Potential Hiking Itinerary

Questions about trails and campsites on the island.

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jgigl
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Potential Hiking Itinerary

Post by jgigl »

Hi y'all! First time poster, so let me know if I need to make any changes! My wife and I are planning a short trip to IR from Grand Portage inbound July 1st and outbound July 4th. I have a couple of itinerary ideas (listed below) but wanted to get some input to make sure we were making the most of our limited amount of time. Please shout out suggestions whether that be tweaking what I've come up with or scrapping it all together, y'all are the experts after all! Neither of us have been to IR before and we want to see as much as we can but our dates of travel are already set, we are just needing to book the ferry and are flexible and open to changes as far as where to get off or on the ferry.


Option 1 - More time on the ferry but also seeing more of IR by boat
Day 1: Grand Portage (Ferry) -> Rock Harbor (arrive 3pm) -> Daisy Farm ( 7.1 miles) option of stopping for the night at Three Mile instead.
Day 2: Daisy Farm -> Moskey Basin (6.2 miles)
Day 3: Moskey Basin -> Chippewa Harbor (6.2 miles)
Day 4: Chippewa Harbor -> Grand Portage (Ferry)

Option 2 - Less time on ferry but more time on IR and seeing less of IR
Day 1: Grand Portage (Ferry) -> McCargoe Cove (arrive 1pm) -> West Chickenbone or Lake Richie (2.9-6.3 miles)
Day 2: West Chickenbone or Lake Richie -> Moskey Basin (5.7 or 2.1 miles)
Day 3 Moskey Basin -> Chippewa Harbor (6.2 miles)
Day 4: Chippewa Harbor -> Grand Portage (Ferry)

I'd love to get your thoughts and suggestions! Thanks in advance!
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dcclark
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Re: Potential Hiking Itinerary

Post by dcclark »

Both of these are doable. I would choose #1, or else #2 modified as I suggest below. Both let you see Moskey and Chippewa, which are excellent places to stay.

Option 1 is very nice, but Daisy -> Moskey is only 4 miles, and 3 Mile to Moskey would then be doable at about 8 miles.

Option 2 is also fine, but McCargoe is second only to Moskey in my list of favorites. You should find a way to stay at McCargoe. It slightly edges out West Chickenbone (inland, no shelters, but quieter and very pretty), and is much better than Lake Richie (inland, campsites aren't very close to the lake, no shelters). Perhaps stay at McCargoe the first night (and hike up the hill to see the Minong Mine). Then you could go straight to Moskey if you're OK with the distance (about 9 miles), which would be a moderate hike that involves one big uphill and a lot of smaller ridges. Or else stay at West Chickenbone the first night and then continue to Moskey.

One last word -- I would expect BUGS at that time of year. It will vary depending on the weather, temperature, etc., but July is high season for mosquitoes and other nasty little buggers like that. Bring head nets and bug gunk.

Others will surely suggest west end loops you could do without needing to lose a day to the ferry. You won't go wrong, one way or the other!
jgigl
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Re: Potential Hiking Itinerary

Post by jgigl »

Thank you for the great feedback dcclark! We've decided to go with Option 2 and stay the first night at McCargoe as you suggested. We're looking forward to it!
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Re: Potential Hiking Itinerary

Post by Ingo »

Good choice! The mine is pretty cool and agree with everything dcclark says. I was going to suggest the Feldtmann Loop on the west end as another option, but you can save that for the next trip. If you're still looking for moose by the time you get to Chippewa, take the short hike to Mason Lake, they like to hang out there. Have a great trip! (you will).
22: BI-PC-BI-RH, 21: RH-ML-DF-MB-DF, 18: MC-PC-BI-DB-RH-DF, 17: WI-IM-SB-FL-WC, 16: RH-CI-TI-RH, 14: BI-ML-CI-CH-MB, 13: RH-PI, 12: MC-CB-HL-TH, 11: WC-HC-WC, 09: MC-BI-DN-RH, 05: MI-CI-MB-DF-RH-TM-RH, 02: MC-LR-WL-CH, 01: BI-DB-RH, 79: worked RH
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