Isle Royale by packraft -- August 27 - September 3, 2013

[Redbad]

August 27: Arrived at Rock Harbor via the Ranger III. Very dense fog - visibility of 100 yards or less at times. Showed some first time visitors where the RH campground and the Tobin Harbor trails were located. Inflated the packraft (an Alpacka Denali Llama) and loaded up. Paddled to 3 Mile through some very foggy conditions. Water was flat and no wind. Arrived at 1730 and was able to get a shelter (Shelter 2).

August 28: In water early. Made Daisy Farm by 1200. Changed into hiking clothes and hiked up to Mt. Objibway to take pictures. Beautiful clear day. Back to Daisy Farm at 1500 and paddled to Moskey Basin. All shelters and camp sites taken. Was able to share Group site 2 with some folks from Wisconsin. Group site 2 not very scenic. Sat at dock and wrote in journal. Aggressive squirrel attempted to steal my GORP.

August 29. Hiked/portaged to Lake Ritchie. Made the portage point at Lake Ritchie. Got lost on the lake and had to dig out map to find Lake Ritchie Canoe Campground. Found the campground at 1430. Only camper at the campground -- NICE campground! Sat on the rock bluff overlooking the lake -- fire damage from the illegal fire earlier this year appears to have healed somewhat but is still visible. Began to cloud up and it started to rain at 3:30 or so. Covered up my gear with the packraft and put on poncho. Rained harder and found a tree to sit under. Rain stopped at 1800. Set up camp and deployed poncho as an awning covering gear. My shelter is a bivy sack... Overnight -- the heavens unloaded. It Rained HARD from 2130 until 0330 or so on the 30th. Like walking through a carwash with a garbage bag over my head.... Strong thunderstorms.

August 30: Decided to divert to Chippewa Harbor to grab a shelter so that I could dry off gear (all of the humidity got my gear damp). Paddled to portage point to Chippewa Harbor and then hiked to CH. Grabbed a shelter and hung up clothing and gear. Saw the bald eagles nesting in CH. Observed 3 canoes pull in -- it appears that they came directly from RH to CH via Lake Superior. The Law Enforcement Ranger came in by boat and was very interested in the folks who came in by canoe...

August 31: Explored CH and environs. Found the apple trees. Found the ship wreck. Hiked to Lake Mason. Went fishing (no luck). 5x fishing boats from Minnesota pulled into CH and either anchored in CH or tied up to dock. One boat was larger than the Voyager II... Thunderstorms overnight.

September 1: Packed up and paddled to the CH/LR portage point. Another bald eagle sighting (adult and juvenile) Thigh deep water and ankle deep mud at portage point. Hiked/portaged back to Lake Ritchie and paddled to the portage point back to Moskey Basin. Portaged back to Moskey Basin and took camping site 6. Wind picked up.

September 2: Wind really picked up. Paddled through some choppy water to Edisen fishery. Toured the fishery, the lighthouse, and the wolf-moose study locations. Paddled to Caribou Island campground and set up in shelter 1. I had the campground to myself (some boaters were at the dock). The nice thing about boats is that they have power to run refrigerators which keep beer cold. Boaters offered me cold beer which I could not refuse. Enjoyed the campfire and the boaters.

September 3: Paddled to Snug Harbor. Beautiful day for a paddle with the wind at my back. Checked into the lodge. Had a long shower! Had a pizza and beer for dinner.

September 4: Traveled back to Houghton via the Ranger III.

Lessons learned: A packraft, especially a heavier duty packraft like an Alpacka, is a very capable means of transportation. I was able to hit campgrounds that are not accessible to folks without watercraft. I was able to easily paddle up to 7 miles (and could have done more if necessary). It carried both myself and a fully loaded pack in waters with waves in the 1 to 3 foot range and stayed dry in the process. A deck (an option for Alpacka rafts) would make this even more capable. The really nice thing about a packraft is that solo portaging is much easier than solo portaging a canoe.

[sgatz]

Hiked to Lake Mason. Went fishing (no luck).

We tried also with no luck. We didn't even see a minnow.
25ish years ago my dad and uncle caught a monster pike there, and quite a few "regular" one.
23ish years ago when I went from my first trip to IR, it was dead. Too thick of ice and snow the previous winter had "killed" it.
I wonder how long it takes for a lake to "come back"?

[Redbad]

My writing was somewhat confusing -- I went fishing in Chippewa Harbor, not Lake Mason.

As for the lack of fishing in Lake Mason, there is an outlet creek that connects Lake Mason with Chippewa Harbor. Google Earth imagery indicates that there are beaver dams along the creek. Perhaps some prey fish and some pike could make it up the creek to Lake Mason. It might take some wolf predation of the beavers to make this possible however, and with the numbers of wolves going down, that might not happen.

[tree rattt]

I know this is an older post,this trip teport Really got my mind a cruising. The ability to pack and paddle is fascinating. Redbad I would love to read some info to see how this unit has held up .What kinda pace can it keep.My biggest problem with packing is when I get by the water .....what a solution!

[Redbad]

Tree Ratt

I have an Alpacka Denali Lama packraft. Per the manufacturers website it comes in at 2400 grams and rolls up to fit in a backpack. I use 2 piece paddles, but there are 4 piece paddles available that pack down even smaller. I figure that it takes roughly 10 minutes total to unpack and to inflate or to deflate and repack. It is possible in some situations to portage it fully inflated. There are lashing points for attaching cargo (backpacks, bikes, skis, etc.).

Alpacka designs and builds packrafts for use in whitewater rafting situations, so they are built sturdily. I did some whitewater rafting in it last summer in Montana and it held up well (no leaks) even when bouncing off of logs, rocks, and other obstacles. I have also used it numerous times for fishing local (Kalamazoo area) lakes. The biggest issue that I had on ISRO is that the portage from CH to Lake Ritchie involved a deep water exit (I had to climb over the tube of the raft and then go thigh deep into the water to get onto dry land...). However any watercraft would have a similar issue.

On flat water/no wind I figure that I can average around 3mph. It stays dry in waves under 3 feet or so

I am thinking of another trip to ISRO this summer (2015) and paddling the 5 fingers region over to McCargoe and then doing the chain of lakes then out from Moskey Basin back to Rock Harbor. Portages are much easier with this kind of watercraft.

[tree rattt]

Redbad, thanks for the info. I find this an interesting way to explore the island. I have mentioned that I hate to portage a boat.This sounds like a good option. Sounds like good durability and decent speed.I know deep water entries and exits are always a lot of fun . I personally can't wait to get a kayak into the five fingers region myself. Only so much time though