Isle Royale Forums

There are some good reports from various crews sent out to find (and in some cases, re-set) benchmarks. Many are terse, but some are quite fun to read. I find the really old reports (usually turn-of-the-last-century) to be especially interesting as well as useless, in both cases because of the long-...

Tom, you've just given me a new goal for my next few trips (and likely a way to get my surveyors-in-law onto the island too). Last year, I had a sort-of goal of bushwhacking to Mt. Saginaw (south of Moskey). There is a high point marked there, but likely no permanent survey point. I would have loved...

Excellent trip report. Thank you so much for sharing it with those of us who are stuck far away from the island. A rainy day is part of the Isle Royale package, but it sounds like you got the deluxe version. I am one of those "traditional boots and socks" people who is starting to think very hard ab...

Awesome trip report! I loved reading it. I have to admit, I was skeptical of your plan to hike with 4 kids (even if some are older), and I'm glad to hear they enjoyed the island. I think that on every trip to the island that I've taken, I've started planning the next trip about halfway through this ...

For some reason, mindat's GPS coordinates are terrible for most Upper Peninsula mines. Not just slightly fuzzy, but often in completely wrong places. Definitely trust JerryB instead of mindat.

Those are the best photos I've seen of the "locomotive"! Thanks for posting them. That looks like a standard locomotive-style boiler. It almost certainly wasn't used for an actual locomotive at the mine, but instead provided power for a stamp mill and other mine equipment. There are a decent number ...

How often have you heard a Loon call in the distance and thought " is that a wolf?" I have sat outside at Moskey, in the fall, at night listening to big numbers of Loons call. One starts and soon the others are calling. Great sound!!! I've heard loons and I've heard wolves (and coyotes, too). I don...

One upside: A bunch of folks in Rock Harbor Campground will be packing up to leave on the Queen the same afternoon that you arrive. So there's a decent chance you can snag a nice site (or even a shelter) from one of them.

1) Rock Harbor campground is quite large and close to the ferry dock. There are no campsite reservations anywhere on the island (except for group sites, which a group of 2 wouldn't qualify for.) Campsites can hold 2 or 3 tents, and campers are very good about sharing sites. (Sharing sites is the exp...

Can't say it better than torpified did above! Also make sure to take your time and enjoy sitting around and being lazy on occasion (I would schedule a rest day at Moskey or McCargoe). Also, don't discount staying in Rock Harbor one night (and only one night at a time, due to stay limits). The ranger...

Welcome to the forums! Both of your itineraries look very roundabout to me. Taking the Voyageur to Windigo and back again takes up a lot of time that you could spend sitting around and enjoying the scenery, or doing dayhikes, or having fun in Rock Harbor. Itinerary 2 is a bit better (especially beca...

Have you done car camping before? That might be a better place to begin -- it's a good way to get used to new gear (like tents, cooking setup, etc.). Jumping into backpacking is a big step, and backpacking on Isle Royale is even bigger. There are lots of great places to start out car camping in the ...

Welcome to the forums! (And eventually, to Isle Royale!) My top bit of advice is: Practice! Do some kind of overnight backpacking trip with your sons, somewhere downstate, to see what it feels like. Make sure your packs are at a reasonable weight when you do, so you get the full experience. As for I...

I've never been on an Isle Royale trip where it didn't rain for at least one day, often multiple. I would never go without the ability to survive a few days of rain. It rains much more often than even nearby parts of the mainland. (it's almost a casual thing... think I'll rain for a few minutes now....

Thanks, Bobcat1 and Base654. That's the one I found on REI's website and wondered how it really worked. Glad to hear it's recommended.