Proposed Itinerary - 4 or 5 days from Rock Harbor
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:10 pm
I've spent the past few weeks reading nearly every thread on these boards, and the wealth of information here is incredible. If anyone has a few minutes to offer some advice on a proposed itinerary for me, I'd be extremely grateful.
Background: my wife and I are planning to spend 4 or 5 days on Isle Royale in early August. We're both in our 30's and consider ourselves strong and experienced hikers. We have some previous backpacking experience, but we've always either been with a guide or with more experienced friends when we've backpacked in the past. Since this'll be our first backpacking trip on our own, we're thinking along the lines of 4 days/3 nights (plus an additional night and day at Rock Harbor).
I think our first two nights are tentatively set. We're planning to arrive at Rock Harbor via the Queen IV from Copper Harbor and spend the rest of that first day renting a canoe and paddling/hiking out to Lookout Louise. We'll stay at the Rock Harbor Lodge. On our second day, we'd like to catch the Voyageur II to Chippewa Harbor, then hike to Moskey Basin. After that, we're planning on spending the following three days/two nights working our way back from Moskey Basin to Rock Harbor. We're trying to figure out how to portion those days. We'd like to hit Mount Ojibway and Mount Franklin and the stretch of the Greenstone in between them, and we'd probably like to try to camp somewhere other than Daisy Farm or Three Mile for at least one of those nights (since they show up a lot on the "least favorite" lists, especially during the busy months).
One possibility (leaving from Moskey Basin) would be Lane Cove-->Three Mile-->Rock Harbor (departure day), with the short hike from Three Mile to Rock Harbor on that last day possibly giving us time for a hike to Scoville Point. Another would be Moskey Basin-->Daisy Farm-->Lane Cove-->Rock Harbor (departure day). The first of these would have a pretty long hiking day at the start (MB to LC), but would give us an easy morning on departure day. The second alternative would be broken up a little more evenly, but would require us to get from LC to RH by 2:45 on departure day. Any ideas as to which might be more enjoyable? Or, is there a completely different possibility that I'm missing? Also, as a general proposition, are the campsites at Daisy Farm and Three Mile any less "busy" during the middle of the week as opposed to on a weekend, or does that kind of thing not matter on Isle Royale?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments!!
Background: my wife and I are planning to spend 4 or 5 days on Isle Royale in early August. We're both in our 30's and consider ourselves strong and experienced hikers. We have some previous backpacking experience, but we've always either been with a guide or with more experienced friends when we've backpacked in the past. Since this'll be our first backpacking trip on our own, we're thinking along the lines of 4 days/3 nights (plus an additional night and day at Rock Harbor).
I think our first two nights are tentatively set. We're planning to arrive at Rock Harbor via the Queen IV from Copper Harbor and spend the rest of that first day renting a canoe and paddling/hiking out to Lookout Louise. We'll stay at the Rock Harbor Lodge. On our second day, we'd like to catch the Voyageur II to Chippewa Harbor, then hike to Moskey Basin. After that, we're planning on spending the following three days/two nights working our way back from Moskey Basin to Rock Harbor. We're trying to figure out how to portion those days. We'd like to hit Mount Ojibway and Mount Franklin and the stretch of the Greenstone in between them, and we'd probably like to try to camp somewhere other than Daisy Farm or Three Mile for at least one of those nights (since they show up a lot on the "least favorite" lists, especially during the busy months).
One possibility (leaving from Moskey Basin) would be Lane Cove-->Three Mile-->Rock Harbor (departure day), with the short hike from Three Mile to Rock Harbor on that last day possibly giving us time for a hike to Scoville Point. Another would be Moskey Basin-->Daisy Farm-->Lane Cove-->Rock Harbor (departure day). The first of these would have a pretty long hiking day at the start (MB to LC), but would give us an easy morning on departure day. The second alternative would be broken up a little more evenly, but would require us to get from LC to RH by 2:45 on departure day. Any ideas as to which might be more enjoyable? Or, is there a completely different possibility that I'm missing? Also, as a general proposition, are the campsites at Daisy Farm and Three Mile any less "busy" during the middle of the week as opposed to on a weekend, or does that kind of thing not matter on Isle Royale?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments!!