Isle Royale Forums

My first trip to ISRO recently was fabulous. Not everything went to plan but it all worked out well. My first major glitch was when I got to camp at Feldtmann Lake the first night (Saturday, June 25th) and found that the can of fuel that I bought at the store in Windigo was not correct for my Jetboil stove.

As I flew in on the sea plane I was not able to take my own fuel so had to rely on buying it at Windigo. It was a blue can that looked about right (now I know better for next time) and the metal ring on the top was the correct diameter, but the nipple was not threaded. I didn't see other options at the store. When I purchased it there was of course a plastic cover on top of the can so I didn't see the issue with the nipple. Somebody else at camp told me that the lady at the store at Windigo (Eileen?) told him "I hope you don't need the kind that screws on!" but there was not comment made to me when I purchased what I thought was the correct fuel.

Luckily, somebody else let me use their stove for my first meal. My plan was then to hike back to Windigo the following day to get either a different fuel canister or a different camp stove that matches the fuel so that I could trek across the Greenstone to get to Rock Harbor on time.

I don't know if this falls under "luck" or divine intervention" but I'll take it however I can get it. Long story short, there was a medium sized cansiter of fuel in the pit toilet with the correct type of fuel and attachment (threaded nipple) that was about half full, plenty for my solo-hike across ISRO! The thread was a bit rusty but my burner attached to it no problem! I continued on with my hike on Sunday as per plan, thanks to whoever left the fuel canister behind! I, in turn, left a brand new and full fuel cansiter (with the incorrect nipple) at the same toilet if somebody else could benefit from it and so I wouldn't have to carry an extra pound in my pack.

I did see that they had the correct type of fuel cansiters at the store in Rock Harbor once I got there.

"Manna from Heaven"? Or at least a way to cook the Manna. I think pit toilets can offer all sorts of relief ranging from the expected to the somewhat long term refuge from a rutting Bull Moose (yes, I've heard that's happened. Maybe yes?), but I've never seen anyone exit a pit toilet with a smile on their face because they found something so useful. Sometimes smiles of gratitude for what they left behind, sometimes no smiles.

I wonder what other stories can be told relating to "Manna from Pit Toilets".

I hope you rinsed it off before you used it...

Well, not when I first hooked it up to see if the rusty threaded nipple would fit okay as I was so excited to be fortunate enough to have one magically appear! Once verified, though, I did use a "cleansing wipe" on it and used some of the hand sanitizer goop that I had with me, and used hand sanitizer every time I cooked with it as well (good practice before eating anyway, right?).

Well, I left a full load of Gaz behind in the same toilet. Hopefully somebody will find it as useful as the one that I found there, but somehow I would guess not. Okay, no snickers on the obvious puns of my statement about the Gaz!

I doubt any one will ever use that canister (I would think the GAZ canisters would more likely be used by boaters); unfortunate, the LNT principles abandoned in two instances, out the door after less than ten miles from the orientation lecture.

The LNT principle is designed to protect the resource from visitors. Not to be abandoned for someones convenience/mistake; you should have packed-out the GAZ canister, as well as the newly acquired one.

JMHO

jrwiesz wrote:I doubt any one will ever use that canister (I would think the GAZ canisters would more likely be used by boaters); unfortunate, the LNT principles abandoned in two instances, out the door after less than ten miles from the orientation lecture.

The LNT principle is designed to protect the resource from visitors. Not to be abandoned for someones convenience/mistake; you should have packed-out the GAZ canister, as well as the newly acquired one.

JMHO

I have to totally agree with you about packing it out. I have been at lake Richie and found lots of broken equipment thrown into the woods, some I could carry out like broken trekking poles and some I couldn't fit like half used mountain house meals left in the outhouse. When we arrived back at windigo there was a whole stockpile of dehydrated meals left in a shelter. We did not know where they came from, so therefore didn't deem it safe to use them, and didn't think it was safe to leave them, to draw critters in so we told the rangers they were there. I know people mean well, but in reality it is your responsibility to plan, pack and to pack out what you need and bring. So I hope more people learn form mistakes and not bad example.