Isle Royale Forums

Here’s an open question for everyone...can you share one thing you wish you knew before your first trip to IR? Getting ready to make my first trip this summer and don’t want to overlook any thing. Thanks in advance.

Do I have to pick just one? If so, here it is:

The island is rougher hiking than I expected. The constant up-and-downs over ridges really wear on me. As a result, I would have planned shorter hiking days than I usually expect to do. This is true even with lots of experience on the UP mainland and in Minnesota.

That once you go there, NOTHING else compares and you’ll want to just keep going back to the island.

I really never understood addiction till I had a thimbleberry.

so far north and close to the summer solstice IT NEVER GETS DARK (<-- a small exaggeration). Pros: lots of daylight to hike in. Cons: not so much dark to sleep in. (Fortunately on my first trip I had a buff that I hadn't yet drenched in deet; I used it as an eye mask overnight.)

On my first trip I wish I had known that it's not unusual to get stuck on the island an extra day due to weather & waves, and that it may not be possible to contact family on the mainland to let them know. It will save a lot of worry if they understand it's a possibility that you may not return when expected.

I wish I had known: that I almost never end up hiking exactly the itinerary I had spent months meticulously planning and researching. So I now plan a route, but don't obsess if I diverge from the daily plan. I tend to get ahead of plan. Oh, and, sitting on the docks at a campsite is a great place to meet other campers.

exactly what berries are edible and what are not. I had no idea what a thimbleberry was. Look it up! I was fortunate to run across a ranger at Todd Harbor who set me straight.

One more one thing: I was worried about getting lost. The trails are very well marked and, for the most part, easy to follow. That has been less so in recent years as beaver dams affected some trails and maintenance in some areas cut back. I suspect parts of some trails this year will be covered with brush and grass after the light year last year.

In hindsight, I knew this, but never made the connection until the first night. You need more insulation under you in a shelter than you think you do. That cold air circulating under the shelter sucks a lot of heat away from you.

Consider bringing a good-sized rain tarp. It makes cooking and relaxing in camp so much more pleasant on rainy days. Also, when hung across the screen wall of a shelter, gives some relief from blowing rain and wind coming off the lake. We're very happy with this one:

backwoods doc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:05 pm Consider bringing a good-sized rain tarp. It makes cooking and relaxing in camp so much more pleasant on rainy days. Also, when hung across the screen wall of a shelter, gives some relief from blowing rain and wind coming off the lake. We're very happy with this one:

Great tip. We brought a tarp on both our trips. Worth it. We have a super light DCF tarp that weighs next to nothing and is soooo worth carrying. Used it as a wind block and a rain shelter multiple times on the island.

dcclark wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 6:14 pm Do I have to pick just one? If so, here it is:

The island is rougher hiking than I expected. The constant up-and-downs over ridges really wear on me. As a result, I would have planned shorter hiking days than I usually expect to do. This is true even with lots of experience on the UP mainland and in Minnesota.

Yup, but I have never been to Minnesota, lots of out west parks and down state Michigan though.

backwoods doc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:05 pm Consider bringing a good-sized rain tarp. It makes cooking and relaxing in camp so much more pleasant on rainy days.

I use a $5 vinyl rain poncho. a bit of rigging and it works well. When I go with others we overlap and have a larger area. multipurpose as a ground tarp, a poncho, quick and flexible rain gear for a nature call and it's replaceable for $5. but it is a bit heavy for ounce pincers.

Base654 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:56 pm

backwoods doc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:05 pm Consider bringing a good-sized rain tarp. It makes cooking and relaxing in camp so much more pleasant on rainy days.

I use a $5 vinyl rain poncho. a bit of rigging and it works well. When I go with others we overlap and have a larger area. multipurpose as a ground tarp, a poncho, quick and flexible rain gear for a nature call and it's replaceable for $5. but it is a bit heavy for ounce pincers.

Could probably do the same with a bit of Tyvek if you were weight conscious and willing to put up with the crinkle effect.

hooky wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:59 am

Base654 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 9:56 pm

backwoods doc wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:05 pm Consider bringing a good-sized rain tarp. It makes cooking and relaxing in camp so much more pleasant on rainy days.

I use a $5 vinyl rain poncho. a bit of rigging and it works well. When I go with others we overlap and have a larger area. multipurpose as a ground tarp, a poncho, quick and flexible rain gear for a nature call and it's replaceable for $5. but it is a bit heavy for ounce pincers.

Could probably do the same with a bit of Tyvek if you were weight conscious and willing to put up with the crinkle effect.

I made a 5x7 tarp out of polycro (plastic window insulation film), taped the edges, and taped on nylon washers for grommets. <4 oz and worked great. Rigged over a ridge line when tenting and strung across a shelter. Also use the stuff for ground cloths.