First Time to Isle Royale- Report

[DP89]

Me and a couple buddies got the chance to hit the Island for our first trip. Came over from Houghton on the Ranger III. We had an amazing time, and learned much to further prepare ourselves for the inevitable next trip.

Day 1: Rainy, wet, and foggy all day. We hopped off the Ranger, got situated, threw the rain gear on and hit the Tobin Harbor Trail. We arrived at Lane Cove just as the sun was setting. Unfortunately, the cloud cover was too dense to get the full beauty of that moment.

Day 2: Woke up a little later, and a little sore after the first days wet hike. However we knew the day we had ahead of us and hit the trail at 11. We hit the Greenstone and it was a beautiful, clear and sunny day. Mt. Franklin and Ojibway yielded fantastic views and nice opportunities for a break. We rolled in to McCargoe Cove at night, the last two miles were in the dark. We learned a lot about ourselves and our hiking strategy that night. McCargoe was beautiful, I just wish we had more time to enjoy it.

Day 3: We needed sleep after that grueling previous day. We woke up late and left McCargoe at 1:00pm. Late, I know. But it worked out for us. We made great time all the way to Lake Lesage, where we filtered more water. We cruised past Lake Richie campground and finally arrived at Moskey Basin and grabbed a tent site. We cooked dinner on the rocks by the water. Moskey was an awesome place, my favorite campground. Hearing the Loons and their echoes were chilling but magical at the same time.

Day 4: We were up at the crack of dawn and hit the trail towards Threemile. The first stretch of trail was rough, and the sun blazing down on us made it even more difficult. We were happy to reach Daisy Farm where we took an hour lunch break on the beach. We made it to Threemile with much daylight to spare. We swam and relaxed on the dock and around our shelter. Our neighbors told us there was a fox hanging around their shelter (we heard them yelling at it to leave). We never saw it.

Day 5: We leave early for Rock Harbor and were happy to nab a shelter. We spent the rest of that day exploring Rock Harbor and taking a day hike out to Scoville Point, which by the way, is very worth it. It is one of the better day hikes I have done. We relaxed the rest of the night and left on the Ranger the next morning. I can't wait to go back.

Wildlife report: We saw no wolves, but my friend heard one during the night at Moskey. We also talked to a few people who had encounters at Daisy Farm from a lone wolf.
We saw no moose either, only tracks in the mud.
Saw one snowshoe hare near Lake Richie.
Dozens and dozens of the brave and curious Isle Royale red squirrel. I could be standing three feet from my pack and they'll climb on top of it and see if the trail mix is in reach.

Overall my experience was amazing, and I learned a lot about backpacking on the Island and in general. I am already planning my return trip, I just hope it is soon!

[Tom]

Thanks DP89, for telling us how it went!

I think we can all recall how our first IR trip went, and "what we learned" to do differently - For instance, for reasons you discovered, I like to hit the trails early in the morning as some of those routes can get darn hot in the sun. (Relatively speaking.)
I also appreciate your candor in 'what went wrong.' I think some folks new to backpacking and IR read these 'cleansed' trip reports, where everyone hikes five miles and hour, gets no blisters, and doesn't forget a thing, and those people get scare of trying their own trip out of feeling inferior..
Bummer you didn't see a moose, but that happens... But those squirrels!

[jerry]

Curious about the dates of your visit?

[DP89]

August 20th - 25th