TR 8/8/14 - 8/13/14 Windigo + Huginnin Cove

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philranger
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TR 8/8/14 - 8/13/14 Windigo + Huginnin Cove

Post by philranger »

Isle Royale 2014

If you wanted to bring someone to Isle Royale who is not a serious backpacker or a paddler, where would you take them? That was my dilemma. My wife Stacie has been very patient with me as I have come to the IR for 6 previous trips. As I have fallen in love with this National Park, I wanted to share this special place with my wife.

So after last year’s 32 mile trek along the Minong, I knew I wanted to bring my wife Stacie to the island and not do a serious and strenuous hike. I looked over the map and it became clear my best option would be to stay on the West end of the island. My plans included a 5 day / 4 night stay at Windigo and Huginnin Cove. I booked the trip with the intent on trying out the newest boat “The Sea Hunter” out of Grand Portage. Like previous trips, I planned the route, a menu and activities with my wife in mind.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

We gathered on the Hat Marina dock and Captain Don soon had everyone on board and ready to depart, well except for one single woman backpacker. Luckily, she showed up before the boat pulled away from the dock and sheepishly climbed on board. The Sea Hunter pulled out of the harbor and headed north along the shore for a viewing of the Little Spirit Cedar Tree. Sacred to the Ojibwe people, the gnarly tree growing out of a rock and is thought to be over 500 years old.

After a short photo session, the Sea Hunter turned and pointed to Isle Royale and the Captain opened up the engines. When the bow started pointing up, I knew we were moving. A check of my GPS revealed we were moving at 18.5 mph. We were soon at the North Gap and hovering near the sunken ship “The America”. The water was clear enough to see the vessel just feet below the surface. A few pictures and it was off to Windigo.

Upon departure, half of the passengers were sent with one Ranger (the Day Trippers), the other half (Campers) were greeted by Ranger Kaitlyn, who started the L-N-T presentation. Stacie was given the card “Pack it in, Pack it out”. After the program, we headed up to the Ranger Station to secure our backcountry permit. I was greeted by Ranger Valerie, who is on the island for her 16th summer.

With permit in hand, I took Stacie up to the gift shop, where I reminded her we buy our gifts at the end of the trek so we don’t have to backpack them around with us. We headed back down the hill and headed off to the campground, where we grabbed shelter #13. BTW, Shelter #14 is closed because it has a wasp nest.

After dinner, we headed back to the Ranger Station for the evening program “Why Isle Royale became a National Park”. The presentation was conducted by volunteer Park Ranger Robert, who pitted a group of Boy Scouts against the other campers and 3 staffers. All in all, a very informative meeting.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

We got up around 7 and after breakfast started to pack up for our trek out to Huginnin Cove.
This campsite has been on my “to do” list. I wanted to do it on previous trips, but it wasn’t to be. Especially after traveling the 12+ miles of coming back to Windigo from N & S Desor on two previous trips.

Because I knew we would be back in two days, I decided to leave some of the extra food and dirty clothes in a backpack with a note. I’ve seen others do this on other trips and decided to test the honesty of my fellow campers. With packs packed, we headed off to Huginnin. I wanted to do the loop, so we decided to tackle the East trail first.

The trail out to Huginnin was reminiscent of many other Isle Royale trails. You hike through thick vegetation, over boardwalks and on trails littered with rocks and roots. Along the trail we encounter a young couple named Jessica and Paul. We soon discover they are from LaCrosse, WI and were on the Sea Hunter yesterday. They spent the night at Huginnin and recommended campsite #1.

The hungry mosquitoes kept us moving forward and we finally took a longer break when we reached the rocky coastline of Lake Superior. After our break, we donned the backpacks and pushed on towards Huginnin. Here the trail turned left and we found ourselves going up and down and through large boulders.

When we arrived at Huginnin, we discovered we were the only inhabitants at the camp and headed over to campsite #1 as recommended. The campsite is situated on the east side of the cove and we had to travel a little ways along the beach in order to get to it. We quickly set up camp and recharged after the morning hike.

Sometime in the afternoon, we heard voices. It looked like we might have neighbors in site #2. After a quick dip in the water, they were gone. “Probably day hikers,” I said. We also took advantage of the warm day and went in for a swim. The water temp wasn’t too bad. Probably in the 60’s. What was bad, were the slimy conditions of the rocks. This made the footing out to deeper water slow and difficult. Luckily, I had brought a stick with me into the water for balance. I was able to get out to chest deep water and submerge myself. After the long cold winter, I was pleasantly surprised how warm Lake Superior actually was.

During the late afternoon, we noticed that our sunshine was gone. It was now replaced by dreary gray clouds. It didn’t look like we would be blest with a Huginnin Cove sunset tonight. We headed to bed and within an hour, we heard the first droplets of rain. Sprinkles at first, but through the night, we experienced quite the downpour.

Monday, August 11, 2014

It continued to rain all night and when morning broke, we used the break in the rain to head out and pee and retrieve a breakfast packet, cards and the Junior Ranger packet from our backpacks.
We also noticed that the wave action on the lake had started to get rough. “I bet there will be some barfers on the boats today,” I said. The waves were pounding the rocks on the opposite side of the cove and lapping madly at the shoreline. It probably continued to rain til 1 that afternoon.

Being cold and hungry, we decided to make a hot meal for lunch. We also took advantage of the rain stoppage to hang up all the wet gear. With lunch complete and everything hung up, we decided to explore the other campsites and the west side of the cove.

Upon our return, we noticed there are now campers setting up tents in site #2. I noticed one of them right away as Quinn, the clerk from the Windigo store. He introduced us to his parents, Scott and Jill. We had a nice chat while they were setting up their tents. This was Quinn’s 2nd summer employed on the island. It was Scott’s 3rd trip to Isle Royale. They mentioned they were from Southern Michigan.

We spent the rest of the afternoon, drying things out and praying the clouds would dissipate in time for the sunset. The waves on the lake were really moving and we could see whitecaps. We also noticed we could see the Canadian shoreline. Our prayers were answered, when we noticed sunshine painting the trees in our campsite.

We headed out to the rocks that are north of the campsite and staked our spots in anticipation of the sunset. We were not disappointed. Our second night at Huginnin would hopefully be rain free and I was hoping to get up and spot one of the Perseid’s meteor shower or the Northern Lights. During the night, I was awaken by the brightness of the full moon. I got out to look at the sky, but the moonlight drowned out most of the heavens and overhead I noticed that we had partial cloud cover. I gazed upwards for several minutes, but didn’t see any meteors.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014.

Quinn and his parents are all packed up and ready to head back to Windigo by 8. We also started the chore of packing and we were ready to head back around 10. Unlike Sunday’s hike, today we slathered on bug repellent to keep the bugs at bay. Overall, I was very pleased we had made it to Huginnin and the weather was going to be cool for hiking.

We took the west loop back to Windigo and kept our eyes open for any signs of moose. The climbs and trail were reminiscent of the east loop and we had a nice hike. Occasionally, I would snag a ripe thimbleberry and suck on it. The ripe ones were few and far between. I bet if I came back in 2 weeks, I could gorge myself.

We arrived back in Windigo around 2 and headed towards shelter #13 to retrieve the backpack I left there on Sunday. When I came around the corner, I noticed the permit on the door and announced myself. “Hello,” I said. Getting no response, I peeked inside and discovered the gear of a single camper. I entered the shelter and retrieved my backpack.

We headed down the trail and found an empty shelter in #6. As promised, I told Stacie I would treat her to a sandwich and pop at the Store. I remember my first visit to the island in 2005, my buddy Jerry and I had a homemade sandwich and it was so delicious. Now the sandwiches are pre-packed like the ones offered in a Convenience Store.

The porch was empty and we enjoyed the sandwiches and chips while reflecting on our trip out and back to Huginnin. While in the Store, I noticed the price of beer was only 99 cents. I thought we should come back later and take advantage of this.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to the store and bought a couple of cans of beer and cracked them on the porch. The weather was absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, there was no evening program tonight, so we headed back to the shelter. On the way back, we noticed a flash of orange near the boat dock. There was a fox in camp and it wasn’t afraid of any campers. It was hunting toads or beetles near the small boat dock.

The evening was quiet and most of the campers were asleep with the the gathering darkness. We didn’t see any moose outside the shelter, even though it looked like it should be excellent moose viewing. During the night, I got up to see the Perseids meteor shower, but alas the sky was cloudy and no meteors would be seen tonight.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

We slept in as late as we could, but daylight won. We made breakfast and started the chore of packing up. Once packed, we headed down to the Windigo pavilion and dropped our packs. The Voyageur II was already at the dock and there was a group of campers ashore getting the L-N-T presentation.

We dropped our packs and headed off on the trail towards Feldtmann Lake. We still had several hours to kill before our departure on the Sea Hunter at 2 p.m. Out in the harbor, the NPS guys were practicing an oil spill drill and they had a yellow boom extended 3/4 of the way out into the bay.

We continued past Beaver Island and then starting climbing up to the lookout. Along the way, I had my fill of thimbleberries. The climb wasn’t too taxing and when we got to the top, I was looking for the little turn off that my daughter and I stopped at in 2009. When we started going back down the hill towards Feldtmann, something just didn’t feel right and I didn’t want to hike to Fedtmann looking for a scenic view that I thought I saw back 5 years ago, so we turned around.

At the top, we ran into 2 guys from Minneapolis, who had come over on the VII and were heading to Feldtmann Lake. On the way down the hill, we ran into another 3 groups of backpackers, including a couple who were from Texas. They stated their day started at 4 am when they left Texas and they ended up renting a car in Duluth and pulled into Grand Portage last night around 9:30. What a long day.

We continued down the hill and started to run into day hikers who came over on the Sea Hunter. Right before we came back into Windigo, we ran into a mother and daughter backpacking duo who were pissed at each other. They were obviously heading to Feldtmann Lake, but they were a good hour behind the 2 guys from Minneapolis.

We got back to the pavilion and headed up to the bathrooms to clean up. There were lots of people sitting the pavilion, listening to a Ranger give a presentation on copper mining. Once cleaned up, we headed up to the Windigo Store to buy some souvenirs and a soda. We then headed back down the hill and into Ranger Valerie. I told her I had completed the Junior Ranger booklet and she invited me in to look it over.

Ranger Valerie examined the booklet, commenting on my artwork. With her approval of it’s completeness, she had me raise my hand and pledge my intentions to preserve our National Parks and to keep Isle Royale close to my heart. With that she presented me with the Junior Ranger pin. I thanked Ranger Valerie and look forward to seeing her again next summer.

We headed back down the hill and got ourselves ready for the boat ride home. As the crew member of the Sea Hunter read off the roster, we waited patiently to hear our name. We ended up sitting on the starboard side and I was thankful it wasn’t raining and that the seas had calmed down since Monday.

With everyone aboard, Captain Don pointed the Sea Hunter away from the dock and everyone waved at the 3 Rangers at the end of the dock waving us Goodbye. We headed out Washington Harbor and towards the Rock of Ages lighthouse. Once we arrived at the lighthouse, the Captain rotated the boat around so everyone could get a glimpse of the old structure.

He then turned the boat around and headed back to Grand Portage. On the ride home, I had a nice conversation with a guy who was from Oshkosh, WI who also came over on the Sea Hunter with us on Saturday. His crew of 4 did the Feldtmann loop.

We arrived back in Grand Portage and were soon on the road home. Another wonderful visit to Isle Royale under my belt, I had many things to be thankful for. Thankful that my wife enjoyed her first visit and thankful, I finally got out to Huginnin Cove. Although we never saw an moose, we did see a fox.

I’m already looking forward to 2015, when I hope to connect the dots and finish off the trails I still need to hike; Lookout Louise to Lane Cove. The Greenstone from Mt Franklin to Mt. Ojibway, Daisy Farm to Moskey Basin and the Ishpeming Trail to Malone Bay.

Here is a link to the photos:
http://s108.photobucket.com/user/islero ... ale%202014
Isle Royale Trips: 2005-RH to Windigo via Greenstone. 2006-McCargoe Cove to Chippewa Harbor. 2007-RH to Daisy Farm and back. 2008-Feltmann loop. 2009-McCargoe Cove to Chippewa Harbor. 2013-Minong Ridge. 2014-Windigo+Huginnin Cove. 2015-Lookout Louise to LC to DF to MB. 2018-McCargoe to Todd to HL to Malone Bay. 2021-Windigo/Huginnin. 2022-RH-DF-MB-CH
tree rattt
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Re: TR 8/8/14 - 8/13/14 Windigo + Huginnin Cove

Post by tree rattt »

Very nice report! Did your wife enjoy herself ....did she see why you keep going back? All in all sounded like a lot of good times.Sure do like that spot on the Hugginin with the clifffs and boulders....very unique :)
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philranger
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Re: TR 8/8/14 - 8/13/14 Windigo + Huginnin Cove

Post by philranger »

tree rattt wrote:Very nice report! Did your wife enjoy herself ....did she see why you keep going back? All in all sounded like a lot of good times.Sure do like that spot on the Hugginin with the clifffs and boulders....very unique :)
Yes, she had a great time even with the half day rain. Good thing we didn't have to hike anywhere that day. The only thing that could have been better is if we saw a moose.
Isle Royale Trips: 2005-RH to Windigo via Greenstone. 2006-McCargoe Cove to Chippewa Harbor. 2007-RH to Daisy Farm and back. 2008-Feltmann loop. 2009-McCargoe Cove to Chippewa Harbor. 2013-Minong Ridge. 2014-Windigo+Huginnin Cove. 2015-Lookout Louise to LC to DF to MB. 2018-McCargoe to Todd to HL to Malone Bay. 2021-Windigo/Huginnin. 2022-RH-DF-MB-CH
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NancyT
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Re: TR 8/8/14 - 8/13/14 Windigo + Huginnin Cove

Post by NancyT »

Great report and pictures. I've been to the Island with Mike 6 times and still haven't made it to Huginin Cove. It's on my bucket list.
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