TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Reports or links to reports on trips.

Moderator: Tom

Post Reply
User avatar
fonixmunkee
Forum Moderator
Posts: 953
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:58 am
Isle Royale Visits: 18
Location: Soupe Towne, WI
Has thanked: 46 times
Been thanked: 60 times

TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by fonixmunkee »

The Soggy Kilt Tour

Who:Hodge, Johnny Mac, and myself

What: Cross-country from Windigo to Grace Harbor; cross-country from Grace Harbor to Rainbow Point; cross-country from Rainbow Point to Atwood Beach; cross-country from Atwood Beach back to Feldtmann Campground; Feldtmann Campground to Washington Creek

Why: After missing last year's annual trip to Isle Royale due to complicated work schedules, we finally got back on track. We spent a fantastic night in 2013 in the backcountry and wanted to level-up our Isle Royale trips by disappearing into the unknown with some cross-country hiking. This would be my 12th trip to Isle Royale.

Photos: The entire album of pictures can be found here: https://goo.gl/photos/TtgC44gPp1i2x76N8; there are some photos linked within the details, below.

Details:

Friday, 22 May 15: After everyone put in some time at work and finalizing packing, we hit the road from Superior, WI to Grand Portage to stay the night before the boat early in the AM. The weather was nice, and we got on the road sooner than expected. We stopped for dinner at the Cascade Inn outside of Lutsen, MN. The meal was fantastic. We then hit Grand Marais and stopped into the new Voyageur Brewing just before the stop light to try their beers. The Porter was amazing, but EXPENSIVE ($6/pint). The building was also beautifully crafted, and some local music filled our ears.

We got to Grand Portage Casino and planned on staying in the campground since the casino was fully-booked. As it would turn out, most of the hotel was under construction, so there were very limited number of rooms. We were surprised to find that the campground desk stopped taking check-ins after 6pm, but were also lucky to find that there was one room available. We grabbed the room and our free $5 gambling credit. Hodge ended up winning $60 off of the credit, so we had a few beers at the bar in the casino before calling it a night.

Saturday, 23 May 15: We woke up plenty early to a beautiful sunrise over the lake, showered, and then got under way to the Voyageur II dock. We weren't the first ones in the parking lot, but we were the first ones to the dock. The weather was warm, but the wind from the lake was cold. The seas were 2-4", so we prepared for a bumpy ride.

The VII was packed for the trip out; probably the most full I've ever seen it. Even with high seas, the VII's captain made great time into Windigo and we were on our dock with our gear getting our cramped Leave No Trace brief. We then waited for everyone else to file their itineraries so we could pick the ranger's brain on our cross-country plans.

This was my first time meeting Ranger Steve Martin. He was very friendly and very helpful. He helped us file our permit and the other ranger (Ranger Katie? this is a guess) helped us optimize our trip and made sure we were staying within the guidelines of the back country rules. We also challenged them both on why you had to camp within 1/4 of a mile from Lake Superior in zones 23 and 44, but even after Ranger Martin consulted the Park Superintendent's compendium, he couldn't find a valid answer.

We filled up our water bottles and were underway along the Feldtmann trail towards Feldtmann Lake. We'd take the trail a bit past Grace Harbor outlook, then hook a right towards the lake and find a good campsite along the harbor's back country. In a few hours, we found a great shaded spot with relatively easy water access and set up camp. We were almost directly across from the campsite on Beaver Island which had two boats at it. This was a little depressing, but the boaters were pretty quiet and respectful, so it turned out to be OK.

The weather had been great all day...partly cloudy, around 60 degrees by my estimate. It was perfect hiking weather, so we took time to explore the harbor. We found a lot of garbage...a broom, a 5-gallon bucket, countless bits of garbage, and...the frame of a TV/VCR combo. We piled it up on the shore in hopes a good Samaritan boater would take it back with them. After some exploring we returned to camp. When the sun started to set, the cool air crept in and was welcomed sleeping weather. We watched the sun set on the harbor for a while before turning in. Total distance: 5 miles

Sunday, 24 May 15: Woke up early, made coffee using my new handy java drip (see my review here) and some breakfast. It was a relatively warm start to the day, but we didn't have very far to hike as we planned on going cross-country to Rainbow Point. We finished breakfast and broke camp, then cross-countried directly to Rainbow Point, saving some time by hiking along Rainbow Cove. The beach hiking was harder than I anticipated as it was hard to get solid footing on the loose rock.

We found a fantastic campsite on Rainbow Point where we were surrounded by the lake on three sides. The camp sat up on a cliff overlooking the lake...it was beautiful. The site was in a meadow ringed with heavy moose browse. There was also moose poop every where, but we never saw any moose the entire time we were camping there.

The weather was beautiful, so we set up camp and took to camp chores, then braved a dip in Lake Superior to rinse off. Hodge and I weren't man enough to fully submerge, but Johnny Mac was. The water was cold...needless to say.

As dinner time came around, we walked out to another rocky point that stuck directly into Lake Superior. There was huge rock here--huge!--that was at the perfect height to use as a table to cook and eat at. We had our meals, then watched the sun set over the Rock of Ages lighthouse. The night didn't get very cold once more, but Hodge and purchased a very small and handy marine radio that we tuned to the weather. The broadcast announced that there would be rain intermittently over the next 24 hours, but it was only a "30% chance." Total distance: 5.2 miles

Monday, 25 May 15: In the middle of the night, I woke up to rain. It was a soft rain, but noticeable. Knowing that the previous night had advised only a "30% chance of rain," I went back to sleep without giving it too much thought. However, a few hours later when we awoke, it was still raining...a steady rain that was just penetrating enough. We geared up in our rain gear, then went down to the lake where a small sea cave was that we could get shelter in and cook breakfast.

We had breakfast in the "breakfast nook," and an extra cup of coffee as we tried to wait out the rain. When it showed no chance of letting up, we took to reading some books. After another hour, the rain was still continuing. We reviewed our options: hit the road to try and bushwhack back to the Feldtmann Trail, head up, and then hike it to a point where we'd drop off and cut down to Atwood Beach...also on the south side. The next option was to move camp and go for a day hike. Everyone had some minor gear malfunctions that was making hitting the trail to a new site unappealing. Add to that, the rain wasn't going to let up, according to the marine radio's forecast. That means risking a long day of cross-country hiking with defective gear and getting soaked. We agreed that it wasn't a wise decision to do this, so we secured camp and decided to hike along the shore for a while, heading towards Long Point.

As we hiked, we came across a small lake just next to the shore of Lake Superior. Moose tracks were every where in the sand, and then we saw something else...wolf tracks...and relatively fresh. This was a cool discovery when there were double-digit amounts of wolves on the island, but now with only a few left, this was extra exciting. Hodge marked a GPS coordinate, but we couldn't snap a picture because we didn't have a camera (it was too wet to bring the SLR).

We managed to hike a few miles before the shore ended and the winds coming out of the north east grew stronger and colder. We found some cool sea caves along Long's point that we holed up in out of the rain and had some snacks and watched the lake.

The rain would continue to complete soak us all day--so much so, that my Zippo lighter that was in the pocket of my GoreTex jacket was so wet, it didn't work for a day. Finally about 7pm, the rain stopped and was replaced by fog. At this point, we were drenched...every thing was wet. I was glad we weren't risking any bush-whacking with how wet everything was.

We went back out to our stoney point (affectionately labeled "Whiskey Rock") and made dinner. Fog continued to roll in and out around Long Point and Grace Harbor all night, until we turned in for the night. Before going to bed, we listened into the weather forecast which again called for 30% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. Total distance: 3.4 miles

Tuesday, 26 May 15: We woke to warm weather and no rain. We started breakfast down by the lake and discussed our next option: the original itinerary called for heading to Feldtmann Lake campground and staying there before making the hike back to Windigo the next day. We decided to cut our losses and push through to Windigo today to get a shelter and try out boots and gear. Additionally, two days in Washington Creek would allow us the chance to hike the Hugginin Loop...since none of us had ever done that. The nail-in-the-coffin for skipping past Feldtmann was the forecast's call for "30% chance of thunderstorms" today. Since the last forecast said "30% chance of isolated showers" for yesterday, and we got soaked, we wanted to air on the side of caustion. We broke camp shortly after breakfast and started the hike back, beginning with a bush-whack back to the Rainbow Cove trail, then continuing on to Windigo via the Feldtmann Lake trail.

As we hiked to the Rainbow Cove trail, we could hear the Voyageur II chug by and hear the conversations on the bow or stern.Due to the fog, however, we couldn't see the boat. It was very eerie...the island managed to hold the fog on the lake and not let it creep onto land. This became abundantly clear as we go to the Grace Creek overlook.

About four miles south of Windigo, we finally ran into the first people in three days. It was two ladies who were heading to Feldtmann Lake campground from the VII. It wasn't as weird to see other people as I had initially thought--being as we had just spent three days in the backcountry--because we rarely saw people this early in the year on Isle Royale.

We got to Washington Harbor and found a shelter. We began the process of airing out our gear to let it dry. While we walked around the campground, we saw that one of shelters was closed due to a nesting loon. As the day would progress, rangers would actually put a buoy in the creek and post signs at all the shelters saying to stay out of the water for the loons. We searched around and finally found a loon nesting on a small clump of grass directly in the middle of Washington Creek. Total distance: 10.8 miles

Wednesday, 27 May 15: We woke up from a cold sleep in the shelter. I knew that shelters were always colder than tents, but even the ambient temperature seemed colder in Washington Creek than it had on the south side of the island. After breakfast, we packed up some snacks and water and started the Hugginin loop. We started towards Hugginin on the West trail, with a return journey planned for the east trail. We didn't run into a single person on our hike out, and when we got to Hugginin, we saw dark storm clouds over Canada and heard loud thunder. There was one group of campers at Hugginin and another group of day hikers in camp. We had our snacks and explored the area a bit (there was a lot of blow-down on the west side of the campground, I noted). We watched the storm clouds slowly drift south-east-ish and decided it was prudent to finish our loop. We started hiking the East Hugginin trail. The first mile was gorgeous as it clung to the cliffs of Lake Superior. There was lots of snow on the cliffs, too. After a mile, the trail dipped south into the island and we were soon on a nice leisurely stroll that was frequently interrupted by sprinkles.

We stopped at the Wendigo mine and poked around for a few minutes when suddenly the winds got colder. Realizing this was the start of the front, we sped up our hike for the last 1.5-ish miles. Almost immediately, we were blasted with rain. It was like we couldn't stay dry on the last half of our trip! We made it back to our shelter in Washington Creek TWO MINUTES before the thunder started clapping around us and the sky opened up with torrential rain. In typical Isle Royale fashion, just as fast as the storm blew in, it left. The black skies were replaced by fluffy clouds and bright sun. The sun was so strong and bright it had the ground and picnic table in camp dried up in minutes.. Dinner, cocktails, and sleep was the only thing left for the day. Total distance: 8.9 miles

Thursday, 28 May 15: This was our departure day. Nothing exciting; just sadness to have to leave this beautiful place. A fast trip on the Voyageur II from Windigo to Grand Portage, followed by a stop in Grand Marais at the Gunflint Tavern for dinner. FYI, the Gunflint Tavern now brews their own beer, and it's good.

Final thoughts: This was our first trip with multiple days off-trail and in the back country. It has leveled up the way I do Isle Royale. While there is nothing wrong camping in the designated sites (especially this early in the year, where you are pretty much alone anyway), there's something adventurous and special about having to scout a camp and make do with what you have there. There's also some excitement knowing that there's a good possibility where your at has never been visited before.

I also now know why people enjoy Hugginin Cove so much...it's beautiful and remote. I can only imagine how gorgeous the sunsets are here. It will definitely be in my plans to stay a night or two here in the future. For me, hiking an extra mile to get out to the East Hugginin loop trail is worthwhile: the West loop trail is a bit more arduous and isn't nearly as scenic; the East loop trail is flatter and has much more to look at. I'm glad we day-hiked this loop so we have this awareness.

Our distances and speeds, compiled by Hodge, are below. You can really tell hour our cross-country days slowed our moving averages:

Day 1: Windigo -> Grace Harbor 5.0 miles @ 2.05 mph avg. 7 mph Max
Day 2: Grace harbor -> Rainbow Point 5.2 miles @ 2.03 mph avg. 4.2 mph max
Day 3: Rainbow Point day -> The Head 3.4 miles @ 1.92 mph avg. 6 mph max
Day 4: Rainbow Point -> Windigo 10.8 miles @ 2.5 mph avg. 5 mph max
Day 5: Hugginin loop 8.9 miles @ 2.5 mph avg 9mph max
Total 33.3 Miles
User avatar
trailgoat_70
NewbieCake
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Apr 25, 2015 12:25 pm

Re: TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by trailgoat_70 »

Great trip report! Sounds like a very interesting trip. Sorry about the rain, but I know you guys made the best of it. Wonderful photos--really nice campsite at Rainbow Point. Sad to hear about the garbage you discovered. A TV/VCR frame?!?!? Really?!?!? I'm guessing it was discarded by someone on a watercraft--can't imagine anyone packing such a device. Awesome you guys gathered it up. I have found bits of trash around campsites and always pick them up and pack them out. That may be my biggest pet peeve--littering. Especially at a place as special as Isle Royale. I'll never understand why someone would do that.

Thanks for posting!
"I am a happy camper so I guess I’m doing something right."

- Henry David Thoreau
johnhens
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1993
Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:10 pm
Isle Royale Visits: 34
Location: Big Rock, IL
Has thanked: 56 times
Been thanked: 112 times

Re: TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by johnhens »

Enjoyed the TR, sounds like you had a great trip!! I have thought hiking the shore from Siskiwit Bay to Windigo would be a nice trip!! Hope to eat dinner sometime at "Dinner Rock"!!
User avatar
Midwest Ed
IR Expert
Posts: 1355
Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:25 am
Isle Royale Visits: 8
Location: Quad Cities, IL
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 82 times

Re: TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by Midwest Ed »

I really enjoyed your report and pictures. Even soaking wet you had a great time. Your cross country speeds were faster than I expected. Do you have pictures that reflect the worst of the bushwhacking?

My speculation is, regarding the limitation that you must camp within 1/4 mile of Lake Superior, that it is probably based on a compromise, recognizing that paddlers need use of those regions. This keeps the majority of the region closed during the scheduled restricted season while allowing limited use. A point of clarification, the 2012 map I'm reading shows that region 22 does not have the 1/4 mile restriction. Regions 27,28 & 39 have the same 1/4 mile restriction but for inland lakes that all have accessible campgrounds so maybe my theory is not complete.
8 trips, 1975 x 2, 1976 x 2, 1978, 1985, 2000, 2013
User avatar
fonixmunkee
Forum Moderator
Posts: 953
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:58 am
Isle Royale Visits: 18
Location: Soupe Towne, WI
Has thanked: 46 times
Been thanked: 60 times

Re: TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by fonixmunkee »

Midwest Ed wrote:I really enjoyed your report and pictures. Even soaking wet you had a great time. Your cross country speeds were faster than I expected. Do you have pictures that reflect the worst of the bushwhacking?
This is about as close as I get to any picture of the bushwhacking: https://goo.gl/photos/sTwci3HtXRQzXTS18

It really wasn't bad...the moose browse is so intense, it really does make the hiking easier. It's amazing how much the moose are decimating the vegetation, especially when you compare the backcountry brush coverage with intense coverage in the moose exclosure in Windigo.
Midwest Ed wrote:My speculation is, regarding the limitation that you must camp within 1/4 mile of Lake Superior, that it is probably based on a compromise, recognizing that paddlers need use of those regions.
That's an interesting theory, and one that seems very realistic. I'll have to ask next time I get a chance!
torpified
IR Expert
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2016 4:06 pm
Isle Royale Visits: 6
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Has thanked: 238 times
Been thanked: 120 times
Contact:

Re: TR: 5/23-5/28, 2015 [Hiking] [Grace Harbor-Rainbow Point-Windigo XC] The soggy kilt tour!

Post by torpified »

fonixmunkee wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:22 am The Soggy Kilt Tour


Final thoughts: This was our first trip with multiple days off-trail and in the back country. It has leveled up the way I do Isle Royale. While there is nothing wrong camping in the designated sites (especially this early in the year, where you are pretty much alone anyway), there's something adventurous and special about having to scout a camp and make do with what you have there. There's also some excitement knowing that there's a good possibility where your at has never been visited before.
This is the next in an occasional series (that I heartily encourage others to add to) of questions posed about old trip reports excavated at random. This one's a doozy: a cross-country excursion in a downpour that reveals the offtrail regions of IR to teem with such suburban accoutrements as breakfast nooks and VCR (whatever that is) frames!

Even though I'm selecting reports with my eyes closed, the two I've turned up so far have aligned eerily well with my present interests. Travelling off-trail is one way to visit parts of the island I haven't seen yet, and dispersed camping appeals to me. But travelling off-trail on IR feels intimidating, given how hard it can be sometimes to make progress ON TRAIL through the brush.

fonixmunkee, you report that the moose browse made the off-trail travel on this itinerary easier, and your "bushwhacking" picture shows pretty open-looking forest. Did you pick this route as your first cross country experience with the moose browse benefit in mind? Were there navigational challenges ---- like did you ever need to consult a compass, or were terrain and landmarks enough? Are there rules of thumb about cross-country routes that minimize brush and maximize scenery?

You also found some extraordinary garbage! Maybe we should start a separate thread on the most surprising detritus we've found in the backcountry.
Post Reply