IMHO, the best and only official weather forecast is the Isle Royale Recreational Forecast put out by the National Weather Service in Marquette: https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=mqt&product=REC&issuedby=MQT&glossary=1 It is released twice a day, and to the best of my knowle...

Just returned from kayaking around Tobin and Rock Harbor areas. Biting flies were a nuisance for about an hour around sunset. Put on long pants. Other than that, a few sluggish mosquitoes in woody areas. Never used my insect repellent or headset. Thanks for the bug report, Bobcat. Thought you'd sti...

Thanks for the great report. My wife and I are taking our first trip to IR on Friday, also staying at Copper Country Inn (was Julie's Motor Inn when we made reservations - things change!) and also traveling with heavy packs. I appreciate all the details in your report.

Thanks for the great, and detailed, report. My wife and I depart for IR two weeks from today, and I'm very eager - and anxious - to go. Our hike will be quite a bit less ambitious than yours; we'll be taking our time and keeping close to Rock Harbor campsites. In your report, I'm amused by the insta...

Will do, Bobcat. My wife and I will be the ones wheezing under the weight of ridiculous packs.

Leaving for my first IR trip in 16 days, so: I'll likely find out at the end of my trip which items were my luxury items. For the next two weeks, they're all necessities!

When the crossing is going to be rough, I use a product called "Bonine" that doesn't make me drowsy. The active ingredient is meclazine (sp?). It is not as well-known as dramamine, but I have generally been able to find it at retail pharmacies. YMMV. Seems like I've seen that before (mecl...

I've used a few dry bags as portable buckets or sinks for a few years. Filter water, do laundry, bath as needed. Great tools for the job, light weight, and they have a handy carry handle. That's thinking outside the box. So, in this instance, the "dry bag" keeps everything outside the bag...

We used a collapsible bucket on the island. Worked for us. Sea to summit makes it. We just have the small one. Carried back to camp or used it at the dock. Both were nice. Pretty sure I saw y'all using that on your youtube series. Which, I'm also pretty sure, is what gave me the idea. Thanks for th...

Good ideas, JerryB. Thanks. Will consider that as we compile our list of gear.

So...those of us going in late August, WITH boat reservations, will have lots of company! This will be our first trip, so I won't know what to compare it with. But given a choice between MORE people and LESS people...well, we chose Isle Royale for a reason. Thanks for the warning!

Awesome. Thanks, all. I'm slowly checking off things to Stop Worrying About. Slowly.

If your Sawyer bag disconects can you take the "dirty" bag into the water to fill it? . Yes, we can still do it this way. It just seems like it would be more efficient to bring a lot of water back to the (relative) comfort of our campsite to do the filtering, rather than filtering one lit...

Still working through all the details of my upcoming first trip to IR. My latest Item of Intense, Anxious Scrutiny involves water filtration. We use a Sawyer system, (in the limited experience we have backpacking) but we're used to filling up at small streams and springs and such, where scooping the...

Got it, Ed. Suomi for breakfast, then Roy's Pasties to go! Sounds simple enough. That, plus Mrs. Moon's Biggby Coffee, and we should be set.