I'm sorry to hear that -- I had no idea that IncaRoads owned Midwest Mountaineering (Edit: And it turns out Inca isn't! See below.). For the couple of years that I was at the U, I enjoyed shopping there. Being so close to campus was a real benefit.

Thanks, it works! That was a lot of fun to look at. Interesting details I noticed beyond what's mentioned above: - No marked campgrounds at Feldtmann, Island Mine, East Chickenbone, Lake Richie, North Desor, Little Todd, or Lane Cove -- maybe informal or off-trail camping was expected? Also looks li...

Neat photo, and map too. The link wants me to request access -- could you allow anybody with the link to view it? I'd love to look at the map up close.

Water is readily available to be filtered at campgrounds, and not many other places. So I agree with Ingo, pack 2 Liters and plan to use it all day. Since you're staying on Lake Superior each night, you'll have easy access to good water for filtering.

Thanks, Kelly! Glad that you're enjoying them! (Next up: Late July Slackpacking trip to the Porcupine Mountains, but it will take a few weeks for me to post...)

Hi all, it's taken a long time, but I just finished writing a detailed series of blog posts about my May trip to the west end. I apologize for just linking to my own blog, but these are much too long to post here (and I couldn't get all the photos in). Quick summary: A mostly sunny and cold late-May...

I think only large groups of visitors (e.g. when the Voyageur boat comes in to dock) get the orientation. When we arrived on the seaplane this year, there was a sign telling us to self-register at the visitor center. A ranger did come out to check on us, but we didn't get a full orientation. But, th...

The stream at Island Mine (campground) is reliable enough -- I don't recall ever hearing of it actually being dry, but you usually will need to prefilter since there's lots of "bits" in it. But in general, I recommend carrying a full day's water on the island. Unless you're on one of the L...

It was a magical little place, made even better because it was unexpected. I definitely recommend checking it out. Here's a photo with my wife and hiking partner for scale. The stream continues through the large boulders at the bottom and drains into a lowland area. The coordinates on the photo are ...

One quick note about the Feldtmann loop that is often not mentioned: there is no water to be found between Siskiwit Bay and Feldtmann Lake. In a good year, if you know where to look, there is a crevice near the fire lookout that a little water seeps out of, but it is minimal and cannot be counted o...

Yes, you are crazy. Ok, enough silliness. This is a bad plan. Do you have open water swimming experience? At that distance? This is a recipe for drowning even in decent weather. It is much crazier than diving in one place, it's crossing a significant amount of open water. Aside from experience, the ...

Unfortunately the National Weather Service has an air quality alert for today, July 15. It covers the island (and most surrounding mainland) due to Canadian forest fire smoke:

https://www.weather.gov/mqt/

Those are a lot of fun! Quite a lot that's been added since that first map: - No Minong, of course. - West half of the Feldtmann Loop didn't exist. - West half of Huginnin didn't exist either. - No Indian Portage Trail, so no land route out of Chippewa Harbor - In general, the McCargoe/Chickenbone a...

We ended up leaving an 8 oz can used for just 2 boils on that crate (after fully using one other 8 oz can). We needed it -- I'm glad we had it -- but I sure wish they'd had 4oz cans.

IncaRoads, that's a very good solution - it would match the Copper Harbor Conglomerate well.