2008 trip report (a little late)

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jerry
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2008 trip report (a little late)

Post by jerry »

Isle Royale NP trip 2008

August 6 (Wednesday),

Took the V2 out to McCargoe Cove via Windigo. Reasonably calm day for the Lady. It was partly cloudy most of the day, with a high in the 70s. Once again the ranger had me participate in the LNT exercise. (She must enjoy picking on this old guy.) The Sandy was at the McCargoe dock when we arrived that afternoon. McCargoe was packed so I headed up to W. Chickenbone. I had more then my usual 35 pounds in my backpack this trip. I had too much food and miscellaneous junk. It was a pleasant hike meeting several groups as I was heading toward W. Chickenbone. Arrived close to 3 p.m. All the individual sites were already taken, so I went up to the group area and set up my tent near some scouts from the Chicago area. Shared one of my oatmeal/raison cookies with one of the kids. The scout though he had gone to heaven (must have had too much freeze dried and/or dehydrated food on this trip). His friends asked where their cookies were.

As I was setting up my tent a brief thunderstorm came through. Oh well, kept my gear dry at least. On the way down to get some water after the storm, I followed some of the Scout group leaders. One said, “Can you believe that old man is all by himself?” I embarrassed her with my response of “No I can’t.” I explained to them that this was my third solo hike at ISRO. Wasn’t able to coordinate with other hikers to come up here again.

There were so many people at the campground, I almost felt like I was at one of those commercial places instead of out in this great wilderness setting. As the sun was going down I heard a loon on the lake. Shortly after that I heard what I thought was a wolf (another scout group that was also at W. Chickenbone indicated they too had heard the wolf, when I saw them at Hatchet Lake the next day).

August 7 (Thursday)

After about 5 or 6 hours of sleep I got up before sunrise. It was in the mid 50s and damp as I was leaving for the Greenstone just before 7 a.m. The morning dew soaked me from my hips down. It was partly cloudy with very little wind. I enjoyed a pleasant stroll on the Greenstone. As I was heading down the trail from Greenstone to Hatchet Lake a scout who had just camped at W. Chickenbone caught up to me. He and his group invited me to share their campsite at this nice place. It took me about four hours to get there (hiked approximately 7.9 miles). After a very slow and easygoing lunch hour I started putting up my tent. It was a comfortable day in the 70s, light winds and I enjoyed my company. I got in some reading and was totally relaxed.

In the middle of the night (since I’m an old man), I had to get up for a short visit to a nearby shelter. It was pitch black out, so I needed a flashlight. I got back into my tent at about 2 a.m. Within a half hour several animals ran through the campgrounds (I couldn’t get the flashlight on them quick enough, remember I was back in my tent). About 3 a.m. they were howling on the north side of Hatchet. When the Scouts and their leaders got up early that morning they looked at me as if I was crazy when I told them what I had heard overnight. Not one of them had heard anything. They were the scouts that heard the wolf over at W. Chickenbone the same night that I had heard it.

August 8 (Friday)

Several of us were up at daybreak. The temperature was in the mid 50s. The sky was partly cloudy and there was very little wind (so far). The scouts were headed to Desor (South) and I decided to leave my tent up and to do a day hike over to Todd Harbor. It was an excellent decision. I average between 2 and 3 miles per hour (with a day pack) and arrived at about 9 a.m. There was still a couple at the shelter and no one else in sight. Hiked out to the dock and took some nice pictures and had a nice snack/breakfast. I checked out the Pittsburg Mine (not too exciting).

The Minong trail from Todd Harbor until it reaches the Hatchet Lake trail is not too difficult. The young couple from the shelter passed me as I was taking a picture of the post at the trail junction. They were heading to Little Todd. Again, I made good time. The Hatchet Lake trail is a pleasant, quiet hiking trail. I got back to my tent at Hatchet at about noontime. I walked around the campground and along the lake. The temperature got up to the mid 70s again. I read most of the afternoon. Not one person arrived at this campground at all on this day. I’ve never experienced that at Isle Royale before. When you solo hike I suppose you might expect something like that from time to time. Before sun down clouds starting coming into the area and the temperature dropped into the 60s and the wind picked up in speed. Thunder could be heard off in the distance. I made sure my tent and gear would stand up to a good storm. After sun down the storm came into the area slowly. Sometime after midnight I had visitors again. With the thunder and lightning and heavy rain I didn’t sleep very well. The wolves came through the campgrounds again and started howling over on the north side of the lake again between 1 and 2 a.m. this time. Exhausted, I finally slept until before daybreak. I might have had 3 hours of sleep. Oh well.

August 9 (Saturday)

The temperature was in the 50s and everything was wet outside the tent. I decided to pack up and headed out at daybreak. Breakfast would be a bagel and trail mix on my first break up on the Greenstone. Once again I got wet from my hips to my boots thanks mostly to the overnight storm. It was turning into a beautiful day. The songbirds and sun were both out. It was comfortable hiking in the cool early morning hours. I took a break once an hour. A father and son team that got off the V2 at Windigo met me about half way between Hatchet and Desor at about 9 a.m. Two adults, one with his son, passed through at about the same time. One of those guys was without a shirt. Too may of those mosquitoes for me that morning. The 8.1-mile hike to L. Desor took about 4 hours. A woman day hiking from Desor was on her way to Ishpeming Point when we stopped to say hi. Saw her at Desor and the next day when I was out day hiking. On the trail from Greenstone to L. Desor a young couple were heading out. She was carrying a heavy backpack and he was carrying a canoe. I’m assuming they were headed to Malone Bay (?). I had my tent up by noontime. It turned into a warm (70s) sunny afternoon.

One thing I’ve noticed about my times on the trail, I seem to eat a lot less then I do at home. You would think I’d do more eating with the extra hiking that we do. I did sacrifice weight this time and brought along fresh apples. They were great, just like the oatmeal cookies. I got in some reading and all afternoon the loons and other birds kept me entertained. I think the woman and I were the only campers this evening at Desor. The woodpeckers were busy around my campsite. We had a beautiful evening with only a light breeze.

August 10 (Sunday)

Slept about 5-6 hours and got up early to a beautiful sunny morning in the 50s again. I day hiked west until I came across a trail crew cleaning up an area about 2 miles east of Washington Creek. They were the first people I saw that morning. On the way back to Desor I came across a father and son heading to Windigo and the solo-hiking woman that was at Desor. Had an apple and a few granola bars for lunch. Got back to Desor for a second day there by 2 pm (I covered about 14 miles). There were 2 or 3 swimmers during the afternoon. When they weren’t in the water, many birds were landing and taking off. Again the birds were entertaining me. I also read some more. I couldn’t believe how nice the weather was again with a high in the 70s with lots of sun. The woodpeckers were around the campgrounds again this evening. Didn’t see anyone during the evening hours. Tried to get to sleep early, but I just laid out and listened to the Isle Royale animal life at it’s best. (I thought I heard a wolf overnight.)

August 11 (Monday)

Got up before sun up after about 6 hours of sleep. It was a cool 50 degrees. Hit the trail back to Greenstone using my flashlight. The morning dew was everywhere and again I got wet from the knees down to the boots. This was going to be a long and lonely day. I was heading to Malone Bay and never saw anyone until I got there. I made good time up to the Ispheming fire tower. I got there a little after 8:00 and had an apple, a couple of granola bars and a lot of water. I made sure the break was about 25 or 30 minutes to get ready for the long hike down to Malone.

There were about 3 or 4 places that the trail was out on a rocky surface and the trail was not easy to determine. Once it took me several minutes of going into bushes and backing out to find the real trail again. I enjoyed the challenge of this trail. I did work up a good sweat, drank a lot of my water and wondered who that guy using four letter words was. At one point the thimbleberry bushes were up to and over my head. I had to go slow to make sure I was still on the trail. As I got closer to Siskiwit Lake there seemed to be a lot of growth near the trail. The picture of the bridge near the Siskiwit Lake that is in the book that DuFresne wrote didn’t look like the one I crossed. I knew I was getting close to the campground. It was getting very warm (possibly 80). Bushes and trees surrounded the trail and there was no wind to cool me. Sea gulls were flying overhead.

I got to the shelter closest to the dock before 1 pm. I spent a nice afternoon overlooking Lake Superior at the picnic table. It was a sunny warm day. I even spotted the Queen heading back to Copper Harbor. A mother and her son took the nearby shelter. They were the first people I had spoken with in over 24 hours. They came in by boat. I guess I was the only one who came in from the Greenstone on this day. Another family went out in their canoe on Lake Superior. For about 5 or 10 minutes I was able to call home on my cell phone, a first for me from Isle Royale. Another pleasant evening.

August 12 (Tuesday)

The Lake made the shelter very cool overnight. It was in the low 50s when I got up. Got my gear down to the dock early and went into the Malone Bay (visitor center/building). There was a lot of historic information for me to read. The V2 was on time as usual. The ride back to Windigo was pleasant. Visited with the father and son that I saw up on the Greenstone and on the way to the island. The sun was so bright I even got a sunburn. Saw my first moose for this trip just before the V2 headed back to Grand Portage. It was south of the dock heading inland. The problem with leaving a nice spot like this is you can hardly wait for a return visit. There were a few small waves on the trip back to Minnesota. (Stopped in Minneapolis for a 50th reunion from 8th grade, before heading back to Ohio.)

I need to find my pictures and find out how to post them.

jerry
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Re: 2008 trip report (a little late)

Post by johnhens »

Nice TR jerry, never too late to post a TR!!!
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Re: 2008 trip report (a little late)

Post by Backpacker534 »

Thanks for the report. I'm sure nobody here minds if it is a "little late". I know I enjoy reading them at any time. Besides, take off the date and probably nobody would know when the trip actually took place. :wink:
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