Keep in mind that I am NOT in good shape, but when I read Jim Dufresne's book and it said to allow 20-30 minutes per mile on moderate trails, and up to 45 minutes on difficult ones, I didn't really "get it". I do now! Two miles an hour on these trails is making good time, and you do not wa...

Dear Jerry, If you can do it at age 67, maybe there's hope for us :D We also have the bad back, neck, knee issues, and do have to plan for that. I have a knee brace for tendonitis, and even with all the "up and down" this year, I did just fine. Let me rephrase that; my knee did just fine. ...

One option if you've the $ is to stay at the casino. If you join the player's club before you check in, you'll get a coupon so that your night's stay is $69 vs. $95 or $105. They are only 3 miles from the marina, and you won't have to break camp in the morning. Just a thought....

We were trying to add low $$ stuff for our trip to IR this summer, so we bought the Eureka Singlet (or something like that), which is a self-inflating air mattress. The regular size is small, but reasonably lightweight at 1 lb, 6 oz. We thought we died and went to heaven sleeping on these, especiall...

I don't know how it was resolved, but we were at Daisy visiting with a ranger when the call came in. According to the radio report, a woman had suffered a dislocated shoulder about 1/2 mile north of Lake Ritchie when her group was headed for McCargoe Cove. (This was in the early afternoon of July 30...

How old is Old? My husband is 63, has asthma, and never exercises, but was a runner when he was younger, and nothing ever seems too difficult for him. BTW, on IR, he carried about 50 pounds in the same pack he took to Europe when he was 22. We have both agreed that it has made its last trip, as it w...

I found the article interesting; they tried Mango/Peach and Mango/Iced Tea. My husband brought Mango/Peach and I brought Berry/Pomengranate. We still have the Mango/Peach in the cupboard, because my husband decided he liked Berry/Pomengranate way better than Mango/Peach. We added a lot less than the...

One last thing I wish I'd known about Isle Royale. Do not pay any attention to the weather report. I am a science teacher and a very good amateur weather forecaster, and we packed based on the long-range forecast, with a few extra clothes thrown in "just in case". It rained (warm front, de...

After spending a week on Isle Royale, and loving it, there are some pieces of advice I wish I'd listened to, or wish I'd put 2 and 2 together and made 4 out of it. This was really our first backpacking trip, not a backpacking/canoeing trip or day hiking trip. While we had planned short hikes every d...

My husband had Isle Royale on his "bucket list", so we made plans for a week. Last summer, we did the Grinnell Glacier Trail at Glacier NP, so figured without too much work wouldn't be too tough.....WRONG! We hadn't been camping for several years, so updated with things that would work for...

We just returned from the island, where we each carried a small bottle of "MIO", a drink flavoring liquid in a tiny bottle - just one little squirt and you've got a great-tasting liquid. Even though the water tasted fine most everywhere, it was great to have flavored water. It's available ...

We were there at the end of July, and I asked specifically about the algae toxin. The rangers reported at that time that there were no bloom issues. They said it is seldom a problem, and when it is, it's toward the middle of August. However, they asked that if we noted a problem, we report it immedi...