Yes, we've had some interesting orangish-sunlight here in lower Michigan. No smell of smoke though. I'd imagine the island has the same thing.

According to the Current Conditions page, water is on at both Rock Harbor and Windigo. Bathrooms are open too. (We head out in 4 days, so this is a pleasant surprise.)

OK! About water: Generally there are not good water sources up on the ridges (e.g. Greenstone and Minong), so you'll need to plan to carry your full water needs those days. But whenever you're near Lake Superior, you'll have no trouble getting water if you need it. That said, for the long sections, ...

Those are some very long days. I would not attempt that kind of mileage myself. Do you all have experience backpacking that kind of distance, with that much weight, on this type of terrain? (Compare it to the north shore of Minnesota, or the Porcupine Mountains.) I would strongly recommend a shorter...

Just one more voice to say: You're absolutely right that bushwhacking in that situation is a bad idea, and have identified the key reasons. If you need one more, I bushwhacked for about 1 mile south of Moskey Basin at around the same time of year -- just to get to an interesting looking spit of rock...

Be sure to say hi! I'll be carrying a bright red SWD (Superior Wilderness Designs) pack. There will be two, my wife (purple pack) and me.

I second everything Ingo says above. I would avoid off-trail camping if at all possible. Lake Ojibway - Rolf Petersen and others have been giving presentations that include recent photos of moose stuck up to their armpits in the muck of the drained lake. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole! Som...

I'm (finally) buying a Garmin inReach to give my relatives peace of mind. I'm especially a fan of the free check-in messages. Sadly the 20% coupon doesn't work on devices with GPS chips, but the dividend at least takes a bit of the edge off. What is the 20% coupon you speak of? REI gives a "20...

I can't say this strongly enough: That's too early to be on the island. There's a reason that none of the transportation services run at that time -- early May is effectively the transition between winter and spring on the island. The very first park employees will probably be arriving at the island...

The best map by far is the National Geographic paper map #240 -- waterproof and detailed for use on the island.

For use in planning, I'd check out this one or the ones at NPMaps. Not as detailed, but they show the key locations.

Seems things are mostly on Facebook nowadays. I don't engage much there, each thread gets dozens of nearly identical replies from people who don't bother to read what else has been posted.

I'll be on the island around that time, taking it slow on the Feldtman loop!

Garmin: I've acquired my Garmin in an era where you were allowed to specify your own trio of free "preset" messages. One of mine is "at camp, intact". Another provokes a (typically wildly misleading) local weather report from NOAA. Are the trio of free "presets" no lon...

I'm (finally) buying a Garmin inReach to give my relatives peace of mind. I'm especially a fan of the free check-in messages. Sadly the 20% coupon doesn't work on devices with GPS chips, but the dividend at least takes a bit of the edge off.

I mainly know it because I helped make a similar map for the Porcupine Mountains . Not nearly as polished or complete as yours. The Porkies are notorious for extremely inaccurate trail mileage markers, so it was really needed. Wow! I like your Porkies map. I'm going to bookmark that one for the nex...

I mainly know it because I helped make a similar map for the Porcupine Mountains. Not nearly as polished or complete as yours. The Porkies are notorious for extremely inaccurate trail mileage markers, so it was really needed.