Day 7 – Saturday, 8/21
Lane Cove to Rock Harbor
There was a slight threat of rain overnight so we actually had the rain flies on the tents. Thankfully, we woke to a dry but cloudy morning. We rolled out by 8:30 determined to survive the rock garden without any turned ankles and then steadily trudge back up the face of the ridge. On fresh legs, the hike up and out was not nearly as bad as expected. We made it back to the GR trail junction in just under an hour.
We crossed over the ridge and headed directly down the trail toward 3-mile. Great stretch of trail to recover after climbing the north face of the ridge. Gentle downward slope that’s mostly in the shade. We took our time and enjoyed our last day on the trail. The turn for the Tobin Harbor trail came up quickly. We had pre-determined we’d follow this route rather than take on the Rock Harbor trail’s more rugged terrain. We were rewarded with some of the best thimbleberry patches we’d seen since leaving the Island Mine trail and some really nice views of Tobin Harbor.
We arrived in Rock Harbor by 11:30 and headed straight for the individual campsites. Noted along the way that all the shelters were already occupied and several had already been claimed for when the current occupants departed on the IR Queen later that afternoon. The campsites were mostly vacant so we claimed #15, dropped our packs and headed back for lunch.
Burger and beers at the Greenstone Grill were a fitting reward for what we had accomplished over the past week. I honestly couldn’t think of a better way to end the trip and I’m glad we decided to go west to east. Keweenaw Brewing Co. on tap was a real treat! After relaxing and rehydrating on the deck for a while, we headed back to grab our toiletries and hit the showers. Also bought a clean souvenir t-shirt along with our shower tokens – great pro-tip I picked up from another TR on this forum.
The wind really started to kick up throughout the afternoon. Weather report at the ranger station indicated it would hit 30 knots. The deck behind the Guest House was somewhat sheltered so we relaxed there and chatted with several other hikers we had met along the trail. We had put our names on the waiting list at the lodge in case any rooms became available and found out at 5:00 that we’d get to spend our last night in one of the cabins thanks to a no-show. We grabbed our gear and headed for the cabins.
After pizza and salad at the grill (Lighthouse Restaurant was closed), we headed back to the cabin and noticed the smoke beginning to billow above the ridge to the north. The steady winds had stoked the Horne fire and we could even see from the seaplane dock occasional bursts of flame above the ridge. The ranger we spoke with indicated that they’d monitor the fire throughout the night but did not expect it to threaten RH based on the wind direction.
Smoke from Horne fire north of Tobin Harbor
We were all more than ready for a good night’s sleep in an actual bed. The cabins are adequate size for 4 people, but there’s not much ventilation – only 2 small windows on the one end open. It was a bit warm in the cabin but we still enjoyed being off the ground.
Sunset over Tobin Harbor
Distance: 6.9 miles (7.5 miles WPO per GPS w/ 839’ elevation gain)
Time: 8:30 – 11:40 (3.2 hours)
Day 8 – Sunday, 8/22
Our seaplane departure was scheduled for 11:00am. Winds had calmed down and shifted overnight to be out of the north. Smoke from the Horne fire was rolling down the ridge, across Tobin Harbor and into RH. We had hoped to hike out to Scoville Point after breakfast, but they had closed the trail due to the expansion of the fire.
We packed up and headed down to the seaplane dock at 10:45. Several other groups were already waiting for their flights and we all crossed our fingers that the smoke wouldn’t interfere with our departure. The first plane came in just before 11:00 and took the first 2 groups. Ours was just a few minutes behind. We were loaded up and in the air by 11:25. Beautiful, clear blue skies and we had a great view of the wildfire smoke blanketing the east end of the island (pictures posted in an earlier thread). From the air, the scale of the fire did not appear that significant.
Seaplane gliding through the smoke on Tobin Harbor
Smooth flight back and we glided over the Houghton-Hancock bridge right at high noon. After unloading, we thought it would be interesting to get a post-hike weight of Brett’s pack which started at 45lbs without water. Somehow it came in at 40lbs even after he’d consumed 7 days worth of food! Still no idea how that’s possible. Mine was down to around 25lbs as expected.
We piled our gear into my car and started the 9 hour drive home. Should’ve grabbed lunch before we left – discovered too late that most restaurants along the way were closed on Sunday. Finally found an open taco truck in Marquette. Also had to make a stop at Gustafson’s along Route 2 for some of their world-famous popcorn. Otherwise uneventful trip and we all made it home by around 10:30pm – exhausted but not nearly as foul-smelling as our wives had predicted before the trip!
Total Distance: 67.4 miles per published tables (71.4 miles with packs on per GPS w/ 7,232’ elevation gain)
Total Time on trail: 32.4 hours (including all trail breaks)
Average pace: 2.1 mph
If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I hope many will find this information useful and maybe even a little entertaining.
This was a trip of a lifetime for all of us. Honestly, other than the heat, we can’t imagine how it could have been any better. I’ll probably do one more post here with further thoughts and comments on the overall trip. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.
). Filed our plan and the ranger also informed us that all hikers were being issued backcountry permits due to the expected crowds.