Thoughts on a Labor Day-ish Trip?

[hooky]

I've only been in the late May/early june time frame. I'm planning a trip that will start midweek before Labor Day and bring me back the Wednesday after. I'm curious about what to expect as far as crowds go. This will be in and out of RH, but no set itinerary yet. I'll probably have some time set aside to fish a little too, so wondering about that.

Anything else I would need to take into account this time of year vs. spring? Are the moose rutting at this time?

[Tightlines01]

Went the first full week of Sept my 3rd trip. Nice time on the isle. Crowds were heavier than I expected on east side but very low on west side. Labor Day is a bit early I believe for the rut but they should be getting ready for rut and maybe a bit crazy then.

[Tom]

I agree with Tightlines01, it might be a little early for rut, but they might start their 'talking' at times. Fun to listen to.
Crowds definitely drop after Labor Day, but you could still see numbers right up until then, for a last hurrah.

A couple other considerations compared to spring on the Isle:
Water availability - Depending on how rain has been coming, streams can be murky or light. Also, a few of the inland lakes (Chickenbone and Ritchie come to mind) have a past history of algae blooms that create a "do not drink" warning. Be prepared when you arrive that you might adjust your itinerary it that's occurred.
Day length - That's the biggest thing I noticed when I hiked in Sept vs May/June. It gets dark "a lot" earlier! (Or maybe it's just so late to set in mid June..)
Bugs - Tend to be rare.

[hooky]

Hadn't even thought about the water situation. Thanks for the heads up on that.

[treeplanter]

Late summer is a great time to be on the island. At least at Windigo, crowds drop off big time after Labor Day. Though it was several years back, we had our choice of shelters when we were there. Virtually no bugs too. As for moose, one cow was following us uncomfortably close when we hiked up the Greenstone from Windigo one afternoon on a day hike, but that was about it. As Tom mention, the biggest surprise was how short the days are in September. It can make for a very long evening, when things get dark at 8:00 PM.

[Midwest Ed]

Last year I was on the Island during the last week before Labor Day. I stayed at the Lodge so of course I hung out around Rock Harbor most of the time. The boats (Queen, Voyageur and Ranger) that came and went seemed to be less than half full (The Ranger even less so). The lodge closes on Labor day so there is always a flurry of activity in RH getting ready to shut down and leave for the season. It seemed like the water taxis hardly ever left the dock so they should be easy to schedule if interested. The "tour boat" MV Sandy never had more than 4 or 5 people on board and a couple of scheduled trips were cancelled due to lack of interest.

There were two days of windy weather and the ferries were delayed one day. It was so windy all week that boat and canoe rental was severely restricted most of the time. This is always more of a possibility later in the season.

I did not see a single moose around RH or on any of the surrounding trails. The shorter days do allow for more star gazing but I was a bit disappointed due to the growth of Thunder Bay, CA. It was remarkable how much light pollution it created.

[Redbad]

The long Labor day weekend will mean that campsites in the RH area (RH, TM, DF, MB) will be full or nearly so and the noise level will be higher. If you can get to some of the interior campgrounds you should be OK. There also will be more boating activity so CI and TI may also be full.

Water -- agreed on algae bloom possibilities on Lake Ritchie and Chickenbone lakes. Storms will disperse the algae.

Weather -- Be prepared for storms and the possibility that the ferries might not run due to high waves. The beginning of September is the start of fall on ISRO.

Moose -- they are not frequently seen in the RH lodge area proper. They do go to the islands in Rock Harbor -- there was a lot of moose scat on Caribou Island at the end of August last year. Again, the interior of the Island is where it is most likely to see moose. Tobin harbor and maybe Scoville point might allow you to see some moose.

The Lodge and the store -- I think that the lodge and the store closes the week after Labor day, but you will want to check their schedule.

Fishing -- lake trout should be active.

After Labor day things will get a lot quieter.

[Tampico]

Two of my trips have been over the Labor Day weekend.

Visitor numbers drop significantly. Weather has been nice.

It's also the start of Gale Season, be prepared.

[hooky]

Thanks for all of the replies. It sounds like I may adjust the dates to be on the island for a longer stretch after Labor Day. Maybe I'll try to hit the Island on the Saturday before and stay through to the following weekend.

Now I just need to figure out the itinerary. I'd like to avoid 3M & Daisy altogether, so maybe I have a water taxi in my future.

[hooky]

Here's what I'm thinking for an itinerary:

Labor Day - Drive to Houghton
Day 1 - RH -> Lane 7 miles
Day 2 - Lane -> McCargoe 13 miles
Day 3 - McCargoe -> Moskey 8.4 miles

Then I'm thinking of 2 options.

Option 1 is Moskey to Chip and water taxi the next day to catch R3

Option 2 is Moskey to 3M and then RH the next morning to catch the boat

[strikeout]RH Lodge's website shows 2013 dates & hours, so I need to call to find out if they're still operating the taxi's the weekend after Labor Day. I really hope they're operating because that would give me a third new location to visit (Lane & McCargoe being the other 2) Assuming they are running and the weather allows for it, should I be concerned about their timeliness in picking me up to make the boat home? [/strikeout]

I called and they'll be closed. Wouldn't have been able to make the boat anyway. Another option would be to take the water taxi to Chippewa Tuesday afternoon and do the route backwards skipping Lane and posting up at 3M after McCargoe.

[Ingo]

I like your last thought. Take the water taxi from RH to CH and work your way back. If there's any issue with the weather/boat you can adjust up front.

[Midwest Ed]

Since you are starting in Indiana, are you firmly committed to the Michigan ferries? It would only be approximately an additional 3 hour car ride to Grand Portage, MN. This would open up the availability to be dropped off at McCargoe Cove and then picked up in Chippewa Harbor.

[hooky]

I think if I went out of Grand Portage, I'd stay on the west end as that would give me an entire trip of new areas. I hadn't really thought about that option. I won't be leaving the Indy area until around 2 pm on Labor Day, so the MI ferries gave me an option to get some more sleep the night before. I should research that GP idea. I thought about a plane back, but the weather issues made me gun shy. I guess I should really just take a look at this from every angle.

What would a good 4 night McCargoe to CH route look like?

[hooky]

Ed put the bug in my ear to go out of Grand Portage and I think I'm going to Go in on Wednesday the 3rd and come out of Malone on Sunday the 7th.

Wed: Windigo - Feldtmann hike to rainbow cove for sunset

Thursday: Feldtmann - Siskwit or Island Mine

Friday: Siskwit or Island Mine - S Desor

Saturday: S Desor - Malone

Sunday: Malone - Windigo - Grand Portage

ETA: I just booked the boat. It's official.