We were there from 6/13 - 6/19 backpacking and had a similar experience. Really lucked out! They seemed to get worse the further west we got. We ran into a hiker at Todd Harbor who had just come in via the Minong and said it was near unbearable at Little Todd Harbor the night before. They were a bit ...

Tree Ratt, my husband and I backpacked Sylvania last fall. It was wonderful! In fact, we remarked that it would be a nice place to take nieces and nephews out on a first backpacking trip. Distances aren't too long, terrain is not too difficult, and yet you have all the beauty of the northwoods to ...

For anyone still tracking on this topic, I found this article which seems to suggest that a late ice-out actually INCREASES numbers of black flies. Time will tell on our trip but I'm mentally preparing for the worst.
http://www.wpr.org/loons-abandon-their- ... -wisconsin

I hope the loons are OK too. And I hope that the statement about late ice out creating historic numbers of black flies is not going to ruin my trip later this week!

Thanks for the report! Crossing my fingers that the black fly hatch holds off another few weeks.... we sail June 13 and are out for 6 nights.

FYI, I spoke with the folks at the Rock Harbor Lodge today and was told that everything on the island is about three weeks behind this spring. I asked if they thought that the insects would be late too. Sounds like there have actually already been mosquitoes out, but they're a different, larger ...

Just an update for others worried about the taxi: I called the ranger station earlier this week and they told me the Rock Harbor Lodge folks were still in the process of opening up for the season and probably didn't have their phones hooked up yet. She encouraged me to keep trying. Today I called ...

True!!

Great! I will look forward to reading your trip report. Mosquitoes I can handle. It's the black flies that make me go a bit nuts.

I have not heard anything yet, and am now worried that I might need to look at changing our itinerary. Do people think the taxi will be in the water by 6/13? At the very least I'd think that I would have heard back by now. I'm wondering if they are waiting to respond because they're not sure if they ...

That's bad news... I emailed them about 2-3 weeks ago to ask about a water taxi, and haven't heard back. I called the Mammoth Cave number last night and left a phone message. Hope to hear back soon.

I am hoping the water taxi will be available- I just realized there is nobody at the Rock Harbor lodge to answer my email inquiry since the lake may still be iced over!

Day 1- Arrive IRNP via Queen, water taxi to Chippewa Harbor, Lake Ritchie (4.3)
Day 2- Hatchet Lake (11.1)
Day 3- Todd Harbor (3.9 ...

Just posted my trip- the East Side Loop starting on June 13. I logged my third night incorrectly by accident... that should be Todd Harbor, not Little Todd. Excited to get back to the island!

Thanks for the quick feedback and the climate tracking resource! I'm excited to get back to the island, and I've never been there in the spring. I am hoping that mid June, while risky for insects, is going to provide great opportunities to spot spring wildflowers.

Hi there,

I will be leaving for IRNP on June 13 for a week of backpacking on the eastern end. This will be my third trip to the island, but I haven't been there since 1999. Looking at trip reports from last year, it seemed as thought the black flies were just beginning to emerge in mid-June. Does ...