Any suggestions to our itinerary

[XJeepr]

Backpacking IR 1st week of September. Here's our planned route. First time on the island with a group of 5 or six others.

Day 1: Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm
Day 2: Daisy Farm to Chippewa Harbor
Day 3: Chippewa Harbor to McCargoe Cove
Day 4: McCargoe Cove to 3 Mile via Greenstone Ridge
Day 5: 3 Mile to Rock Harbor

Any suggestions?

[Midwest Ed]

Welcome to the forum,

You did not mention the experience levels of your group members. If everyone is experienced and in pretty good shape your itinerary is doable but it is pushing things moderately with a couple of 10 mile days and one 12 mile day. The trail from Daisy Farm to Moskey Basin on the way to Chippewa Harbor is fairly rugged. Not much elevation change but a lot of up and down, hard the knees with some rugged footing.

One important note is the size of your group. If it ends up being 7 total that qualifies as an "official group" according to the National Park Service and thus you must adhere to a special set of restrictions regarding camp sites, schedules, reservations and several other things. Also, it's more difficult to keep to schedules with a larger number of people, especially if anyone is less experienced or twists an ankle. Having a less aggressive backup plan is always a good idea for unforeseen circumstances even if it's only bad weather. With your itinerary you have several options. You could skip Chippewa Harbor if needed and opt for Moskey Basin or Lake Ritchie. Likewise, Chickenbone West could sub for McCargoe Cove (CB West is nicer than CB East).

That time of year is perfect in my book. The summer "crowds" (no such thing on Isle Royale) are thinned out yet the weather can still be really nice AND no or very few bugs.

If you end up being a total of 7 I would consider breaking into 2 groups. I'm not sure of the restrictions if the itineraries of the 2 groups would end up being identical and how that will be received by the NPS.

[MikeT]

Welcome to the forums!
Experience is a key thing, but enjoyment is another key thing (and maybe just as, if not more important). Besides what Midwest Ed said, I would look at your itinerary and plan for alternate routes. You have many in that area of the island. The hike from Rock Harbor to Daisy will be telling of the rest of the trip and I would make sure not to overdue it and make the trip a "death march". One suggestion that is mentioned many times here in the forums, is to take the Tobin Harbor trail to the Mount Franklin trail if your goal is Daisy Farm. It is much easier than the Rock Harbor trail to Three Mile and on to Daisy. However, the Rock Harbor trail between RH and Three Mile is beautiful and a great experience. Personally I would set my goal for the first day (after getting off the boat) as Three Mile and see how everyone is doing then and decide to move on from there.

Also, as Midwest Ed said, the trail from Daisy to Moskey looks deceivingly easy, but can be quite hard on the body due to the every present changing ups and downs and rock surface.

You will most likely find yourself changing the itinerary. Especially with that many people. Any way you change it, you really cannot go wrong. Moskey Basin is a great campground, and I might think about including it. Maybe shorten things up by bypassing either Chippewa or McCargoe (both great campgrounds, but no fun if everyone is beat). Just keep your options open and see how everyone is feeling.

[XJeepr]

Thanks to you both. I am planning a pre-trip meeting soon so that we can go over any concerns some might have, talk gear, and can change plans accordingly. I was looking for a good mix of travelling the island, while not keeping the distance too long. I also hate getting to camp too early and sitting around when I could have seen more. At 1.5 miles per hour our longest day would be 8.5 hours of hike time. I'm going to take your ideas into consideration.
I think I read somewhere from the NPS where they stated a large group cannot split up but keep the same itinerary. Not going to mess with getting fancy with them.
Thanks again for your feedback. Looking forward to a great trip.