On my 2011 trip to ISRO, I stayed at both NLD (Minong) and SLD (Greenstone). At both places I saw numbers of stickleback fish (a bait fish) near the shore. However, fishing from the shore might be problematic at best due to the geography (near vertical slopes from the campsites to the lake shore. Fi...

One nice feature of the tent sites in Chippewa Harbor is the apple orchard (orchard might be an exaggeration) that is back there. Keep in mind with Moskey Basin that EVERYBODY likes Moskey Basin and as such it is a very popular campground and the sites/shelters fill up fast. You might think about To...

Does anyone know if the Ranger III has been able to transit from dry dock in Wisconsin to park HQ in Houghton?. I saw reports (not recent) of significant ice in the Portage Canal.

There is a resident camp moose with a calf or 2 every year at Washington Creek, so you should see a moose (hopefully not up close however). As you mention that you may rent canoes or kayaks, Beaver Island Campground is a short paddle from Windigo. There is adventure potential in paddling to a campgr...

I understand why the NPS would take the position of not doing anything about the wolves and letting nature take its course. On the other hand, ISRO has had a long history of human intervention with the wildlife on the island. Up to the 1920's or so, woodland caribou were on the island and there were...

Almost any XC ski pole can work as a hiking pole. I use my adjustable back country poles for hiking (they serve double duty as the structural element of my tarp shelter as well). You will want to swap the snowflake baskets for hiking baskets (cone shaped deals).

I also have a Garmin (older etrex) and it has provided excellent service. No maps however. Keep in mind that a GPS unit, especially one with maps, is NOT a substitute for a paper map and compass and the skills necessary to use a map and compass. GPS units are subject to Murphy's law and will tend to...

I bring Logan Bread as my no cook meals. OTOH, if you are bringing Logan Bread, then weight savings is not really an issue. It came in handy when I ran into a momma moose and calf moose that decided to hang out right outside of my shelter at Washington Creek for an extended period of time. Stove was...

#5 this one is a head scratcher.following the trail the only marks are the cairn stones, correct.......someone told me that they thought this trail was marked with blazez such as those on the ice age trail or the north country trail..this sounded like crazyness to me. There are a few (<5 as I recal...

Having done the Rock Harbor - Windigo loop, I would recommend taking the Minong outbound and the Greenstone back (the Minong is a much more difficult route and it is easier to do with fresher legs. Day 1 Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm via the Tobin Harbor trail Day 2 Daisy Farm to Todd Harbor via McCargo...

You can mail drop food and other supplies that can be sent through the mail (no fuel) at Windigo: Address your package as follows: Isle Royale National Park Windigo Ranger Station C/O Voyager II Grand Portage, MN 55605 (It is a good idea to put a date on the package when you expect to pick it up). K...

I bring a batter (the recipe is in the NOLS outdoor cooking book) in ziplock bag. I then place the filets in the bag and coat them with the batter. To cook, I bring a Banks Frybake covered frying pan (an alternative would be a backpacking frying pan or even a pot cover) and cook over my backpacking ...

Isle Royale nautical chart 14976 is available in booklet form from NOAA ocsdata.ncd.noaa.gov/BookletChart/14976_BookletChart.pdf as a pdf document. You might want to print out some of the pages which cover your trip. The chart would give you information such as water depth which would allow you to p...

I used a phrase to the effect of "boaters taking over the dock". I did not mean to initiate a flame war or a dispute between boaters and backpackers. I realize that a dock is the means by which most boaters access ISRO. What I meant to capture by my post is that I had the experience of sit...

I've been apprehensive when I meet boaters while I'm backpacking because the gestalt is so different. It's a bit like backpacking into a state park filled with RVs & car campers. Their expectations and gear are quite different from mine. It DOES feel like meeting aliens when you run into boater...