A First Boat Experience!

[Tom]

It was COLD!

The End.

[Tom]

Sorry. Always wanted to do that. Here's Part I of the TR, I'll get photos and Part II posted in the coming days.

The synopsis, for those who enjoy notes by Cliff:
- New Engines on the Voyageur II, and great food!
- Ranger Valerie is no longer with the NPS.
- It was cold. Seriously. There was still snow on the northern faces of rocks.
- Lane Cove, Moskey Basin, Hatchet, Malone. What's not to love?
- The dock at Moskey took a serious hit by ice, I'm guessing. What else can buckle a concrete pier.
- There are moose on that there Island.
- It's not as first boat as people think it is..

Part I -
7May2010 –
My brother in law Brent and I departed the Twin Cities, MN, about 11:00am CDT (All times in this TR will be in CDT, btw). It was a rainy day, with forecasts for rain most of the trip up, with possible snow. We stopped at a Gander Mountain outdoor store north of the metro so Brent could buy some wool socks and a headlamp; two items that had gone missing from the previous year. Perhaps the perils of having two daughters who can’t wait for their own trips to Isle Royale in the future. After a quick lunch to go from the Pine City McDonald’s, we watched as the train transitioned to snow about Moose Lake. By the time we were coming into Duluth, it was a full blown whiteout, complete with vehicle spin outs and sloppy roads. We took a few pictures to show the ‘snowy scene’ and had a couple laughs, but I think both of us paused realizing that we’re heading out to the Island in the morning, and this weather would really stink.. Ultimately, we heard Duluth received 4.5inches that day, but it was highly localized. By the time we hit Two Harbors, we were coming out of the precipitation and by Grand Marais, they really hadn’t had any rain that day. Whew!
We arrived at Ryden’s and checked in to Room 2. I could see in the book Room 1 was reserved by none other than “Rolf Peterson,” but it turns out it was a volunteer coming out for the expedition. We went down to the dock, where we found Don and Matt busy getting the final touches ready on the Voyageur II. *(I’ll note for forum visitors that normal protocol is that the docks are private and off limits when the boats are not loading or dropping off passengers, and we were visiting to return some materials Don provided for the Expo show in April.)
First Mate Matt was marveling at his brand spanking new coffee pot, and Don showed us the new (to her) rubber-mounted Detroit Diesels that will power the VII this year. You can find ANYTHING on Craigslist. I would have taken a picture, but these babies were so sparkling white that I’m sure the photo would not have turned out. Don explained that they also have an official, marine based transmission that prevents the governor ‘surging’ that the traditional transmissions would do when the Voyageur would push up and around waves. I did take a few pictures of the new diamond-plate engine covers, and they’re a little ‘harder’ than the old ones, but still provide some nice warmth at the end of a journey. There are also some new doors, that Capt Don has made himself. Very nice!
After chit chatting with the gang for a while, Brent and I returned to the room to see if the heat had raised any, and finalized our packing. Then it was off to the Lodge and Casino, where we met up with Capt Don and better half Jen, where we enjoyed a lovely dinner amongst great company. Adjacent to us, at a table of perhaps 12-15, was Rolf and Candy Peterson and a gaggle of volunteers who would be out on the boat the following morning for the first of the “formerly Earthwatch, now run by MTU” expeditions to slog through the forest picking up kill remains.
After Dinner Capt Don, Brent, and I retired to the casino bar, where we shot the breeze and enjoyed a few beverages. I think we all were a bit surprised when our watches indicated it was nearly 11pm, and so we scampered back to our beds to be ready for the early morning.

8May 2010 (Saturday)
I awoke around 5:45. We needed to be down at the dock at 7am, so this gave us plenty of time. However, early in the year (before the fishing opener, I’m guessing) Ryden’s doesn’t open for they’re breakfast until 7am.. However, “somebody will be around by 6:30 to get the griddle started, so you might try…” – We elected to pass, and picked up a muffin an juice from the Trading Post/Gas Station near the lodge, instead. Ran into Capt Don who must have been thinking the same thing. We drove down to the parking area to find a remarkably filling upper lot. Lots of excited campers waiting to go! There was a cold wind blowing; and waves were forecast for 3-5’, but at least the skies looked like we wouldn’t get rain! As we all waited on the dock, routine first-timer Jasper arrived with his customary cake. Jasper wouldn’t be making the trip with us this year, but still took the time to drive up from St. Cloud, MN, to partake in first boat frivolity. He provided us all with name tags so that everyone “would talk to each other” on the boat. Great, fun guy. Capt Mike and Matt loaded up all of our gear, and everyone posed for a group picture before loading onto the boat for the first sail of the season. Mike started up those engines (a LITTLE quieter than the old engines, but certainly less vibration) and we pulled away from the dock. For those who haven’t taken the first boat, because there are no return pick-ups, she performs the entire circumnavigation in one day. Because that could possibly take over 12 hours, which exceeds Coast Guard regulations for a Captain from what I understand, Capt. Don rode along so he could take over piloting if necessary. Not far from the shelter of the harbor we found a rolling beam sea, which caused the VII to pitch back and forth a fair amount. Hard to say, but waves were probably 4-5’. We had a few folks out the back, taking care of, ahem, issues, but I think most folks where OK. The new engines made good time and we found ourselves in the shelter of Washington Harbor soon enough. As we entered the harbor, I struck up a conversation with none-other than Mike Trembelay from the “old” forum. (http://www.isleroyale.info) He’s finishing up a book/multimedia project on Isle Royale, a guide book of sorts, that he hopes to have available for purchase in a month of two. He’ll post details as they become available. Ranger Lucas Wescott met us on the dock. The rumors some have heard are true; after numerous LNT talks, Ranger Valerie has left the NPS for related work. From what I understand, she’ll still be working on the park in another capacity for some type of educational outreach… Not fully sure, but if anyone sees her, be sure to ask! Ranger Lucas was previously stationed at Rock Harbor, and sounds like he’ll be the new “Valerie” at Windigo. John Vujosich met the Wolf Team on the dock, and they split their way, whlist the remainder of us gather at the shore side of the dock. Ranger Lucas gave us a chilly, windy LNT talk, and we had a handful of first time visitors, which is always great to see! The computers were down, so that meant slower, paper permitting, but soon those of us sailing around the Isle were ready to go, and off the Voyageur II went. The boat got quiet fast; with only a few remaining – A father son team dropping at McCargoe for the inland water route to Malone; a gent stopping for a couple weeks as part of the “Seebs” team, two others dropping at Rock Harbor with us doing a Greenstone East to West, and then “Buck Bob” AKA “Seebs” and friends, who were heading down to Chippewa. (Bob says hi, Fonix!) They’ll spend two weeks at Chippewa, and then the boat will take them to Malone for a week. He pays for an extra 100lbs in freight, and they basically base camp and relax during the time that daily site limit’s don’t apply. Sounds relaxing! Along the North route, Seebs told me of his hobby of visiting the triangulation points placed on the Isle, and provided me some coordinates that we could find on our route. For those who haven’t noticed, many topo maps will include small little triangles with an elevation point. If you visit the location, you’ll typically find a circular cairn that surrounds a small, 3” or so diameter disk that was placed during the 1938 survey… Which as Seebs points out, clearly happened after a fire. Seebs, if you’re reading this, you’ll know that I found a couple of them!
After dropping a couple at McCargoe, we enjoyed relative calm (although at this point, the seas were more head on, as winds were out of the east) as we passed through the Amygdaloids and Fingers area, while munching and trying out the new wrap sandwiches that are available on the boat. Talk about tasty! There is a ham/cheese and a turkey/cheese option, BOTH very good. The secret ingredient Don figured out is to use coleslaw mix instead of salad, which keeps a great crunch. At $3, they’re the perfect treat when getting picked up! Eventually we again found a pitching boat about as we rounded Blake Point. Then it calmed nicely as we arrived to a deserted Rock Harbor… And I mean deserted. Eerie like. The crews for the area weren’t scheduled to arrive until Tuesday, from what we heard. We bid adieu to the Voyageur II, settled up our packs and ditched our warmer coats, and were on the Tobin Harbor trail by 3:20. The temps were in the mid 40s, I would guess, which makes for great hiking weather. The skies had cleared, so we knew we would have great weather today.
As many can attest, the Tobin Harbor Trail is about as gentle as they come. That was probably a disadvantage to us, as we may have perhaps paced ourselves a bit fast to start. We slowed a little as we hit the Mt Franklin Trail, and about half way up the trail were treated to our first moose of the trip. We startled a cow eating off the West of the trail. We didn’t get a chance to get pictures, and frankly, with temps as cool as they were, I was somewhat concerned on battery life… Eventually we reached the Greenstone trail, and dropped the packs for a little break. The trail up gets a bit tiring at times, at least for folks that have only had the packs on for a couple hours.. We continued down the Lane Cove Trail, which is a fairly steep set of trails back down to the lake, all the time you keep thinking “I have to go back up this” which certainly doesn’t help.
We finally arrived at Lane Cove at 6:50pm, and the sun was waning fast. We had been “on trail” for 2:54, so not a bad day hiking. I was a bit worn out; one part long day; one part expediting our hiking pace to make sure we arrived to camp with enough light. As one would expect, we had the campsite to ourself. We set up shelter and prepared dinner (Mountain House Beef Stew ProPak, great for cool weather.) Once we stopped hiking, you needed to get a layer or two on you before you cooled down. It was certainly chilly. I took a few photos at dusk, and then headed back to the tent to put on a few thermal layers before sealing myself up in the bag. The forecast was for lows around 28F, but I was hoping we were close enough to the lake to perhaps get a few degrees warmer from the water. As night fell, it was interesting how QUIET it became. At the cooler temps, there were no ‘forest’ noises – No insects, no frogs, and the wind died down, so no lapping waves. It was nearly dead silent. Very neat!

Part II in the coming days...

[jerry]

Thanks! Look forward to pictures and remaining portion of TR.

[Vandy]

Great report....so far! Looking forward to Part II

[Tampico]

Was the dock at Moskey still usable, or has the PS closed it?

[JonG]

Thanks! I look forward to pt.2 and some pics. Hopefully lots of pics.

[Tom]

Was the dock at Moskey still usable, or has the PS closed it?

The dock still appears open, except for perhaps the last 15-20' or so lakeside. They have (or did) a temporarily little barricade made of caution tape and some posts. In hindsight I wish I took a few pictures, but it was darn cold that morning and we didn't bring it over to the dock. Basically there was a buckle in the concrete, somewhat near the end, that went up a couple feet. It's only then that you look at the concrete and think, wow - Powerful event. We couldn't tell if the cribbing was pushed around, either. However, given that's a fair good sized dock with decent depths, I'm thinking most boats can still moor.

I hope to get Part II complete and the pictures posted in the next couple days!

[Tampico]

Thanks Tom. A friend received this email from the Park Service:

The Moskey Basin dock was damaged during the winter. The first 20 feet of the dock are roped off and cannot be used. We would suggest that boaters not use the dock until it is repaired. One other dock that is out of commission is the Three Mile Campground dock.

[BlackCoffee]

Sounds good so far! I can't wait to read about the rest of the trip.

[Backpacker534]

This little bit sounds good, Tom. Can't wait to read the rest and see some photos. By the way, thanks for the phone call with the info/brief TR on my way up. Boy, what a difference a couple days makes. My trip was nothing but blue skies and 60-70 degree days from May 15 - May 20. The best trip I've ever had!

[fonixmunkee]

Nice TR, Tom. Can't wait for the rest. You really got me upset at myself for not getting a trip organized yet.

Bobby, AKA "Buck Bob" AKA "Seebs" is a family friend who we usually see twice a year. He stops by Superior on his way out to Grand Portage to catch the boat. I love listening to his stories, and yes, he's very passionate about finding those triangulation points (I had most of them in a file for awhile, not sure if I lost them). When I talk to him, I'll be sure to let him know that you found a few. Usually he goes out with my girlfriend's dad--as they have been for the past 30 or 40 years--and do exactly what you said...bring 5 gallon buckets with gear in it and just base camp. He was the one who got a call out of Chippewa Harbor to tell us that the bugs were getting bad, and to say that it had got darn cold (as you eluded to). He ended up leaving two days early because the bugs got so bad.

Can't wait to hear the rest of the TR!

[Tom]

YIKES! Time can get away from a guy! Without further adieu, I present the remainder of the TR.

Oh, and pictures can be found at http://community.webshots.com/album/578000520MoFeeR

9May 2010 (Sunday)
Woke up to a silent Lane Cove around 5:15am, and ventured out to answer the call of nature. The sun was already coming up, but things were quite cold, perhaps right around freezing. After a brief walk about the silent camp we had to ourselves, I settled back in the tent and snuggled into my bag until about 6:45. Brent slept in for another hour or so… Which was probably smart, because it was just darn cool to be setting out and about. Once he rose we had an oatmeal breakfast and some tea, and then started to break camp. I redistributed a few items to Brent’s pack; namely the cookset and the Eno Hammock we decided to bring. I had kept them in my pack for the first day, but I think we were a little unequal in weight, and I certainly felt that extra on the first day. We finally finished packing and hit the trail around 10:20, with sunny skies and a forecast for good (if not cool) weather. At least the chance of precip had passed for now. That darn hike out of Lane Cove can be brutal at times, but at least we’re fresh. After 1:07 on the trail (11:41 CDT) we arrived at Mt Franklin, and dropped the packs to take a break and enjoy the view. We spotted a moose hanging out and feeding down in the pond/small lake that’s pretty much right below Franklin to the north. Eventually we packed up again and at 1:07pm we arrived at Mt Ojibway. The hike between those two spots isn’t very bad, but something was bothering my feet already so I took the opportunity to apply a little moleskin while Brent climbed up the tower. We then descended down the Mt Ojibway trail toward Daisy Farm, which descends fairly rapidly for a bit, which made me glad we weren’t going back up. We came across the party of two we disembarked with at Rock Harbor, who planned to stay the night at Daisy. They were meandering up to the tower, and had a good first night at Threemile. Just beyond them, however, I took a spill off a rock and bumped the knee and slightly twisted my ankle, which sent panic into my brain thinking the rest of the trip might be a goner. However, it wasn’t too bad and I was able to push on and walk it off. We arrived at Daisy Farm at 2:27pm, where our plan was to stop for lunch. (Albeit a late lunch.) We prepared a Cache Lake Bean and Cheese spread to put on pita bread. Not too bad! We filtered water to fill up, and I made a quick hike over to the ranger station… Nobody there, yet! We then laid out enjoying the sun while taking a break off the feet, and after a small discussion, decided to stick to our original plan to continue to Moskey Basin. We returned to the trail at 3:35pm – Oh momma – That first 2/3s of the trail made us question that thought. It’s like much of the rest of the Rock Harbor trail, up and down over rock, which was not too welcome on our growingly weary bodies. After all, it was only day two – We hadn’t hardened up yet! Fortunately, the last 1/3 smoothes out, and eventually you reach the Lake Richie trail intersection. We arrived at Moskey Basin at 5:30, having been on the trail for 4:32 today. This makes night two of two with a campsite to ourselves. We took Shelter 3, the same we had last year. I attended to my feet, they just don’t seem to be liking me this year. Same boots I’ve had several years, similar socks – Something just must not be right. My left foot was getting some decent blisters. We made dinner (MH Spaghetti ProPak) and had a Cache Lake pea w/ carrot side dish. Both hit the spot wonderfully. I kept off my feet, but with a late camp arrival, there wasn’t much time to do things, anyway. We hit the sack as things were getting dark. We could tell it might be a cool night.

10 May 2010 (Monday)
Holey Moley, what a cold morning. My thermometer read 28F, but it seemed even colder with a light wind coming up the basin. Unlike the silence of Lane Cove, the loons called much of the night, and the mergansers played around once morning light hit, making for a fairly ‘naturally noisy’ camp at Moskey. We again had our oatmeal, and went to the dock to filter water. The last 15-20’ of the dock has been buckled, I’d guess by ice, since it would take something massive to do that to concrete. Hard to tell if the crib was moved or not, but they’ve placed up some plastic caution tape, so we didn’t wander further to check. With the cold weather, I’ve noticed I’ve been taking less pictures – One to ensure I have the battery power when the mystical wolf eventually crosses my path (so I hope) and one part that we pretty much just want to set still bundled up to stay warm, and walking around with the camera is less appealing. We packed up (so much easier from a shelter) and were on the trail at 9:22. At 10:24 we took our first break at the Lake Richie Camp. Another sunny day, although when you drop packs and stop moving, you need to reach for a fleece layer. The trails have been cool, but almost perfect for long pants and long sleeves. Bummer, since that’s also the perfect attire for bugs, of which there have been very few save a few ridges. Even those are hardly noticeable. We eventually packed up again, heading up to the West Chickenbone Jct/Greenstone Ridge, which is not really a bad hike, all things considering. We arrived there at 12:17pm. Brent took the filter down to the WC Camp and filled our bottles, while I conveniently relaxed in the middle of the trail intersection. Brent returned with full bottles, but the latrine at camp didn’t have a stock of TP (Lane Cove and Moskey had inventory, probably from last season) so he grabbed some and went back, figuring the trail isn’t that bad for the overall convenience of “setting” down. I’d guess I enjoyed almost an hour of a break/nap in the middle of the trail (on which nobody passed, btw), and then we were ready to continue toward Hatchet Lake. A few minutes in, we met up with another group on trail, a party of three, heading from Hatchet to West Chickenbone. Lucky ducks. Almost there, for them. We exchanged pleasantries, they informed us of an antler shed right along the trail, and we discovered we’d all be on the return boat on Thursday. Somewhere in my enjoyment and relaxation, I totally forgot that there is this DOOZY of a hill you need to climb about .75 down the trail. What a buzz kill. It’s long, and steep at times. It reminded me the Minong, in terms of endurance. However, at least once you finally reach the top, you’re fairly high up on the Greenstone, and there is not nearly the “up and down” on the Greenstone like the Minong. We didn’t realize we’d actually passed Mt Siskiwit, our planned lunch stop, (and a couple of triangulation points I had been provided) until I checked the GPS, and we’d gone down the trail a bit far. Oh well, enjoying the views, I guess! At 2:02pm we stopped on an open peak for lunch. We had previous started hydrating the Cache Lake Wild Rice Salad, and brought out the stove for their Garlic Five Minute Flat Bread. OH MY THAT’S GOOD STUFF. It was windy (and cool, if you’ve discovered that theme) up on the ridge, so eventually we pushed on. I did catch a quick weather forecast while up on the ridge, and things were holding but the chance of precip was increasing for the next day or two, as well as clouds. Without the sun, things would feel much cooler.. There were a few more unwelcome ups and downs, and we could tell our pace was certainly slowing. Eventually we met the Hatchet trail intersection, and proceeded down the .3 mile (all down) toward the lake, followed by the evil (because you just wish you were in camp already) .2 mile hike over to the campsite. We arrived at 5:50pm, with 6:02 “on trail” today. Getting kinda tough on the body… The 13.1 miles is longer than the final Minong day, although I’ll say certainly a different type of trail, but still I think we’re both wishing we put a few ‘short’ days inbetween.
We selected campsite #2, which has some great tent pads. It looked like the trail crew had already been down to camp and cleared much of the winter fall out, of which there appeared to be a fair amount. By and large, trails have been in excellent condition. Kudos to the crews who had already been out! We setup up our tents, filtered water, and prepared Mountain House’s new BBQ w/ Beef roll up meal, with a CL garlic mashed potato. Great on both counts, although the MH meal is a bit pricey considering it’s supposed to feed one. The large side really helped, as we split the entrée. We both limped about camp, checking out the other sites, and enjoyed night three of three with a camp to ourselves. The problem with arriving to camp a bit later is that you don’t get much time to move about and explore before the sun begins to wane, and more importantly, it starts getting darn cool. Around 8:45 we went into our warm tents, both of us reading for just a bit before crashing for the night.

11 May 2010 (Tuesday)
We woke a little earlier today, funny how nature can switch the body. There were clouds in the sky, and a light breeze was blowing, so we thought there may be a change in the weather coming. We continued a conversation from the previous night, trying to decide to stick to our original itinerary to go to Desor South, then backtracking to Malone the following day, or just go directly to Malone and enjoy an extra day there. For both of us, visions of our Minong trip a few years back, being holed up in our tent with rain all day, danced through our heads. We decided that if it was going to rain, a shelter would at least give us some room to spread out and “enjoy” the rain, and we also wouldn’t mind getting to hang out at a camp and relax.. These later arrivals are getting to us. So, we decided to skip our planned stay at Desor, and enjoy an extra day at Malone Bay. As we sat eating our morning oatmeal, a cow swam across the lake toward our camp. We lost sight of her as she approached the shore, and so we waited a few minutes in silence. Brent slowly started to walk toward the water access ‘stairs’ at Hatchet, and that’s just as the moose was walking up those same stairs! They both spooked, with the cow taking a pretty good leap and jumping into the water. Brent was still near camp, but I think that gave his heart a good rush. We broke camp and were on the trail at 8:20. With the overcast skies, it feels much cooler than yesterday, and the wind is picking up. We needed to add a jacket to our hiking attire once we were back up on the ridge, where there was less protection from the wind. The hike out of Hatchet is no way to start a day, but that’s often the norm on Isle Royale – You camp near water, so you hike down to the water for the night and then hike back out for the day’s transit. About 25 minutes in the hike, there was a circular cairn on the North side of the trail. I hiked back over to it (it was on a ridge slightly off trail) to discover it was one of the triangulation points Seeb told me about… Although I didn’t recall him giving these coordinates, but this one said “Hatchet.” I regret not taking the time to get a photo and GPS the coordinates, the wind was blowing pretty good and we didn’t want to be caught up in a storm. The trail for the most part is just a bit of up and down, and actually pretty soft (pine needles, almost like Tobin) in places, so felt good to our weary feet. At 10:30 (1:56 on trail) we found ourselves at Ishpeming Tower, the “tower in the middle of the woods.” We took a break and I attended to a little foot care, but it was good to be thinking that it’s mostly “downhill” from this point on. At 10:50 we started that downhill route, the Ishpeming Trail to Malone Bay. What a great trail… Although it was a little hard to spot and follow at times; one part early season, one part the trail less travelled. It gets quite steep at times, so we were glad we were going down, and not back up. That would indeed be a hike. Taking small breaks every hour of trail time, we made good pace. After about three miles, you’re done with the principal decent, and then you walk through lowlands, which were fairly dry. Eventually you hit one of the Siskiwit Lake outflows, a great stream that was flowing well. There was a stiff breeze out of the east and the waves were pretty high on Isle Royale’s largest lake. After crossing the stream (which has a great bridge) you pretty much follow the South shore of the lake, which we could see pretty easily since things hadn’t fully greened up. The trail crew hadn’t hit this section yet, and there were plenty of windfalls to slow our pace, but the trail itself is now pretty easy on the legs and feet. You’re walking mostly in the forest and on a dirty trail, and the roots and rocks are not too bad. About 1.5 miles from camp we met two gals (and eventually three guys, slightly behind them) who were waiting out the wind so they could paddle across Siskiwit over to Wood Lake. They had come out on Tuesday on the Ranger, canoeing and kayaking the inland route. I guess I didn’t know that the Ranger brought passengers that early; but apparently the Voyageur “first boat” isn’t the “first boat!” I’ll bet the Ranger has none of the tradition and camaraderie that the Voyageur II brings!
We arrived at Malone Bay at 2:30pm, after 5:04 on the trail. We took Shelter 3, which is the most protected shelter and would have it’s “back” to the winds, which were still pretty stiff out of the east. Brent took a tent over to Group site #2, wanting a little extra warmth and protection. That night at Moskey really chilled him. We RELAXED, knowing we were at our final location, established camp, and set up our shelter. It’s still cloudy, but the threat of rain doesn’t look as high as it did earlier. The forecast I could get out of the U.P. calls for rain/snow for both the UP and MN North Shore, so it’s hard to say what we might see as the day and night progresses, but we’re certainly not regretting the decision to come to Malone. It’s a beautiful campsite. The area was quiet; this would be night four of four being the only campers – The boating party had decided to make a go of paddling against the wind and cast from shore when they returned from their walk. In the early evening, we heard a boat arriving, and went over to the dock to greet Ranger Jeremy who was arriving for his post for the season. We offered to help carry some supplies, to which he politely declined. We also offered to sight in his firearms, which he also politely declined. Darn. We had previously scoped out the ranger quarters, which is quite nice! Ranger Jeremy even has Internet access via satellite! Maybe he’s checking these forums right now! Hi Ranger Jeremy!
After our dock visit (for those who haven’t been to Malone, the dock is a five minute or so hike from the camping area), we set forth filtering some water from the stream, visited the lake and waterfalls, and had a nice MH Lasagna ProPak with green bean side. The only darn problem with that Lasagna is how the cheese seems to want to stick to your spoon, but it hits the spot, none the less. We also added a Cache Lake vanilla pudding, which was quite tasty. The wind started to subside, just a little, and we closed the night around 8:45. I used my headlamp to read some old journal entries, which is fun to do..reminiscing about trips of the past.

12 May 2010 (Wednesday)
I was up around 6:30, and had a granola/blueberry meal while waiting for sleepy-head Brent to wake. He finally rose around 8:10, and so we boiled up some water for his oatmeal and some tea and coffee. What a great day! The sun is shining, and after a brief spot of clouds around 7:30, everything is blue and clear. Looks like any bad weather may miss us. With my new-found knowledge of triangulation points, I set my GPS to have a morning hike to trek off to find the “Falls” point, about .5 miles from camp. Seeb had told me to follow the shore and cut in, which we did our best, but it still took almost 40 minutes to hike the backcountry. Like the other points, there is a circular cairn that surrounds the marker. This time I took photos. You can tell these were placed shortly after the fire, since at this point and time you can’t see five feet in any direction from the marker! Things were certainly more barren back then.. We decided to proceed North, away from Superior, with an idea to catch up with the Ishpeming trail and follow it back. The topo showed swamp land, but we figured we could skirt it if we needed to. Things appeared really dry everywhere up there, so we wondered how wet it really would be… Well, that was answered when we were able to walk right through the center of the swamp. There were a few pockets of water, but for the most part our boots stay dry. It was really fun to be walking backcountry in the middle of a swamp, before leaf out, and no bugs. A rare moment indeed. The skunk cabbage was just coming up and grasslands just greening. Eventually we met up with the trail, and headed back to camp. We put up the Eno hammock between two trees near shore, and made some lunch. We did the CL Wild Rice Salad again, and an Italian flavor flat bread. Good eats, I’m really liking the Cache Lake line of food. Brent enjoyed the hammock while I caught up on journaling, setting at a table in the sun at a spare shelter. Ed and Mark (the father son fishing team we dropped off at McCargoe on Saturday) arrived. It was good to see a familiar face and know that their journey had gone well for them. Ed’s been up to the Isle several times, but this was the first time for Mark, who’s in his late 20s. He looked like a little kid with the expression of excitement on his face as he retold the story of seeing moose while on the Isle, some of them those ‘close encounters’ we all hope to enjoy. It made me think back to the first time I was on IR, and being out in nature and having a moose saunter by. I don’t think you every forget that, how real it becomes.
Ranger Jeremy stopped by mid afternoon for a quick chat. It turns out that NPS is no longer going to be using “backcountry rangers” and that the rangers with posts will just be hiking out on the trail more often. Ranger Jeremy is a heck of a nice guy… btw. Around 6:00pm, after a mid-afternoon smoke salmon appetizer that probably didn’t earn it’s justification to carry in our packs all week, we prepared our favorite MH Beef Stroganoff ProPak, and had a chocolate pudding dessert. A nice way to finish on the Isle. Although our permits had indicated a burning ban was in place (no open fires), Ranger Jeremy said it would be OK to use the grill if we wanted. Ultimately, we just felt tired, so decided to crash early. Ed and Mark stopped down asking for a wake up call, just in case they over-slept, knowing that we all have to catch a boat in the morning.

13 May 2010 (Thursday)
For some reason, that last morning is always tough. On one hand, you’re excited to know another trip was completed safely, and you’ll be seeing your family soon. On another, it’s bittersweet that you’re leaving such an amazing place. Brent slept over in his cozy tent, and had returned to the shelter, all packed up, at 5:45am. I think the daylight confused him. I really need to get him a watch... However, I was also already awake, so we made that final breakfast and cleaned up camp. Clouds had rolled in again. We decided to get our gear down to the dock early, around 9:00am, since it’s a little hike from the camp and there was no reason to wait around the shelter. Just as we started to walk, the rain/mist began. We dropped our gear at the ranger station near the dock, which is open to the public during daylight hours and is more of an interpretive center. (The ranger quarters are down the path to the east)
Around 9:15, as I was reading the various articles in the station, Ranger Jeremy came by, noting how choppy it was, and that we’d be in for a wild ride. I asked if he knew or heard of the Voyageur was still running, to which he pointed and said, she’s coming around right now! Sure enough, she was already navigating through the channel. Brent ran off to get Ed and Mark, and help them get their gear. Capt Mike brought the boat in, and Matt and I loaded up Ed and Mark’s canoe, which was fortunately already near the dock. There was a storm blowing in, and Mike wanted to get an early start to try to beat it before things got worse. Since the Rock Harbor pickups were ready (thank you, campers!), they left RH about 15 minutes early, and with no Chippewa stop and the new, slightly faster engines, she made great time to Malone. It probably took us 10 minutes tops to get the four of us on and loaded, and we were on the way, waving to Ranger Jeremy as we departed. The mist was now downright rain, so we sat inside the boat talking to the other hikers as we steamed toward Windigo. We rolled a little bit, but as First Mate Matt put it, much of the ride home would be “surfing” with the waves on our stern. That beats the beam sea we had on Saturday. When we were in the shelter of Grace Harbor, I purchased a rollup sandwich (the turkey is quite good) for lunch and enjoyed it as the waves were calm. We docked at Windigo to pick up a few more hikers, and I closed off our permit with Ranger Lucas. As soon as the hikers were aboard, we left for a pretty quick trip back to shore. With an early start, no non-sense stops, and wind on our back (did I mention new engines), I think we pulled in to the Grand Portage Dock around 1:30-1:45. Way earlier than expected, at least. The rain continued to fall as we disembarked and headed to our cars. I stopped in and gave a final farewell to Capt Don, and then Brent and I were on our way for the trip home. We stopped at the wayside rest in Grand Portage to change into “civilian” clothes, and dry off. Shortly there after, Brent commented how darn hot it was in the vehicle – Which was set to the same temperature it was when we were “freezing” on the way up… So, funny how the body gets used to being cold and acclimates so quickly! We eventually drove out of the rain, and made it back to Saint Paul with daylight to spare. Our families back home had just been through a week of almost non-stop rain, and so it was fun to know we enjoyed so much sun (albeit cool) while our friends just looked out the window at the rain.
Ultimately, it was another great trip, only hindered by my feet. I may try replacing the insoles in the boots to see if that was the issue. Not unlike our talks after the Minong, after travelling this 43 miles with a few long days that brought us into camp later than we like, I’m guessing our next trip will be a leisurely, short distance adventure! Perhaps I’ll see you out there!

[jerry]

Thanks! I needed that. Great report and I appreciate the pictures. Heading out for Grand Portage tomorrow morning at 6:30. 900+ miles, but worth it.

[Backpacker534]

Great trip report, Tom. I've been looking forward to reading it. The pictures are nice, too. I especially like the Lane Cove sunset framed by the trees!

[Tampico]

I'd like to know more about the (painted) mystery stake in the woods.

Do you have it's (approximate) coordinates?

I smell a government alien UFO cover-up...