there as I'll be in the "neighborhood" and I won't likely be back out there any time soon. I am always flying by the seat of my pants so if I don't make it out there, I will be disappointed but not devastated. Adaptation while on vacation is one of my specialies. Drives everyone else insane but c'est la vie. This trip will be solo once I dump the kids so there's only one boss to answer to and me and him get along great.
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